Enzymes are at the core of biotechnology. As biocatalysts, they are supposed to help the chemical industry to move away from environmentally harmful processes and to enable particularly sustainable processes. Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now transformed the enzymes into a new form: As foams, the biocatalysts prove to be extremely stable and active.

Aspects such as animal welfare and environmental protection play an increasingly important role when buying meat products. The increasing demand for plant-based alternatives also drives the development of so-called lab-grown meat. In this process, muscle stem cells from chickens or cattle are grown in a bioreactor and formed into meat-like structures using a 3D printer - without any animal having to suffer or die. The first Clean Meat products are already on the market in Singapore and the USA.

Whether it's a car, a wind turbine or an airplane, for a machine to run smoothly it usually needs lubricants, but these are traditionally based on fossil raw materials. In the PolyBioFe project, partners from research and industry have produced lubricating greases that consist almost entirely of renewable raw materials. The project focused primarily on developing a bio-based alternative to polymer thickeners, which are an important component of lubricants for rolling bearings.

Innovations from the bioeconomy are important drivers for mastering the major challenges of the future, such as climate change, food security, raw material scarcity and species loss. With its bioeconomy strategy, the German government initiated the shift toward a sustainable and resource-conserving economy years ago and put the promotion of bioeconomic innovations on the political agenda. However, the establishment of bio-based technologies also requires acceptance among the population.

Paper or packaging usually consists of pulp obtained from wood. However, paper production is very energy-intensive. Moreover, wood grows only slowly and demand has increased in recent years, as the raw material has long since become an important source for sustainable products such as bio-based plastics. But there are alternatives: Cellulose can also be obtained from other plants such as grass.

Clean air is important - also for the so-called springtails, a widespread class of arthropods. The animals, which are only a few millimeters in size, have a special feature: they almost all breathe exclusively through their skin. As organisms that frequently live on the ground, springtails face the challenge of keeping this very skin as free as possible from pollutants and pathogens so as not to endanger their respiration. Researchers at the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research in Dresden have now discovered how the animals manage this.