Three schoolgirls in Kinsale pulled up a pea plant covered in warts (2016)

Three Irish schoolgirls discovered that rhizobium bacteria, which naturally form nitrogen-fixing partnerships with legumes, can also significantly boost cereal crop growth when applied to seeds. Working from a bedroom laboratory over three years, Émer Hickey, Ciara Judge, and Sophie Healy-Thow tested over 13,000 seeds and found treated barley and oats germinated up to 50% faster with up to 74% greater dry mass growth. Their finding, which contradicted expert consensus, won the Google Science Fair in 2014 and has major implications for food security in regions with short growing seasons.