Until now, converting organic waste into fuel has not been economically viable. Excessively high temperatures and too much energy were required. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) managed to significantly reduce the temperature and energy requirements for an integral step of the chemical process by using a novel catalyst concept: they confined the reaction to small spaces inside zeolite crystals.
In line with the increasing demand the production of wood pellets also increased dramatically over the last ten years.
What do Antarctica and space have in common? Nothing can grow there. Except, that is exactly the goal of a new long-term experiment as part of the EDEN-ISS project. The EDEN-ISS project aims to develop plant cultivation technologies that can be used for safe food production in space in so-called closed-loop systems or closed greenhouses.
Wild Emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum) is the wild form of nearly all the domesticated wheat in the world, including both durum (pasta) and bread wheat. Wild emmer is too low-yielding to be of use to farmers today but it contains several attractive characteristics that could be used by plant breeders.
Bayer aims to further grow its Animal Health Business. Until the year 2021, the company will invest an estimated €92 million into the further development of the production site in Kiel, where some of the most important products for the global market are being manufactured.
20% of bee colonies in Germany did not survive the winter – a high toll: the average loss per winter is about 10%. Since the turn of the millennia there have been several waves of widespread bee death with detrimental consequences for the agricultural industry. However, the reasons behind these disappearances are not entirely resolved yet. Nonetheless, it seems very likely that global climate change, as well as the use of pesticides, especially neonicotinoids, play an important role regarding these disappearances.
The majority of Central European forests such as the German Black Forest are characterised by spruce. The Norway spruce is Germany’s most important commercial tree. Due to climate change droughts are expected to become more and more common and intense in Europe. However, not every plant species has adapted to this. Researchers of the University of Freiburg (Breisgau) and the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) investigated conifers in the Black Forest.
The Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting is a prestigious melting pot for Nobel Laureates and talented young researchers. The renowned event has been held every year since its inception in 1951 and takes place during the last week of June at Lake Constance in the south of Germany. This year, 28 laureates have come together in Lindau. The overarching themes alternate between Chemistry, Physics, and Medicine & Physiology each year – this year the focus lies on Chemistry.
The Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) is a non-profit organisation based in Brussels. It represents the private sector in a public-private partnership (PPP) with the EU on Bio-based Industries (BBI).
A plethora of factors is involved in the maintenance of functioning ecosystems. The smallest change in numbers between predators and prey can upset the balance of the entire system. However, even leading researchers in the field of natural resource management cannot predict how natural ecosystems will develop in response to management measures that dynamically interact with natural factors. Therefore the researchers conducted complex and extended field experiments in order to provide insight and answers for a future adaptive environmental management.