More exploration is needed to discover new wild varieties of rice, before they are lost to science forever, heard the 7th International Rice Genetics Symposium held this week (5-8 November) in Manila, the Philippines. There are still many unexplored places and a danger of losing undiscovered rice species that “might be very important for future rice” breakthroughs, said Robert Henry, director of the research institute Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation. Henry, who was speaking at the symposium organized by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), said a lot of biodiversity is being lost because of the rapid pace of development. This means exploration is in a race with this biodiversity loss.