The market for meat substitutes may still be small, but it is growing rapidly. Microbial protein could play a particularly important role as an alternative to beef, researchers from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) report in the scientific journal Nature.

Biobased materials and resource-saving methods and processes are the key to a sustainable future that protects the climate and the environment. For this purpose, the start-up competition "PlanB - Biobased.Business.Bayern" has been launched, which is now starting its fifth round. Start-ups and bio-entrepreneurs who have a so-called Plan B ready for a world free of fossil raw materials can apply for funding again since May 9, 2022.

Poplars are not only relevant for the paper and pulp industry - but they can do what plant research had not expected: Their defence hormones salicylic acid and jasmonic acid reinforce each other. In contrast, these two hormones block each other in annual plants such as the model plant thale cress, which is popular in research. Either one or the other defence pathway is particularly active.

Sugar is an integral part of many foods and it is hard to imagine a household without it. The white crystalline sweetener is obtained from sugar cane, but also from the domestic sugar beet. However, the cultivation of the sugar beet is laborious, because weeds have to be removed regularly and is therefore declining in some regions. In conventional farming, pesticides are used that are harmful to the environment. In organic farming, the pests are removed with a hoe. Both methods are not only time-consuming, but ultimately expensive.

Seagrass removes carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere more sustainably than previously thought. This is the conclusion of a study published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, which examined seagrass meadows off the island of Elba.

Climate change and species extinction are considered the two greatest global crises of our time. An international study published in the journal "Global Change Biology" shows that both problems can often be combated with the same measures. In the study, experts show that 14 of the 21 species protection targets that the United Nations is expected to adopt at the UN Conference on Biological Diversity in Kunming in the fall of 2022 will also greatly slow down global warming.

Nature is once again the model: Many chemical reactions require a lot of energy to take place quickly or even at all. Living cells have solved this by enzymes that act as catalysts for the reactions. Often, these enzymes carry metal ions in their reactive center. A new research alliance now wants to mimic this principle in order to reduce the need for energy and raw materials for important chemical reactions. The project, called BioOxCat, is funded by the German Research Foundation with 3.3 million euros for four years.

Even though more and more people are adopting a vegetarian or even vegan diet, for many, meat products are still an integral part of their daily diet. In the EU alone, per capita consumption is around 80 kilograms of meat per year. For a long time now, it has not only been environmental organizations that have been campaigning for a reduction in meat consumption and pointing out the consequences of animal husbandry. Numerous studies have also established that eating less meat is not only healthy, but also sustainable.