Most of us feel an unpleasant twitch when we talk about genetically modifying the plants we eat. We think about changing complex mechanisms that can have far-reaching, unknown effects. But what if it was something much simpler? In a new study, researchers used the genetic scissors CRISPR/Cas9 system to tweak the leaf angle in sugarcane, enabling the plant to capture more sunlight. This single change had a big effect on the amount of biomass produced. Sugar fuelSugarcane is one of the most important crops in the world. In fact, by biomass yield, it’s the world’s largest crop, with almost 2 bill…