Biorefineries turn biomass into useful chemicals or raw material that can be processed into bio-based products. But where are they located? And what type of biomass are they using? To answer these questions the Cologne-based nova-Institute conducted a comprehensive survey of all European biorefineries over the summer of 2017.

The western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera) is a devastating pest of maize plants, which has spread throughout Europe. This year’s pest monitoring in Germany revealed that the number of beetles caught in traps has again multiplied in comparison to the previous year. Several attempts to target this crop pest biologically by applying entomopathogenic nematodes have failed.

Using the "DNA-origami-technique" researchers can fold single DNA strands into a three-dimensional double-stranded structure. Biophysicist Hendrik Dietz, Professor of Biomolecular Nanotechnology at TU Munich, is an expert of this field and has now developed a new way to make the tiny DNA origami structures larger by transfering viral construction principles to DNA origami technology. This enables him and his team to design and build much larger structures than before – now on the scale of viruses and cell organelles.

There is a lively start-up scene in Germany. It is supported and funded by the federal ministry as well as other sponsors via the Business Angels Netzwerk Deutschland e.V. (BAND). Many of the new businesses develop innovative ideas regarding energy and resource efficiency and are thus thematically on point for the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) drawn up by the United Nations as part of the Agenda 2030.

The number of people on the planet and thus the number of hungry mouths to feed is constantly growing and is expected to exceed 9 billion by the year 2050. Thus, there is an urgent need to improve crop yield for food output. To meet this demand, researchers lead by Manajit Hayer-Hartl at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Munich aim to increase the efficiency of photosynthesis and thus crop productivity by artificially engineering the plant Rubisco enzyme.

Plants produce a number of metabolites with diverse functions. Many of these metabolites are not only useful to the plant itself, but also have positive effects in humans and animals. However, the extraction of these compounds in sufficient quantities from the naturally producing resources is often laborious and costly. While some metabolites can be produced in bacteria, so far none can be manufactured in plants themselves.

The skin is the largest organ of the human body and fulfils a number of vital functions. However, the skin is also under constant “attack” – by the sun, water or allergens in clothing and cosmetics. In order to minimise or even exclude allergens in such products, they are tested on skin models in cell culture. For a better understanding of skin physiology the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences (MUAS) and BRAIN AG are developing a new three-dimensional skin model with the aim to provide new insights for health care and cosmetic applications.

Whether pathogenic fungi or rising temperatures: plants are increasingly suffering the consequences of climate change, putting pressure on agriculture as a food sector. What mechanisms have plants developed to protect themselves against pests or changing environmental conditions? Marburg biochemist Gert Bange and Brandenburg molecular biologist Philip Wigge are addressing precisely these questions. The two scientists have now been awarded the prestigious ERC grant from the European Research Council for their pioneering research.

Biotechnologically produced vaccines are currently the hot topic in the fight against the Corona pandemic. And with the mRNA vaccine manufacturers BioNTech and CureVac, two German companies have abruptly advanced to become global stars of the biotechnology industry in 2020.