Three schoolgirls in Kinsale, Ireland, discovered that bacteria from pea plant nodules could accelerate cereal germination. After finding a wart-covered pea root, Émer Hickey, Ciara Judge, and Sophie Healy-Thow spent three years testing 13,000 seeds in a spare bedroom. Their experiments showed treated barley and oats germinated up to 50% faster and grew 74% larger.

The project, initially met with skepticism, won the BT Young Scientist of the Year in 2013 and the Google Science Fair grand prize in 2014. Their work offers a natural, low-cost solution to improve crop yields, particularly for smallholder farmers facing food insecurity.