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). €3.7 billion will be injected into the European economy between 2014 and 2024 - €975 million from the European Commission and €2.7 billion from the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) - to develop an emerging bioeconomy sector.

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.

Biodiesel is largely produced from rapeseeds in Europe. The fuel consists of long-chain hydrocarbon compounds. Due to a higher boiling point compared to mineral oil-based fuel, the biodiesel cannot be used undiluted in conventional engines. Biodiesel is nonetheless very important for industries, since it has a lower impact on global warming than conventional fuel. In accordance with an EU directive to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, biofuel has to be added to conventional fuel.

Over the last five years the new CRISPR-Cas genome editing tool has revolutionized molecular biology. The new technique allows for completely new ways of genetic engineering with relatively little effort at all. Based on this method a team of researchers headed by Andreas Houben at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) in Gatersleben and Holger Puchta from the Botanical Institute of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology developed a method to visualize defined genomic sequences in living plant cells.

Environmentally-conscious customers demand drinking containers that are reusable as well as made of sustainable materials. Evonik and the Taiwanese company Sungo have combined their expertise to manufacture a handy but sturdy drinking bottle made of high-quality sustainable material: the Ludavi bottle. The bottle is made of the transparent microcrystalline polyamide Trogamid Terra biopolymer by Evonik Industries. The biopolymer consists of more than 50 percent renewable raw materials, such as palm kernel and coconut oil.

The rainforest in Brazil with its famous Amazon basin is home to countless animals and plants that function as earth’s green lungs and play an important part for the global climate. However, deforestation and developing new and more sources for raw material severely endangers the biodiversity of that area. Marcello Tabarelli has been investigating for years, exactly how mankind affects the biodiversity within the rainforest.