Enlarge Image Fungal friend. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi produce hundreds of spores, such as the ones shown here, just outside the roots of a plant Credit: Shannon Schechter More than 80% of plant species make friends with a common fungus. In return for sugar, the fungus helps the plants extract nutrients from the soil. But rice plants, a primary food source for billions of people, don't have this special relationship—and thus they don't receive the extra boost the fungi give other plants. A new study suggests that with a little help from researchers, however, the fungus will bond with rice,...