The demand for macroalgae is growing worldwide: aquatic plants are cultivated as food and animal feed, but are also used for the production of cosmetics, dietary supplements or as additives in animal feed because of their bioactive ingredients. Algae breeding is particularly widespread in China, where the alga Laminaria is of particular importance.

Parsley is one of the most popular culinary herbs. It is rich in essential oils and vitamin C and is ideally suited for refining salads and savoury dishes. But the herbaceous plant is currently causing gardeners problems: it will not grow. Plant virologists from the Leibniz Institute DSMZ - German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures GmbH in Braunschweig - have now found the cause.

Nano-carriers that are loaded with active substances and release these straight to the diseased cells are already in use in cancer medicine. Now this "magic bullet" could soon also cure plant diseases. A team led by Frederik Wurm from the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI) has been working for several years on establishing this treatment method for diseased vines.

"Here in Heidelberg it has become very clear: We can do this. We have gained new insights and partners and forged new alliances.

In recent years, CRISPR-Cas9 technology and genome editing have opened up the possibility of modifying genetic material with unprecedented accuracy. Although the specificity of the interventions does not appear to be as high as originally hoped, research is continuously improving them. The Max Planck Society has now published its position on its use in humans, particularly in the germ line, but also in plant breeding research.

Chemical herbicides have long been the panacea against unloved plants in the field. However, the use of pesticides such as glyphosate has long been controversial and the consequences for the environment - especially biodiversity - are alarming. In addition to new resistant plant varieties, researchers are therefore working on new technologies to counteract the trend with environmentally friendly methods.

The varroa mite is the greatest threat to the western bee (Apis mellifera). The tiny parasite Varroa destructor feeds on its body fluid and attacks larvae in the hive, damaging its offspring and causing entire hives to die. "After about 18 months after the first infection, a hive is dead if nothing is done about it," says Dr. Stanislav Balouchev of the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research. Together with Katharina Landfester, the researcher hopes to use smart technology to protect bees from this scourge.

The potato is the third most important cultivated plant in the world and several thousand varieties have emerged since the beginning of its cultivation. And yet it is a "problem child" for plant breeders, as its biological properties do not make it easy for them: the potato's genetic material is tetraploid, which means that there are four copies of each gene, each of which can be different. It is difficult to tell which version - or even which combination of versions - promises the best properties for the plant.

Plant pests and infectious diseases destroy large parts of agricultural harvests every year. The losses would be even greater if there were no chemical-synthetic pesticides. But they also have their downsides: “Too high a dosage can lead to contamination of the groundwater and deterioration in soil fertility," explains Frank Ewert, Scientific Director of the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF).

Many countries have already put the bioeconomy on the political agenda to drive social and economic change in the country. According to a study by the Bioeconomy Council, an advisory body to the German government, 49 countries - including Brazil - have launched bioeconomy programmes to date. International cooperation is becoming increasingly important on the road to a bioeconomy.