For much of his career, Florian Hammerstein wanted nothing to do with coffee. The market is too closed off, the structures too immobile, and only a few high-ranking players have a real say in the future of the industry. It is thanks to his enthusiasm and courage to pursue unusual projects that Hammerstein and his company, Original Food, remain actively involved in the coffee business.
Wasteful packaging has been a thorn in bioeconomy’s side for a long time. Especially food items that are packaged in layers of non-degradable plastic have caused resentments among environmentally conscious customers. The Deutsche Verpackungsinstitut (German Packaging Institute; dvi) supports sustainable packaging; it is a platform for information, insights und impulses regarding all packaging matters.
Circular or closed-loop economy is the holy grail of any sustainable economy. The idea is that no materials are being wasted and lost during production, and instead everything can and will be reused and recycled. However, although Germany has one of the most advanced waste management systems in the world, only about 14% of the raw materials used in the German industry are derived from recycling processes.
Mussels have mastered the art of sticking to wet surfaces and cause a lot of damage because of it. They stick to boats, pipes, piers, and many more underwater surfaces. In fact, mussels are one of the worst perpetrators of biofouling, meaning the unwanted accumulation of organisms on underwater structures.
Cool, refreshing drinks are always welcome during the summer time. But many customers shy away from high sugar contents and too many chemical ingredients in commercially available sports drinks. Therefore, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV in Freising developed a novel, protein-rich summer drink made from sweet lupins. The production of this new drink should be feasible for any brewery. The technique was developed in cooperation with the Technical University Munich as well as partners from industry.
Trees are extremely important for a healthy ecosystem and a stable climate. Plants take up about half of the CO2 emissions that humans put in the atmosphere, and a huge part of that is accomplished by trees. CO2 emissions are one of the major driving forces behind global warming. Thus, it is paramount that as many trees as possible stay healthy and alive in order to function as CO2 emission sponges and slow down further climate changes.
What is known as "rice blight" is a dreaded plant disease that endangers rice harvests throughout the whole of South-East Asia, especially India, as well as large parts of Africa and can thus lead to great hardship amongst the local population. The disease is caused by the bacterial pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae oryzae.
Few organisms can survive on their own, many live in symbiosis with others, some of which are parasitic. Dodder, a parasitic vine of the genus Cuscuta, grows rapidly, entwining and parasitizing its host plants by inserting haustoria (a special organ that only parasitic plants have that functions analogue to roots) into the host plants’ stems. The dodder vines often connect different host plants together and form a network.
The health of an ecosystem is founded on the complex interplay between its numerous inhabitants over a prolonged period of time. Therefore, assessing the state of an ecosystem solely on the basis of short-term changes in the number of different species it contains can lead to false conclusions.
The industrial biotechnology company evoxx technologies GmbH has become a part of the leading specialty biotech company Advanced Enzyme Technologies Limited. Both companies announced on August 1 that they have entered into a binding agreement about the acquisition of 100% stake in evoxx technologies.