Beer

Not only beer but also bread is very popular in Germany. . However, bread is unfortunately one of the foods most often thrown away after fruit and vegetables. According to a study by the WWF, more than a third of all baked goods, namely 1.7 million tonnes, are thrown away in Germany every year. To produce these baked goods, about 398,000 hectares of farmland must be cultivated and 2.46 million tonnes of greenhouse gases are emitted.

Leibniz-IZW (2021): How the loss of forest fauna undermines the achievement of the SDGs

The current loss of biodiversity is unprecedented and the rate of species extinction exceeds comparable natural processes many times over. This loss of abundance and diversity of wildlife caused by human intervention is particularly pronounced in the tropics. A new study by scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) and the Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS) looks at the link between increasingly animal-less tropical forests and the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

Discovering new sources of protein

Proteins form an important part of our diet. The vast majority of vital nutrients are still covered by animal protein sources such as meat. Yet factory farming, pesticide use and climate change are increasingly endangering soils and groundwater and putting pressure on agriculture. The switch to new protein sources can be a solution. This is where the FutureProteins project comes in. Researchers from six Fraunhofer institutes are working together to develop novel protein sources as an alternative to meat and turn them into new food products.

Polishing up synthetic fibres with enzymes

This is hoped to assist in the development of innovative products for the textile industry and for construction chemistry. Thereby, newly discovered enzymes will be employed to targetedly modify natural products or synthetic fibres and to equip them with useful properties. To pursue these goals, the nine partners from industry and higher-education research have a total of €8 million up to 2018, half of which is managed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in the context of  ‘Innovation Initiative Industrial Biotechnology’.

Biofuels: it’s all in the milk

At first glance, the evergreen Caper Spurge (Euphorbia lathyris) is a less-than-impressive plant. Nevertheless, this herb does indeed pack some punch: the seeds contain 40-50 percent fatty oil. This abundantly flowing ‘latex’ also contains 8-12 percent volatile unsaturated hydrocarbons known as terpenes. What as really attracting the interest of scientists is the terpenes that take the form of energy-rich ‘triterpenoids’. This is because they represent a possible additive for biofuels.

Precious single cell oils born of waste water

Today, the strategic alliance ‘ZeroCarbonFootprint – ZeroCarbFP’ is exploring the ways in which this hidden potential could be recovered. The twelve participating partners in the alliance, which officially began work in 2013, are hunting for microorganisms that can use the carbon-rich wastes as substrates and in the process convert them into valuable building blocks and substances for industry.

Biological protective sheathing for teeth

Recorded as the oldest species on the planet, scientists have discovered a bio-silicate in sponges that can be used for new kinds of medical coatings, for example in dentistry or for bone implants. Supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the company NanotecMARIN GmbH has pushed forward the development of biotechnological production processes for the material. The first tests on patients are set to begin.