Biotechnology/Systems biology

For researchers, plant characteristics such as growth height, seed size, photosynthetic performance or flower color are crucial factors in finding out how plants adapt to their environment or how they can respond to future climatic changes. However, it it is not only the appearance of a plant that is crucial for its development, but also the invisible part - the root system. So what does the appearance of the plant reveal about the roots? Is there a connection between the upper and lower features?

Earlier this year, Peter H. Seeberger was awarded the International Green Chemistry Prize for the production of a sustainable and cost-effective antimalarial agent. Now the biochemist from the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam wants to drive structural change in Lusatia in Saxony and the Central German mining region together with his team.

About four kilograms of microplastics per person enter the environment every year in Germany as a result of washing synthetic fibers. The tiny particles then enter waterways via wastewater, where they are ingested by fish. However, some aquatic animals have a filter system in their gills that separates food particles from the water and thus also filters out microplastics.

Chocolate is delicious - but there is literally a dark side to the sweet treat: Cocoa farming is often neither environmentally friendly nor fair. There is criticism of the high water consumption, the frequent clearing of rainforests for new cultivation areas, and child labor on some cocoa plantations. With QOA, the Munich-based start-up NxFoods wants to develop a plant-based chocolate that tastes like the original but does not use cocoa, making it both fair and sustainably produced.

Bioplastics such as PLA (polylactide) are now used in many areas - from food packaging to dowels or children's toys. Nevertheless, their share is still low compared to conventional plastics based on fossil raw materials. The same applies to composites, which have to exhibit certain properties and therefore consist of different plastics. Here, too, there are now partially or completely bio-based materials. Researchers at the IfBB at Hannover University of Applied Sciences now want to prove that bioplastics can also withstand high temperatures and stresses.

At the third edition of the Science Year discussion series "Karliczek. Impulse.", the spotlight was on industrial biotechnology and its little helpers. A free online talk entitled "Biotechnology makes it possible - innovations for greater sustainability" was held on June 16.

It's a win-win solution that has so far mostly failed because of the price: Cell-based meat could allow meat lovers to consume without moral, environmental, and climate concerns. There have been research projects on this since the 1970s, but commercialization has always failed due to production costs. Merck, the Darmstadt-based chemical and pharmaceutical company, now wants to change this and is seeking research cooperation with Darmstadt Technical University and Tufts University in the United States.

AMSilk is accelerating its growth: The world's first commercial supplier of high-tech biopolymers made from artificial silk has received further financing from its existing as well as additional investors. This means that the company, which is based in Martinsried near Munich, has access to an additional 29 million euros. The biotech specialist intends to use this money to "accelerate industrial scale-up and expand commercial operations to new markets."

The transformation to a biobased economy is in full swing. Start-ups, but also established large corporations, are increasingly producing biobased products using new, often biotechnological production processes. The economic development agency of the German state of Hesse therefore organized the online conference "Biofabrik" on May 25 and 26, 2021, at which experts from business and science presented current developments.

Meat is not the problem, but the way it is produced - that is the credo of the German start-up Innocent Meat. The young company led by CEO Laura Gertenbach and CTO Patrick Nonnenmacher wants to drive the transformation from traditional livestock farming to a sustainable and efficient model via cell culture-based meat.