Japanese scientists have isolated the two proteins in rice which they contend is responsible for the plant absorbing so much arsenic from the ground. Researchers at the Okayama University’s Research Institute for Bioresources have announced their study, which used experimental rice with the proteins removed, as showing a sharp reduction in the intake of arsenic. ”We used mutant paddy (in which) these two transporters were knocked out and we saw decreased arsenite in both the stalk and rice grain,” said Ma Jianfeng at the Research Institute to Reuters.