Biotechnology/Systems biology

When it comes to storing and loading heavy goods, industry often turns to so-called Euro pallets. These load carriers are usually made of wood, can be used universally and can carry up to 1,500 kilograms. Although there are also pallets made of plastic, these are still used quite rarely compared to the wooden variant. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT in Pfinztal near Karlsruhe have developed a high-performance lightweight pallet made of foamed biopolymers.

AMSilk's biotech spider silk proteins are already used in a range of products. Just last year, the world's first commercial supplier of biotech silk polymers raised a multi-million investment from new investors to expand its market presence outside Europe.

For agriculture, it is important that crops are as high-yielding as possible and robust against diseases. Breeding aims to pass on useful properties of plants. But in plant breeding, these useful traits are often lost if the genes on the chromosomes are too far apart. Using the molecular gene scissors CRISPR-Cas, researchers can specifically modify or switch off genes.

In 2020, the bioeconomy strategy "Zukunft.Bioökonomie.Bayern" (Future.Bioeconomy.Bavaria) paved the way for a sustainable and ecologically responsible as well as socially just and thus sustainable way of life and economy in Bavaria. The use of renewable raw materials plays a central role in this.

When people see a farm today, only few think of agriculture's actual task of producing vital food. Instead, younger people in particular associate it primarily with problems relating to animal welfare, nature conservation and climate protection. The RESPECTfarms project aims to change this - by developing concepts for how farms can produce cultured meat instead of traditional livestock farming in the future. Cultured meat is produced by multiplying animal cells in a bioreactor. Animals do not have to be kept or killed for this purpose.

Microalgae can produce many valuable substances, from dyes to omega-3 fatty acids or proteins, and are therefore a source of hope for the bioeconomy. They are not only used by manufacturers of food, animal feed and cosmetics. Microalgae are also becoming increasingly important for the production of biofuel and new plastics. The cultivation of these aquatic plants could also open up new business areas in agriculture.

Overfishing of the oceans is a global problem. According to the environmental protection organization WWF, 33% of commercial fish stocks are affected. In Europe, the situation is even more dramatic: In the Mediterranean and Black Seas, as much as 62.2% of stocks are considered overfished. Meanwhile, however, demand for fish continues to rise. Food tech startup Bluu Seafood wants to rebalance overfished seas with alternatives made from cultured fish cells.

Fluorine is a small atom with a big effect: For decades, the pharmaceutical industry has been using it to improve active medical ingredients. For example, fluorine can improve the binding of an active ingredient to its target molecule, increase the availability of the active ingredient to the body, or change the residence time of the active ingredient in the body. Until now, incorporating fluorine usually required complex chemical syntheses.

Developing industrial biotechnology research in Germany to a top international level - that is the declared goal of the Wacker Chemical Group and the Technical University of Munich (TUM). To achieve this, the two partners have now founded the TUM WACKER Institute for Industrial Biotechnology. The institute is scheduled to commence operations as early as the coming winter semester. Wacker is funding the research there with €6 million spread over six years.