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.
The soya bean has long offered vegetarians and vegans an alternative to animal protein. Be it fresh fare or soya beans processed into soya milk and tofu - the millennia-old crop has since secured its place on supermarket shelves. Yet, the East Asian legume continues to be a niche product on German farms. In Germany, the majority of soya plants are processed into animal feed. Soya expert Martin Miersch is convinced that "in discussions on the topic of feeding the world sustainably, we shouldn't think of soya plants as mere animal fodder".
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.
Sonja Jost's message is that the term "green chemistry" need not be a contradiction in terms. Her curiosity and passion for analysis led the native of Lower Saxony to a business idea with the potential to revolutionise the pharmaceutical industry. As part of the UniCat Cluster of Excellence, the expert on chiral catalysts developed a process at the TU Berlin that involved replacing petroleum-based solvents used in drug manufacture with water, and conserving and recycling precious-metal catalysts.
With a 2% share of the 300 billion tonnes plastics market and a turnover of €13bn compared to €11bn in 2015, the bioplastics market, however, still remains a niche market. Nova forecasts production to increase from the current volume to 8.5 million tonnes by 2021.
They are found in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, cleaning agents, on seeds and even in fire extinguishers: surfactants. These substances reduce the surface tension of a liquid or the interfacial tension between two liquid phases. Surfactants can be used to mix generally immiscible liquids together or separate them from each other in a controlled manner.
In mid-December, Biotensidon GmbH, a Karlsruhe-based subsidiary of the Swiss firm Biotensidon International AG, announced a breakthrough in the mass production of rhamnolipid surfactants.
You need to have a great deal of stamina and specialised knowledge to study biodiversity on agricultural land. The 'Jena Experiment' is a prime example of biodiversity research in a field laboratory. It was initiated in 2002 by the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry and the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSU). It is not only the longest-running biodiversity experiment in Europe, but also the largest.