Source: Whitney L.J. Howell, NEWS & OBSERVER, 1/23/12

These days, downtown Durham is better known for its burgeoning cuisine scene and modernized, reclaimed spaces than its long history with cash crops. The storied days of tobacco curing in the city's brick factories have been replaced with technology research that could, scientists say, bolster the biofuel industry while creating stronger crops.

For more of this story, click here.