OSAKA - A 29-year-old Osaka University researcher is developing technology to produce sugar from carbon dioxide in the air, seeking to create a faster and more sustainable source of livestock feed as population growth, extreme weather and poor harvests raise fears of future food shortages. Yutaka Tabata, a specially appointed assistant professor at Osaka University's Graduate School of Engineering Science, is studying a chemical process that first converts carbon dioxide into formaldehyde and then uses it to synthesize sugar. Tabata believes chemical production could reduce agriculture's dependence on large areas of land, water and lengthy growing periods. Glucose, sucrose and starch are all forms of sugar, which is normally obtained from crops such as sugar cane and corn. During an experiment at his laboratory on Osaka University's Toyonaka campus, Tabata showed a transparent liquid undergoing the sugar-production process.