Bioeconomy

Article - 30/04/2009

BiopolymersBiomaterials Cluster partners awarded two prizes

At the recent Hanover Trade Fair several partners in the BiopolymersBiomaterials Cluster were awarded prizes. A project group which includes scientists from BASF SE and Daimler AG were awarded the Prize for Innovative Material Applications from the VDI Society for Materials Engineering. The bio-based ARBOFORM plastic of TECNARO GmbH of Ilsfeld-Auenstein was awarded the Industry Award from the Huber Verlag für Neue Medien.

Article - 27/04/2009

Takata-Petri focuses on human safety

The dream that one day there will be zero victims due to traffic accidents was the reason the company Takata was initially set up. Takata has been focusing on saving human lives for over 75 years. The company is no longer exclusively active in safety technology but it now also develops plastics from renewable resources as the basis for the future production of own products. This it does in cooperation with other partners from research and…

Article - 22/04/2009

Nylon from the biotank

The project Bio-based polyamides through fermentation undertaken by members of the BiopolymersBiomaterials Cluster started in early 2009 and has the goal of using biotechnological methods to produce materials as the basis for polyamides with new properties.

Press release - 21/04/2009

Friend or foe? Just follow your nose!

Working with Prof. Patrizia DEttorre from the University of Copenhagen biologist Prof. Giovanni Galizia from the University of Constance has achieved some completely new and fascinating insights into the communication behaviour of ants.

Article - 07/04/2009

Hendrik Küpper at the service of plants and humans

Prof. Hendrik Küpper had his first experience as a scientist in 1992 when together with his brother and a friend he participated in the German governments Jugend forscht contest. The students came first in biology in the national competition and first in both the Young Europeans Environmental Research Contest and the European Community Contest for Young Scientists. Back then Küpper was already interested in the interaction between heavy metals…

Article - 05/04/2009

JOTEC artificial blood vessel specialist

JOTEC GmbH a medical device company based in Hechingen has a broad range of solutions on offer for the therapy of vascular diseases including artificial blood vessels and stentgrafts and is an international leader in this field. The company not only produces traditional vascular grafts from high-quality plastics but also absorbable bioartificial vascular grafts and cell-coated grafts made from biomaterials. Such an approach is currently unique in…

Article - 30/03/2009

BARK CLOTH an ancient material meets biopolymers

Bark fleece is known to be the most ancient material and has been used for thousands of years. It is made in Africa using traditional methods. The company BARK CLOTH Europe based in Ebringen Germany is working with organic farmers in Uganda to produce this wood-free biomaterial. Working with partners of the network BARK CLOTH now hopes to refine BARKCLOTH with biopolymers.

Article - 30/03/2009

Bacteria can determine the flavour of wine

What is the connection between biotechnology and wine production? The answer is that there are more than 150 yeasts currently on the market that are used to influence the fermentation and hence the quality of wine. Enzyme preparations optimise the different steps in wine production. Dr. Jürgen Sigler from the State Institute of Viticulture and Oenology WBI is working on the development of biological methods to improve the flavour and taste of…

Article - 11/03/2009

Gerd Jürgens from model fly to model plant a high risk career

Some scientists have a keen sense for new and exciting research topics. The developmental biologist Dr. Gerd Jürgens from Tübingen is one such scientist. His courageous step from research involving the well-known fruit fly to research on a rather inconspicuous plant has recently been rewarded with his appointment as the new director of the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology.

Professor Dr. Thomas Laux from the Institute of Biology III at the University of Freiburg has been awarded the Cornelia Harte Award for his achievements on the regulation of pluripotent stem cells in the growth centres of plants.

Article - 03/03/2009

Protein communicates information about stress

During evolution plants had to learn to cope with stress factors such as drought or high salt concentrations in soil. Biologists working with Professor Dr. Ralf Reski and Dr. Wolfgang Frank at the University of Freiburg in cooperation with British researchers have discovered a protein involved in the transfer of information about environmental stress to the nucleus. It appears that this protein has an important role to play in the plants ability…

Press release - 03/03/2009

An inconspicuous relative

Prof. Ralf Reski and his team of scientists at the University of Freiburg have been dealing with the function of moss for many years. The plant biologist has now uncovered impressive evidence of the relationship between mosses and other organisms.

Press release - 02/03/2009

Too many bases lead to genetic defects

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen have discovered a genetic defect in Arabidopsis thaliania which also causes serious neurodegenerative disorders in humans.

Article - 09/02/2009

Bodo Philipp the discovery of the general principles of bacterial interaction

Dr. Bodo Philipp from the University of Constance specifically focuses on ecologically relevant activities of bacteria for example cell-cell interactions. His findings could prove effective in removing bacteria from areas where high levels of hygiene are required thereby making it possible to prevent life-threatening bacterial infectious diseases. Dr. Bodo Philipp uses the much feared Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria as model organisms for his…

Article - 04/02/2009

Fermentative production of succinic acid project on the way

Succinic acid could well become an important raw material for the plastics industry if it is possible to produce the acid biotechnologically and cost-effectively. A research project focusing on the biotechnological production of succinic acid under the leadership of BASF SE has now been granted funding by the German Ministry of Education and Research.

Press release - 14/01/2009

Hunters of lost treasures

On 1st December 2008 Prof. Dr. Karl Schmid the first person to hold the F.W. Schnell Foundations endowed professorship for crop biodiversity and breeding informatics started the ball rolling on a unique European-wide project. Schmid and his colleagues are searching gigantic databases in which genetic analyses and plant descriptions are stored for hidden treasures.