Nature: After lifting off this week from the chaotic urban jungle of Kinshasa, scientists guided a twin-engine aircraft over the real jungle. With a small onboard laser, they began sweeping the vast rainforest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), bouncing photons off leaves and branches. The aim is to measure -- and perhaps to preserve -- the carbon locked up in the tropical forests that cover two-thirds of the country.
The data will also enhance scientists understanding of tropical forests...