Researchers watch plant stomata breathe in real time with palm-sized device

A palm-sized instrument called Stomata In-Sight combines a microscope, gas-exchange measurements, and AI to observe thousands of leaf stomata in real time, helping scientists link stomatal activity to plant traits. Demonstrated on maize and used to engineer sorghum with more spread-out stomata, the tool could guide breeding or biotech to produce crops that use less water. The technology is not yet commercially available and currently labor-intensive, but automation and robotics could speed up future analyses.