Boosting our immune systems is one of the goals of a research project, that is seeing carbon dioxide gas being studied under the University of Saskatchewan’s Canadian Light Source.

Researcher Dr. Dustin King with Simon Fraser University says their findings could uncover more about CO2 sensing in nature, an area that he suggests could lead to countless applications for human health and well being . He says they are studying CO2’s ability to bind to and alter the function of certain target proteins. He gives the example that in humans CO2 impacts certain cellular signalling pathways that slow inflammation. Understanding how it does that, King says, could reveal new therapeutic approaches for things like treating inflammatory disorders.

King explains so far, utilizing the CLS, they’ve developed methods to trap CO2 onto target proteins, and are using these to explore high interest CO2 binding sites for the first time.

Another benefit from the research, King says, is in plants where CO2 is the main carbon fuel source used to generate sugar molecules and sustain growth. Finding out how CO2 does this, might enable scientists to intervene and boost crop yields and output for agriculture.