{
  "id": 2199130,
  "title": "100-million-year-old molecular 'bypasses' may have helped grasses dominate landscapes and agriculture",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/100-million-year-old-molecular-bypasses-may-have-helped-grasses",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-20T18:00:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-08-million-year-molecular-bypasses-grasses.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "100 million years ago, long before human intervention, ancestors of grasses, including wheat, rice and maize, developed \"bypasses\" in chemical pathways used to create two critical compounds: lignin and starch. These more efficient pathways could explain why grass plants are so successful in nature and agriculture, according to a new paper published in Science on Aug. 20 by researchers from the…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}