Biotechnology/Systems biology

Meat substitute products have long been established on the market. To encourage even more people to eat alternative meat products, the products must be able to compete with the animal original not only in terms of taste, but also texture and mouthfeel. At the TU Berlin, Anja Maria Wagemans studies the structure formation of such innovative foods. For her research, the food technologist and junior professor was awarded the Young Scientist Award, which comes with 10,000 euros in prize money. The award was presented in May by Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner.

Only recently, traceless launched the biomaterial they had developed with a pilot product in the form of a sock holder. Just under three years after its founding, the young bioeconomy start-up is now going into large-scale production. The team led by traceless founders Johanna Baare and Anne Lamp has just received a grant of 5 million euros from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment.

They are young and they have innovative ideas in store: kids and young people aged up to 21 who put their talents to the test in the STEM competition Jugend forscht. This year's winners were announced in Bremen on May 21 in the presence of the Federal Minister of Education and Research, Bettina Stark-Watzinger. A total of 173 young STEM talents qualified for this year's national finals in seven subject areas with 108 innovative research projects.

Proteins are an indispensable part of nutrition. They are made up of amino acids, including L-alanine. Until now, most alanine has come from plant sources, which are mainly cultivated in the global south. The fields needed to grow it occupy large areas and affect biodiversity there. A research team at the Technical University of Munich has now presented an alternative production route: It is a biotechnological process based on the use of CO2 and green hydrogen as raw materials.

Innovations in the field of life sciences secure the food production of the future and make it more sustainable. To accelerate innovation through start-ups in the fields of agriculture, food technology and biotechnology, the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and UnternehmerTUM have launched the TUM Venture Lab Food-Agro-Biotech (FAB). The Lab FAB is one of now eleven TUM Venture Labs, which are designed to support TUM researchers and students in entrepreneurial spin-offs in the various fields of technology.

Less than two years ago, a team of researchers at the University of Leipzig reported that they had discovered an enzyme that degrades the plastic polyethylene terephthalate - better known as PET - at high speed. Now the experts have followed up and improved this enzyme even further.

It has been ten years since AMSilk first processed biotechnologically produced spider silk into fibers. Today, the artificial spider silk threads called Biosteel are used in numerous high-tech products such as running shoes, watch straps, door handle loops and aircraft wings. Spider silk proteins are also used in medicine and cosmetics.

In vehicle construction, in aviation, in the furniture industry or in medical technology: Composite materials are used wherever lightweight and load-bearing elements are required. By combining different materials, composite materials are created that have certain properties and meet specific requirements. However, conventional composites are usually made from fossil raw materials such as concrete and are not sustainable. Not only does the production process cause significant CO2 emissions. Recycling is also energy-intensive.

The end of fossil raw materials such as crude oil, natural gas and coal is approaching. Although they are now mainly used for energy, companies are also looking for sustainable alternatives for material use. At the "Renewable Raw Materials Conference" in Siegburg in May, the "Renewable Raw Material of the Year 2023" will be voted on. From 30 applications, the organizer nova-Institut and the conference advisory board have selected six candidates for the final - including two German start-ups.