Bioeconomy News

How can soil research support a sustainable bioeconomy? The network BonaRes provided the answer to this and other questions during their recent international conference in Berlin.

Mother nature knows best: Biologists discovered that the diversity of bacteria that are able to eat and digest plastic is greater than expected.

According to a meta-study by Berlin-based researchers, accumulations of microplastics in the soil are a much greater burden on the environment than in the seas.

In Thuringia, textile researchers are working on bio-based sutures for surgical operations. The new fibres dissolve in the body and are thus safer for the patients.

Evonik and Siemens are developing a new technology that uses bacteria and electricity from renewable resources to convert carbon dioxide (CO₂) into specialty chemicals.

The offspring of two maize inbred lines provides higher yield than the parent plants. According to researchers at Bonn University this effect is caused by increased gene activity.

Clariant and Global Bioenergies have developed a new polymer from renewable resources for cosmetic creams and lotions.

Researchers at Hohenheim University found a possible new remedy against the Varroa mite: the chemical lithium chloride. It seems highly effective and is would be easy to dispense.

Fraunhofer researchers are developing bio-based and biodegradable alternatives to microplastics. They use cellulose particles derived from wood or crops.

Researchers at the Senckenberg research institute decoded the genome of the European Beech. The new genetic information will allow for targeted breeding of stress tolerant trees.

Since January 2018, insect-derived food can be commercialised according to the rules of the new Novel Food Legislation.

Yoghurt cups and water bottles made from polylactic acid are en vogue. Material scientists in Hannover have developed a computer mouse housing material based on sugar cane.

According to Bonner botanists many more plants than previously thought use calcium phosphate, a component of teeth and bones, to strengthen their defensive hairs and thorns.

Fraunhofer researcher from Potsdam and Stuttgart develop new paints and varnishes based on potato starch. A special chemical process is optimising the starch for this application.

Plants have several strategies to receive sufficient light. Now, Biologists from Tübingen University demonstrate that plants can choose between alternative responses to competition.

Researchers at the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences and BRAIN AG develop new three-dimensional skin models. These allow for more realistic screenings for health care and cosmetics.

Students from all over the globe are invited to present new ideas for a biobased economy as part of an art competition. The winners will be exhibited at the global summit in Berlin.

Molecular plant physiologists in Golm managed to engineer the chloroplast DNA of the tobacco plant. Via horizontal gene transfer they were able to produce the carotenoid astaxanthin.

Biochemists in Munich managed to improve the photosynthesis process by generating the Rubisco enzyme in a bacterial host. This could also boost future crop yields.

A new technique enables Hendrik Dietz at TU Munich to build DNA origami structures the size of viruses, while also reducing the cost of production substantially.