Experts detail how rice absorbs arsenic

Scientists in Japan may have discovered why rice absorbs so much arsenic from the soil, paving the way for fresh efforts to block the potentially harmful element from Asia's staple food.

In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they said they had identified two proteins in rice plants that appeared to transport arsenic from the soil to the grain.

Using mutant paddy that did not have these two proteins, the experts found sharply reduced levels of arsenic.