10.03.2016 Product
Textiles Plants
When brewing coffee, less than ten percent of the coffee bean’s aroma is released. The rest ends up in the compost bin. These coffee grounds, however, are an ideal raw material for the production of sustainable textiles.
10.02.2016 Product
Consumables Microorganisms
Some bioactive ingredients, including enzymes, can help to smooth out wrinkles, remove impurities from the skin or prevent irritation of the skin. These beneficial ingredients can be produced with the help of new processes in fermentation.
04.07.2016 Success story
Pharmaceutical industry Microorganisms Agriculture sciences
Researchers at the joint AlBioTex project have found a way of using Azotobacter vinelandii bacteria to produce tailor-made alginates for use in wound dressings.
23.03.2016 Success story
Agriculture and forestry Fungi Forestry
German fungus researchers from Tübingen have developed a special substrate of biochar that will help young plants to take root and to sustainably protect against diseases.
09.03.2016 Success story
Pharmaceutical industry Microorganisms Food technology
As part of the GOBI strategic alliance, three companies are actively looking for new, beneficial bacteria for the manufacture of bioactive products in the animal feed, healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. The main objective: to find a bio-based alternative to conventional antibiotics.
17.12.2015 Success story
Pharmaceutical industry Microorganisms Nutritional sciences
The Berlin-based company Organobalance has developed a process that protects compounds such as vitamins, trace elements and fatty acids with a natural casing.
Researcher Profile
Pharmaceutical industry unspecific Chemistry
Sonja Jost is an expert in the area of chiral catalysis. The engineer is the director of Dexlechem, a Berlin-based start-up that has already begun to make the business of synthesising drugs easier on the environment.
17.07.2014 Success story
Food unspecific Biotechnology/Systems biology
Cough mixtures that taste sweet, but are still healthy - natural sweeteners suche as these are in the focus of the strategic alliance NatLifE 2020.The consortium of 22 partners from industry and academia have received millions of euros from the BMBF.
22.12.2014 Success story
Chemistry Microorganisms Biotechnology/Systems biology
Residential areas and industry produce significant quantities of sewage sludge, wastewater and waste materials – otherwise known as ‘waste streams’. Hidden inside these streams are substantial quantities of carbon that remain essentially unexploited. For the chemicals industry, this carbon could serve as a fundamental building block for other useful substances.
Researcher Profile
Pharmaceutical industry unspecific Biotechnology/Systems biology
Dagmar Köhler-Repp was in her mid-twenties when she took the brave step into self-employment. Immediately after completing her studies, the graduate founded the veterinary vaccine company Ripac-Labor.
07.08.2015 Success story
Agriculture and forestry Plants Nutritional sciences
The fruit tree Asimina triloba has been known for its nutritious fruit for a long time. German plant researchers are now working on propagating the pawpaw in the laboratory to make them fit for the fruit farm.
06.08.2015 Success story
Food Plants Nutritional sciences
The answer for all vegan and lactose-intolerant ice cream fans: a special treat is now available in the freezer section in many supermarkets – lupin ice cream. The vegetable protein that the ice cream is based on is produced using a sophisticated technology, which recently won the German Future Prize.
09.04.2015 Success story
Pharmaceutical industry Microorganisms Biotechnology/Systems biology
A team of researchers headed by Werner E.G. Müller at the University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, have made an interesting discovery in their search for biocompatible materials for use in medicine. The source: marine sponges.
Researcher Profile
Pharmaceutical industry Plants Agriculture sciences
Yuri Gleba has developed a technology to produce drugs with tobacco plants. With his companies Nomad Biosciences and Icon Genetics the scientist played a role in the fight against Ebola.
06.04.2016 News
Energy Plants Biodiversity
The Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) announced the results of the first study on the European bioeconomy at its general assembly.
18.04.2016 News
Consumables Plants Biotechnology/Systems biology
Specialty chemical manufacturer Evonik plans to increase its use of sustainably produced ingredients for cosmetics in the future.
01.08.2016 News
Construction Microorganisms Biotechnology/Systems biology
Buildings are built to last, at least that is the intention. Over time, however, moisture can destroy the mortar that binds together bricks or stones, for example, when cracks from as a result of frost.
Researcher Profile
Chemistry Microorganisms Biotechnology/Systems biology
Cells are living factories, each containing numerous reaction chambers. The Freiburg-based chemist Stefan Schiller wants to give cells entirely new chambers in the form of artificial vesicles, and in this way encourage them to produce new and useful substances.
03.08.2016 News
Consumables Plants Biodiversity
The bioeconomy – economy based on biological knowledge and resources can help to achieve key points of the UN sustainability goals and is central to the implementation of climate and sustainable goals.
Researcher Profile
Agriculture and forestry Microorganisms Biotechnology/Systems biology
Enemies are disposed of by the cutting-out of genetic material – this simple trick served as inspiration for French–born Emmanuelle Charpentier, ultimately leading her to revolutionise molecular biology. Today, at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig, Charpentier continues to conduct research and develop her exceptionally precise gene-scissors for use in biotechnology-related fields. 
09.08.2016 News
Textiles Microorganisms Biotechnology/Systems biology
Waterproof items are popular with the young and old. However, the waterproof layer made from chemicals is does not degrade well.
17.08.2016 News
Consumables Waste Energy technologies
Garden plant remains will soon be used to barbeque – even in German gardens.
23.08.2016 News
Consumables Plants Agriculture sciences
Algae have many talents. They are not only important ingredients for the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry; it has now been proven that the tiny green microorganisms can also be used as a suitable alternative source for the aviation fuel kerosene.
26.08.2016 News
unspecific Plants unspecific
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, is one of the worst environmental disasters of recent year. After the explosion at the BP operated drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, an estimated 800 million litres of crude oil spilled into the sea.
Researcher Profile
Pharmaceutical industry Microorganisms Chemistry
The microbiologist Ulrich Rabausch is a scientist who now wants turn his dream of entrepreneurship into reality, aided by a millions-strong grant from the German Research Ministry’s GO-Bio competition.
07.12.2015 News
Consumables Plants Agriculture sciences
Healthy nutrients are found in many fruits and vegetables, but vast quantities must be consumed to achieve an efficient dose of the natural compounds because they are often low-concentrated in plants.
18.12.2015 News
unspecific Microorganisms Biotechnology/Systems biology
Algae are a rich source of valuable substances, which are prized in both the pharma and cosmetic industries. But there’s a lot more than meets the eye with the microscopic organism: their supporting skeletal structure is made from a substance called alginate.
Researcher Profile
Pharmaceutical industry Plants Biotechnology/Systems biology
Jörg Riesmeier already worked as biochemical scientist as a well as a fund manager. In his recent years, he helped putting the industrial biotechnology-specialised company Direvo on a new course.
09.12.2014 Success story
Automobile Plants Agriculture sciences
Components from the sap of the caper spurge plant could be an ingredient in future biofuels. And because the plant grows well in poor soils, there would be no competition with food crops.
30.10.2014 Success story
Consumables Microorganisms Biotechnology/Systems biology
In many industries, enzymes are the secret star of the show. For example, the tiny biocatalysts are a key component of modern detergents. Now, the Monheim-based biotech company Evocatal is coordinating the ‘Functionalisation of Polymers (FuPol)’ strategic alliance to further unlock the potential of enzymes.
08.12.2016 News
Consumables unspecific Biotechnology/Systems biology
EU consumers have minor knowledge on bioplastics but unrealistically high expectations that can not be fulfilled, researchers said at 11th European Bioplastics Conference in Berlin.
02.02.2016 News
Energy Waste Biotechnology/Systems biology
Lithium-ion batteries are the energy source for many electronic devices. But the alkaline material is expensive and its extraction is damaging to the environment. A much more environment friendly and cost effective alternative, however, are sodium-ion batteries.
05.02.2016 News
unspecific unspecific Chemistry
Hessen-based company Brain AG has almost made the jump from technology startup to listed company, in spite of recent turbulence on the stock market.
12.02.2016 News
unspecific Plants Agriculture sciences
The residents of these high-rise buildings are not your usual inner city residents – tomatoes grow on the fifth floor, herbs and cucumbers on the third. This is how engineers from the German Center for Aerospace (DLR) in Bremen imagine agriculture of the future.
18.02.2016 News
Chemistry Plants Biotechnology/Systems biology
Chicory is popular as a lettuce for its slightly bitter taste and can be eaten raw, baked, roasted or stuffed. Favoured for its yellowish-white creamy head of leaves, chicory is grown underground in the absence of sunlight to prevent the leaves turning green or opening up, with only the tips of the leaves showing above the surface.
25.02.2016 News
unspecific Plants Biotechnology/Systems biology
Since the discovery of the gene editing technique CRISPR/CAS9, the celebrated genetic “scissors” have become a staple of the genome editing toolbox, along with other methods such as TALENS and ZFNs.
05.01.2016 News
unspecific Plants Agriculture sciences
Phosphate is not just a vital element for humans, in addition to nitrogen, the mineral is one of the most important plant nutrients. Since Germany does not have its own natural resources, the raw material has to be imported in large quantities from abroad where it is extracted from mines.
07.01.2016 News
unspecific unspecific unspecific
The Hessen town of Zwingenberg has been one of the main locations of German industrial biotechnology. Originally a technology start-up, today Brain AG has grown into a corporation of six companies with 240 employees.
15.01.2016 News
Food Plants Agriculture sciences
After rice, wheat and maize are the most important food crops worldwide. But climate change threatens the harvest and consequently the global food production for a growing world population.
18.01.2016 News
unspecific Plants Agriculture sciences
The International Green Week is once again in full swing. From 15th to 24th January the exhibition halls below the Berlin Radio Tower are dedicated to everything to do with agriculture, nutrition and horticulture.
05.07.2016 News
unspecific unspecific unspecific
The world of oceans and seas is the focus of the current Science Year 2016*17. It also wants people to be made aware of the largest ecosystem on Earth, which as a result of global warming, economic efficiency and pollution, is under immense environmental pressure.
12.07.2016 News
unspecific unspecific unspecific
Thanks to new innovations, and not just in biotechnology, speciality chemical company Evonik has increased the value of its innovation projects by half a billion euros.
18.07.2016 News
unspecific unspecific unspecific
These voices have weight. The debate on genetically modified plants in agriculture has garnered new nourishment from the ranks of top-level research. In an open letter to the governments, 110 Nobel Prize winners, including six German Laureates, have campaigned for the deployment of green genetic engineering.
26.07.2016 News
unspecific unspecific unspecific
It could be one of the largest acquisitions in the chemical industry. Yet the planned Bayer billion dollar takeover of Monsanto is faltering.
20.06.2016 News
unspecific unspecific unspecific
The agenda of the Open Source Circular Economy Days (OSCE Days) held in Berlin from 9 to 13 June showed how a circular economy without waste can work in practice.
28.06.2016 News
Agriculture and forestry Plants Agriculture sciences
Chemical and pharmaceutical giant Bayer have formed an agreement with US aerospace company Planetary Resources to develop applications and products based on satellite imagery.
08.03.2016 News
unspecific unspecific unspecific
German chemicals giant BASF is negotiating with Dutch chemical technology company Avantium to launch a joint venture producing polymer building blocks from renewable resources.
23.03.2016 News
unspecific unspecific Agriculture sciences
Spurned by Swiss Syngenta earlier this year, Monsanto is still looking to expand. According to press reports, the US agribusiness giant is in talks with Bayer concerning the German company’s seed and crop protection business.
11.05.2016 News
unspecific unspecific unspecific
Catalysts such as enzymes can stimulate chemical processes. They are also the key to transforming chemical substances in efficient and resource-saving ways. The sustainable potential of these helpful compounds for the global economy is huge.
17.05.2016 News
unspecific unspecific unspecific
The Technical University of Munich is expanding its activities in the area of synthetic biology in teaching and research. With a grant of €11.5 million, the Werner Siemens Foundation has kick-started the launch of the teaching and research domain Synthetic Biotechnology at the Technical University of Munich (TUM).
25.05.2016 News
unspecific unspecific Agriculture sciences
The primary mission of the new EU-funded BiodivERsA project "STACCATO" is to advance the long-term sustainable development of land use systems against risks of global change.
03.11.2016 News
unspecific unspecific unspecific
While DG Research has delayed its update on the European Bioeconomy Strategy and Action Plan until next June, the Central and Eastern Bioregions presented a blueprint that proposes key actions aimed at integrating the goals of the European Commission’s circular economy and the bioeconomy strategies.
07.11.2016 News
unspecific Plants unspecific
Geneticists from Potsdam have cracked a century-old puzzle: They have discovered a gene in primroses that controls the length of its female reproductive organs.
10.11.2016 News
unspecific unspecific unspecific
How can sustainable economic activity in Germany be encouraged? A German government advisory committee presented recommendations at the Green Economy Conference in Berlin.
18.11.2016 News
Textiles Microorganisms Materials sciences
Adidas has presented the world’s first lightweight racing shoe made by recombinantly produced silk fibers.
23.12.2016 News
unspecific Plants Agriculture sciences
Researchers from Karlsruhe have developed a system that observes and measures rice while it grows. The measurement technique is designed to accelerate the breeding of resistant plants.
29.12.2016 News
unspecific unspecific unspecific
An extract made from special lactic acid bacteria treats dry, itching and stinging skin in a targeted way. This was revealed by a clinical study carried out by the Organobalance GmbH company from Berlin.
30.11.2016 News
Food unspecific Nutritional sciences
According to official statistics, nearly 2.5 million tonnes of cheese were produced in Germany in 2015, of which over half were exports. This makes Germany one of the leading cheese exporters within the European Union.
16.11.2015 News
unspecific unspecific unspecific
Bioplastics may be biobased, but they are not necessarily environmentally friendly. In addition, the basic chemical building blocks for bioplastic production are still mostly produced from the starchy fruits of agricultural crops.
26.11.2015 News
unspecific unspecific unspecific
At the Global Bioeconomy Summit in Berlin, about 700 participants from 82 nations set themselves the goal of increasing the involvement of the bioeconomy in sustainable development and the battle against climate change.
