Whether in food packaging, cosmetics, pesticides or outdoor textiles: per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances – PFAS for short – are contained in many products. These industrially produced chemicals are not only particularly resistant to oil and water, but also to temperatures and chemicals. As diverse as the applications of PFASs are, these substances are equally dangerous when they enter the environment, where they cannot be degraded naturally. PFASs have been detected in more than 70% of groundwater monitoring wells in the EU.

The number of hot days with air temperatures of at least 30 degrees Celsius has been increasing in Germany for years as a result of climate change. This is documented by long-term records of the German Weather Service. In contrast, there is hardly any data on the temperature development in the ground, as the measurements are very complex. In a project coordinated by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), a team of researchers has now examined the development of ground temperature in more detail.

Deep in the sea, there is apparently another biological solution to the global plastic waste problem: researchers from the universities of Kiel, Hamburg and Düsseldorf have discovered an enzyme in a microorganism from the deep sea that breaks down the plastic polyethylene terephthalate, or PET for short. PET is the main component of many plastic bottles.

The European Union invests 6 million euros in a research network that aims to improve the barley cereal plant in several respects by 2028. BEST-CROP (Boosting photosynthESis To deliver novel CROPs for the circular bioeconomy) is the name of the project involving 18 European plant breeding companies, straw processing companies and academic plant research institutions. They want to adapt barley to dry climates, increase its yields and optimize the stalks for material use.

Alongside wind and solar energy, the production of biogas is an important pillar for becoming independent of fossil fuels. With currently around 9,600 biogas plants, Germany is the world's largest producer of biogas. Plant or animal residues are fermented into biogas with the help of anaerobic bacteria. However, the potential of the plants is far from being exhausted.

At the UN Summit in New York on September 18 and 19, the heads of state and government of the United Nations discussed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With the 2030 Agenda, the United Nations set ambitious goals in 2015 to advance the protection of natural resources, social justice and economic development worldwide by 2030.

In nature, each plant competes for the best growing conditions. They are therefore confronted with diverse and changing environmental influences and usually grow in less densely packed neighborhoods than cultivated plants in the open. In addition to environmental conditions that are as uniform and stable as possible, there is also a certain amount of shading by neighboring plants due to plant density. Researchers at the IPK Leibniz Institute have now shown that a plant's selfish characteristics are often detrimental to agriculture.

Singapore and the USA are the only countries in the world where meat from the laboratory is already approved. In the EU, cell-based meat is not yet available for sale. Applications have not yet been submitted to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), not least because the approval procedure for novel foods covered by the so-called Novel Food Regulation is extremely strict. The first step towards an application for approval has now been taken by the Heidelberg-based biotechnology company The Cultivated B (TCB).