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Imitation leather

In response to the many problems associated with leather production, there is now a purely plant-based leather alternative made from waste from local hemp cultivation: vegan, biodegradable, free of petroleum and chemicals, but with leather-like properties, look and feel.

Better understanding of the natural function of CRISPR

In 2020, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded for the discovery of the CRISPR/Cas gene scissors. The awarding of the prize took place only shortly after the actual date of discovery - a sign of high relevance. The gene scissors make it possible to edit genetic material with extreme precision. Applications range from the treatment of hereditary diseases to the rapid adaptation of important food crops to climate change. However, CRISPR in its original form is not a process devised by humans, but a natural mechanism.

Thermoformable paper as a plastic substitute

There's plastic and paper packaging - and where paper is too fragile, coated paper often serves its purpose. But only pure paper achieves high collection and recycling rates, while plastics often suffer from sorting problems or a lack of processes. Coated paper would have to be separated from the coating before it could be recycled. So what about using paper-based packaging where plastics or coated papers are still common today?

Cultivate bacteria in their habitat

It is a dilemma of microbiology: The most interesting bacteria often live in very specific habitats with conditions that cannot be replicated in the laboratory. Therefore, these microorganisms cannot be cultivated and researched. Countless proteins that could have great potential for medicine or biotechnological applications escape discovery by humans in this way. A team of researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) wants to change this.

WWF (2022): Living Planet Report

With an average decline of 83% of all observed populations, freshwater species are the most affected by the species crisis. The geographic hotspot of species extinction is South and Central America. With an average of 94%, the animal populations studied there have shrunk particularly sharply. According to WWF, the causes of species extinction are all man-made. The main reasons for the species crisis are the destruction of the habitats of many animals and plants, environmental pollution and the climate crisis. 

Not everyone wants the bioeconomic transformation

Bioeconomy and the shift toward a sustainable economy: For most people, this initially sounds like a lot of research, technology and new business models. Dennis Eversberg, on the other hand, thinks first of people and mentalities. Eversberg is a sociologist at the University of Jena and heads the research project "Mentalities in Flux - Worlds of Imagination in Modern Bio-Cycle-Based Societies". Its goal is to understand people's attitudes toward the bioeconomy and what this means for the development of the bioeconomy.

Global Footprint Network (2022): Earth Overshoot Day

As of today, humanity is taking up more arable and pasture land, fishing grounds and forests for the rest of the year than would be available to us mathematically. And we are emitting far more CO2 than the world's forests and oceans can absorb. The Earth Overshoot Day illustrates that the entire world population would need 1.75 Earths to sustainably meet the average global demand for natural resources.

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