In many ways, rapeseed is a very special crop. For one thing, it is still relatively young - oilseed rape originated only about 1,000 years ago by a random cross between turnip (Chinese cabbage) and cabbage. On the other hand, with its 38 chromosomes Brassica napus has a very large and complex genome, with little of it known until a few years ago. Now, the yellow-flowering oilseed is used in many industrial areas, but there is a risk that today's rape varieties will soon no longer meet the harvest and environmental requirements.

In biotechnology, many substances are extracted from microorganisms that function as living cell factories. In order to cultivate such organisms as efficiently as possible, especially on an industrial scale, oftentimes numerous and tedious tests are necessary. As part of a collaborative research project, Ralf Pörtner at the Hamburg University of Technology together with colleagues from industry and research has developed a digital tool for the optimization of biotechnological processes. 

Milk and dairy products such as cheese or yoghurt are some of the food-favorites in Germany and their sales have been steadily increasing for years. Especially so-called functional dairy products such as digestive yoghurt drinks or cholesterol-lowering spreads have conquered the market in recent years. But what do these products really contain, what exactly are the health-promoting components of milk and how can they be used specifically? And last but not least: how and why does the consumer decide to buy a product?

They live in hot springs and rank among the oldest forms of life on the planet: Archaea are microorganisms with sometimes remarkable metabolic pathways. This also includes the ability to use carbon dioxide from the air and to incorporate it into chemical compounds. If it were possible to transfer these abilities to bacteria that are easy to use biotechnologically, it would not only be possible to use the greenhouse gas for a meaningful purpose, but also to replace crude oil as a raw material.

The standard process for producing collagen films has been established for 125 years. Now, a consortium of four partners has been looking for ways to to this a more sustainable and homogeneous way in the project "BioPro: Biotechnological process development for novel collagen-based membranes". The Weinheim-based company NATURIN Viscofan GmbH tested the practical suitability of one of its products: a nature-identical casing for sausages.

The multinational research project lasted about ten years, from 1990 to 2000, and for the first time produced reference data on the complete genome of the most important model plant, the thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana). Today, an individual genome can be deciphered in just a few hours, and molecular biology has developed so rapidly. In many cases, the bottleneck of genome research is no longer the chemical analysis of the genetic material, but the subsequent data processing and evaluation.

Be it in the household, at sports or in the car: objects made of fiber composites are ubiquitous without us being aware of them. The combination of two components, such as a plastic matrix with fibers, creates a high-strength and lightweight material that meets a wide range of requirements. The range of applications extends from skateboards and leg prostheses to aircraft fuselages.

Enzymes are now indispensable for many industrial sectors. Their potential to naturally refine products or accelerate production processes as catalysts makes protein molecules secret stars of biotechnological processes. Detergent manufacturers in particular can no longer do without these multi-talents. More and more textiles today consist of a mixture of fibers - such as cotton and polyester.  In addition, there are new materials for outdoor textiles made mainly from synthetic fibers. This also poses new challenges for detergents.

Along with soya and corn, sugar cane is one of the most important crops in Brazil. It is used to produce not only sugar but also biofuels such as ethanol. However, processing produces enormous amounts of bagasse - fibrous remains - which up to now were not used efficiently. Instead, the lignocellulosic residual material is burnt in inefficient incinerators and usually disposed of in landfills or scattered on fields. But ash is more than just burned biomass. It contains nutrients such as phosphorus, which are essential for plant growth.