Biotechnology/Systems biology

The use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in agriculture is still under intense debate, and national differences of opinion have hindered a pan-European solution thus far. Still, while the global cultivation area of GMOs increased by only 3% from 2015 to 2016 (179.7 million hectares versus 185.1 million hectares), across the EU the area increased by 17% (from 116,870 to 136,363 hectares). Nonetheless, resistance against GMO products remained high in Europe.

The Priority Programs (PP) are a good way to gauge to future of basic research. Typically, PPs are multidisciplinary research projects assessing current topics with state-of-the-art methodologies. Supporting junior researchers and fostering gender equality are important aspects regarding the decision-making process on which PPs will get funded. Including the recently announced PP there are currently 97 PPs being funded by the DFG.

The CRISPR-Cas system is a revolutionary and unique genome editing tool. It is the basis for countless new molecular research projects. And especially the applied research in the biotechnology sector is benefiting from the new approach – which is why it is being hailed as a remarkable breakthrough worldwide. There are currently a number of global projects underway that are investigating how best to apply the genome editing tool – medical researchers and plant breeding programs alike are testing and applying the new method.

Molecular structures are the building blocks of every organism. But because of their minute size, they are extremely difficult to visualize. A team of Dortmund-based researchers headed by Leif Dehmelt at the Technical University and Yaowen Yu at the Chemical Genomics Center of the Max Planck Society developed a new method to depict the inner workings of a cell.

The genome-editing tool CRISPR-Cas is one of the most groundbreaking developments for the field of molecular biotechnology throughout the last decades. Researchers worldwide are free to use this tool. However, the economical use is another matter: companies have to acquire licences from the institutes that patented the innovation.

Amsilk GmbH is the world’s first industrial supplier of synthetic silk biopolymers and aims to make the new uber-material available for use in medical or technical products as well as cosmetics. The Martinsried-based start-up engineered bacteria to produce the spider silk polymer. Those microbes are now producing the coveted proteins in large quantities. Using this white protein powder the bioengineers even manage to produce synthetic fibres.

Nano-technicians can construct fascinating structures with the double-stranded DNA molecule. Based on the principle of base-pairing, distinct DNA sections can be programmed to interact with other DNA segments. This method allows for the construction of molecular nanostructures. In recent years this so-called “DNA-Origami”-technique has gained more and more recognition. If the DNA is programmed accordingly, the molecule will even morph into three-dimensional nano-building blocks and nano-machines.

A vaccination is training the immune system to be able to fight the pathogens in the future. Distinct surface structures on the germs are teaching the body’s defense system the corresponding immune responses for future infections.

Copper is an important bulk metal for the German industry: it is mainly used in the cable and electrical industry, but also in the construction and automotive sectors, and in mechanical engineering. Until now most of it had to be imported either in the form of metal concentrates or crude ore. The world market leader Chile has been an important copper partner for Germany.

The common mussel has more to offer than pearls and tough threads with which it clings to the seafloor. Scientists at the Max-Planck-Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam-Golm have gained first insights into the extraordinary process how mussel attachment fibres, known as byssus threads, are generated in the mollusc foot.