GPS and sensor technology have been a part of agriculture for quite some time now. But not just the cultivation of fields can be simplified by the digitization. Radio chips and the likes are also useful to optimize animal husbandry by monitoring animal health and thus increasing revenue. Last fall a survey by Germany's Digital Association bitkom together with the German Farmers’ Association (DBV) revealed that the majority of farmers are already using or would like to use digital technologies in the near future.

Copper is an important bulk metal for the German industry: it is mainly used in the cable and electrical industry, but also in the construction and automotive sectors, and in mechanical engineering. Until now most of it had to be imported either in the form of metal concentrates or crude ore. The world market leader Chile has been an important copper partner for Germany.

Approximately 100 million people live in Ethiopia, making it the second most densely populated African state south of the Sahara. Over the last two years the “El Niño“ phenomenon has caused the worst drought in decades. The “Welthungerhilfe” estimates that 10 million people are threatened by malnourishment and starvation.

The common mussel has more to offer than pearls and tough threads with which it clings to the seafloor. Scientists at the Max-Planck-Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam-Golm have gained first insights into the extraordinary process how mussel attachment fibres, known as byssus threads, are generated in the mollusc foot.

It is a high-tech-technology prize with ambitious goals: The XPRIZE Foundation instigates international high-profile prize competitions in order to inspire individuals, companies and organizations to develop innovative ideas and technologies that benefit humanity.

Creative minds often lack funds to turn their ideas into reality. Among start-ups, crowdfunding has now established itself as an alternative method of investment, complementing more traditional sources of funding.

The Chitosan is mixed with an industrial polyester producing a hybrid fibre that combines the biologically qualities of Chitosan with the mechanical strength of the synthetic polymer. The new fibre is particularly suitable for medical applications such as implants or surgical yarns.

The Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus is an invasive species that is present in pioneering populations in Southern Germany. The eastern grey squirrel, originally from North America, was introduced to various locations worldwide, including the UK, where it has largely displaced the native red squirrel. The many-leaved lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus) is extensively used in mountain hay meadows in the The Katzbach Mountains in Poland. In Europe, this species has been planted as a fodder crop and as an ornamental, and is now widely naturalized.