Bioeconomy

Article - 31/07/2010

Tanja Weil solutions involving biohybrid materials

Tanja Weil travelled across half the globe in order to be able to start her new position as the head of the Institute of Organic Chemistry III Macromolecular Chemistry and Organic Materials at the University of Ulm on 1 May 2010. Prior to her current position the 36-year-old chemist was associate professor at the renowned National University of Singapore and is now trying to bridge her discipline with the disciplines of biology medicine and the…

Press release - 14/07/2010

GMOs Member States to be given full responsibility on cultivation in their territories

The EU Commission proposed to confer to Member States the freedom to allow restrict or ban the cultivation of Genetically Modified Organisms GMOs on part or all of their territory. The EUs science-based GM authorisation system will be kept unchanged.

Press release - 11/07/2010

Biologists at the University of Stuttgart identify three new tardigrade species

Tardigrades also known as water bears have the remarkable ability to survive in extreme conditions - complete desiccation or freezing without sustaining any damage at all! Around 1000 tardigrade species were previously known. Dr. Ralph Schill from the Institute of Biology at the University of Stuttgart and colleagues from the University of Würzburg have now discovered three new species.

Article - 10/07/2010

Algae light up industry

The potential of Microalgae cannot yet be optimally used on the large scale. The bioprocess engineer Dr. Rosa Rosello and her team at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT are investigating the conditions under which different microalgae species can optimally grow in photobioreactors and lead to high product yields. It is all a question of light and shade.

Article - 03/07/2010

Biodegradability needs to have an additional benefit

Dr. Michael Thielen had worked in the plastics industry for many years before he entered the realms of journalism in 2006 the year in which he created the Bioplastics Magazine the only worldwide journal that focuses exclusively on bioplastics. In an interview with Christoph Bächtle Thielen spoke about polylactide biodegradability the properties of bioplastics and their role in comparison with traditional petrol-based plastics.

Press release - 29/06/2010

Plant growth hormones antagonists cooperate

The two most important growth hormones of plants so far considered antagonists also work synergistically. The activities of auxin and cytokinin key molecules for plant growth and the formation of organs such as leaves and buds are in fact more closely interwoven than previously assumed. Scientists from Heidelberg Tübingen Germany and Umea Sweden made this surprising discovery in a series of complex experiments using thale cress Arabidopsis…

Article - 28/06/2010

ATGbiosynthetics GmbH Modular molecular systems of the future

ATGbiosynthetics GmbH based in Merzhausen close to Freiburg produces biological systems that can combine gene constituents following a construction kit principle. The company provides the pharmaceutical industry and basic researchers with products that have specifically chosen properties.

Dossier - 14/06/2010

Engineers of life

Synthetic biology focuses on the development of biological systems with new defined characteristics assembled according to the principles of engineering. Synthetic biology has the potential to be used for a broad range of applications and has solutions in store for major problems of the future. It also fuels fears that human beings are playing the role of creators and going beyond natural boundaries.

Article - 11/06/2010

Recycling of bacterial cell wall constituents

Bacterial cells are focused on growth and proliferation. These processes are initiated by cellular enzymes that break up the cell wall material murein introduce new material and degrade material that is no longer needed. And all this in large amounts about 50 per cent of murein are degraded and newly formed turnover per cell generation. Dr. Christoph Mayer and his team from the University of Constance have shown that the cells carry out effective…

Article - 07/06/2010

Biomass has great potential if used properly

Up until now biotechnology has mainly been focused on the production of enzymes basic chemical and pharmaceutical substances as well as other biobased materials. From now on efforts will be made to exploit the potential of biotechnology at the beginning of value creation chains by improving the access to regenerative resources. Apart from its potential for use as food and animal feed there are two more concepts that focus on the utilisation of…

Press release - 31/05/2010

Geomicrobiologists from Tübingen discover how electricity flows in soil

Geomicrobiologists from the Centre for Applied Geoscience at the University of Tübingen in cooperation with researchers from the University of Wisconsin USA the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing BAM and the Humboldt University in Berlin are the first in the world to show that microorganisms are able to use solid-phase organic soil particles so-called humic substances to replace oxygen when grown in the absence of oxygen. The…

Press release - 30/05/2010

Loss-free plastics production from plant oil

At present plastics are produced from crude oil or gas. The research group of Professor Dr. Stefan Mecking chair of chemical materials sciences at the University of Constance has found a way to produce plastics from plant oil a regenerative resource.

Article - 21/05/2010

A small moss turns professional

No standards are available on the proper storage and documentation of sample material areas in which every research group does what suits it best. However in February 2010 the International Moss Stock Centre IMSC was established at the University of Freiburg and is rapidly changing this situation. Researchers led by Prof. Dr. Ralf Reski have developed a method that enables them to store biological material in a cryobank for an indefinite period…

Press release - 19/05/2010

Bionic Coating Helps Ships to Economise on Fuel

An inconspicuous plant could soon embark on a career as a climate saver hairs on the surface of water ferns are to allow ships to have a 10 per cent decrease in fuel consumption. The plant has the rare ability to put on a gauzy skirt of air under water and keep this dress on for months. Researchers at the University of Bonn Rostock and Karlsruhe have now discovered how the fern does this.

Article - 10/05/2010

Europes largest bioethanol facility

Mannheim-based CropEnergies AG operates Europes largest bioethanol facility located in the town of Zeitz. The company is also erecting a large-scale facility for liquefying purifying and recycling biogenic carbon dioxide at the same site. The new plant will have an annual capacity of 100000 t of food-grade liquefied CO2.

Article - 07/05/2010

Effective utilisation and processing of renewable resources

Fermentation isolation separation and purification are key processes in the overall workflow that enable the prepartion of substances from renewable resources and biotechnological production. Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart are focusing on the development of new innovative methods.

Press release - 07/05/2010

TECNARO wins European Inventor Award

TECNARO GmbH located in Ilsfeld near Heilbronn is very happy about winning one of the most prestigious international awards the European Inventor Award. TECNARO was proposed by international patent examiners and nominated from among more than 1000 inventors and patent applicants.

Article - 03/05/2010

Energy produced from poplars and other plants how efficiently can this be done?

Renewable energies do not come out of nowhere. The sustainable cultivation of firewood requires land for plantation. The main criticism of the use of land for the production of renewable energies is that the production of renewable resources is in strong opposition to the production of human food. The forestry scientist Janine Fischbach and her colleagues at the University of Freiburg are investigating ways to avoid a plate petrol tank dilemma.

Article - 03/05/2010

In order to innovate we must come down from the ivory tower

At talks given at the recent Biotechnology Days in Berlin representatives of a number of different BMBF-funded clusters showed that numerous strategies to enable the industrial production of biopolymers and biomaterials from resources other than oil are now available.

Article - 03/05/2010

Bioliq and the attraction of decentralised processes

There is a steady stream of people both Germans and foreigners going in and out of Eckhard Dinjus laboratory at the Institute of Technical Chemistry at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT. The 66-year-old chemist developed the bioliq method that is set to become an export hit due to its decentralised-centralised approach. Many years before the pilot plant started operating people from near and far including China had expressed their…

Dossier - 03/05/2010

Biorefinery concepts are close to implementation

Coal crude oil whats next? The preparations for switching from crude oil to other resources for the production of fuels and petrochemical products are underway. Crude oil and also gas reserves are in irrevocable decline. Pessimists believe that peak oil production has already been reached and optimists believe that this peak will be reached in 2020. Crude oil is not only our most important source of energy production but it is also an important…

Press release - 30/04/2010

MYKOTOWN to focus in future on renewable energies and sustainably produced fuels

In the future the Swiss company MYKOTOWN GREENTECH AG will focus on sustainably produced fuels and regenerative energies. The company is thus continuing its journey towards the production of biological and ecological plants using mycorrhizal fungi as well as tapping new fields of business.

Press release - 28/04/2010

Antibiotics Co Insilico and partners to improve biotech production

A veritable network specialist has become active in yet another network the GenBioCom joint project financed by BMBF Federal Ministry of Education and Research is profiting from Insilico Biotechnologys know-how on bacterial metabolism and genome-based metabolic simulations. The ultimate goal is to improve and expand the commercial use of Actinomyces bacteria as producers of bioproducts and active agents.

Article - 15/04/2010

Molecular biomechanics or mechanobiochemistry

Frauke Gräter is head of the Molecular Biomechanics research group at the Institute for Theoretical Studies in Heidelberg. Gräter uses computer-based methods to investigate the mechanical forces acting on biological macromolecules in the nanometre range. Her team was also able to show that highly complex processes such as haemostasis are regulated by shear forces.

Article - 10/04/2010

We need to tap alternative energy sources

Prof. Dr. Christoph Wittmann from the TU Braunschweig is a partner in the BiopolymersBiomaterials cluster. He is developing mathematical models of metabolic processes to optimise microorganisms for use in biotechnology. In an interview with Christoph Bächtle Wittmann talks about systems biology drawing-board organisms biobased plastics and biotechnologys capacity to complement existing large-scale methods.

Press release - 29/03/2010

TECNARO GmbH Thermoplastics made of lignin

TECNARO GmbH who was awarded the Industry Prize 2009 produces sustainable materials for the automotive and packaging industries and also for the manufacturers of furniture toys musical instruments and shoes.

Article - 04/02/2010

Fraunhofer IGB from biobased materials to products

The Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB carries out applied research in the fields of medicine pharmacy chemistry environment and energy. The IGB looks for sustainable solutions using nature as model.

Article - 01/02/2010

Succinic acid producing a green platform chemical with biotech

Fermentative Production of Succinic Acid is the title of one of the projects being worked on by the BiopolymersBiomaterials cluster in Baden-Württemberg. Researchers from BASF SE one of the project partners have isolated a bacterium with highly promising properties including the ability to use glycerine a waste product of biodiesel production as substrate for the efficient production of succinic acid.

Article - 11/12/2009

Genome sequencing of grapevines that are resistant to fungi

In cooperation with the company SEQ.IT the Julius Kühn Institute for Grapevine Breeding Geilweilerhof has sequenced the fungus-resistant grapevine variety Regent and has succeeded in obtaining a first grapevine breeding milestone for viticulture. The sequence provides the researchers with insights into the grapevines typical mildew resistances on the molecular level and helps them understand the resistance mechanisms from the analysis of the…

Article - 30/11/2009

Cells to analyse air

Exhaust gases smoke generated by industry and private household combustion processes every day we inhale a mixture of a broad range of particulate matter potentially resulting in respiratory tract or cardiovascular diseases. Dr. Silvia Diabat and her team from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT are examining the molecular mechanisms triggered by flue ash and other nanoparticles in the cells of the lung tissue.

Press release - 13/11/2009

Second-generation biofuels

The Distillery for Research and Training at the University of Hohenheim has been reopened after the completion of renovation work costing around 1.2 million euros. The distillery is now equipped with a computer-operated process-control system and modern sensors, all state-of-the-art technology for the fermentation processes at Hohenheim. The new distillery pilot plant has a fermentation room for work with genetically modified organisms.…

Article - 09/11/2009

Keeping an eye on reed decline

The reed zones around Europes lakes are becoming increasingly smaller. The biologist Dr. Jan Nechwatal at the University of Constance is investigating the causes of reed decline and has identified a previously unknown plant pest.

Dossier - 27/10/2009

Fungi an introduction

After animals and plants fungi are the third largest kingdom of eukaryotic organisms. Most people see them as plants because they typically grow in soil and do not move around like animals in the search for food supermarkets sell edible mushrooms such as white mushrooms and shiitake. But no fungi are capable of carrying out photosynthesis themselves the fungal energy metabolism is driven by organic molecules of dead and sometimes also living…

Article - 22/10/2009

On the track of fascinating diatoms

Diatoms make a considerable contribution to the production of oxygen and biomass in the worlds oceans and aquatic ecosystems. However up until now little is known about the molecular biology and chemistry of these eukaryotic algae. Prof. Peter Kroth and his team at the University of Constance are hoping to shed more light on these algae. The team has recently been involved in the deciphering of the Phaeodactylum tricornutum genome research that…

The International Environmental Award was awarded to Professor Klaus Kümmerer from the Institute of Environmental Medicine and Hospital Epidemiology at the University of Freiburg in Stockholm on Sunday 18th October 2009.

Dossier - 12/10/2009

A green view - plant genome research

Research into the plant genome reveals many fundamental mechanisms some of which are also found in animals and human beings. Research increases the possibility of application in particular for the improvement of food animal feed and energy plants. However there is more to it than just transgenic plants.

Article - 24/09/2009

Bacteria to produce bioplastics

Polyhydroxyalkanoates are storage substances produced and stored by many cells plants and bacteria only in times when they lack lack important nutrients. A particular property of these plastics-related biopolymers is that their composition and hence their material properties can be regulated by the fermentation process.

Article - 24/09/2009

Making sense of a huge conglomeration of base pairs

Prof. Dr. Ralf Reski and his team at the University of Freiburg have made considerable contributions to the analysis of the genome of the moss Physcomitrella patens. However the researchers are aware that the base pair sequence still has many gaps and errors. But how do the researchers manage to navigate around the chaos of millions of letters base pairs and sentence fragments DNA fragments?