Bioeconomy

Review - 09/02/2023

5th Gene Technology Report – a critical observation of a cutting-edge technology

The societal importance of genetic technologies was demonstrated during the coronavirus pandemic, when it was possible to rapidly develop suitable vaccines thanks to genetic engineering methods. As a result, the Fifth Gene Technology Report published in autumn 2021 reads like a validation of many years of work, as well as making it clear that the will to continue the detailed long-term monitoring is very much present.

Mini-factories for producing bioplastics - 05/05/2022

Bacteria produce bioplastics: resource-saving and very environmentally friendly

Using living cells as mini-factories to produce plastic from nothing more than water, sunlight and carbon dioxide; plastic that is also 100 percent degradable – it sounds far-fetched but it actually works: researchers at the University of Tübingen have genetically engineered cyanobacteria so that they fill their cells to the brim with polyhydroxybutyrate. The researchers are now turning the idea into reality with the development of pilot plants.

CRISPR/Cas9 and genetic engineering laws - 27/11/2019

Transgene-free plant breeding using genome editing

Plant geneticists from Tübingen have used genome deletion to breed a variety of tomato that is resistant to powdery mildew. The CRISPR/Cas9 technology that they used enabled them to achieve this in a relatively short period of time. They also demonstrated beyond any doubt that the new tomato variety contains no foreign DNA and is indistinguishable from naturally occurring deletion mutants.

Two-part interview part 2 | Prof. Dr. Ortwin Renn on the green genetic engineering debate - 26/08/2019

"Green genetic engineering is a scapegoat, but no longer an innocent one"

Many scientists are expecting revolutionary advances in research to come from new molecular biology tools such as the CRISPR/Cas gene scissors. These methods are very important for agriculture, especially plant breeding and nutrition. However, the debate on green genetic engineering 2.0 looks like it may once again be heading for ideological battles. We talked with Prof. Dr. Ortwin Renn and asked him about opportunities for better communication.

Two-part interview part 1 | Prof. Dr. Regina Birner on the green genetic engineering debate - 12/08/2019

Agricultural economist Birner calls for other forms of dialogue besides organized interest groups

Green genetic engineering continues to divide opinion in Germany in the same way as CRISPR/Cas and other genome editing (GE) techniques. What are the consequences for the bioeconomy, which involves key areas of biotechnology? We talked with Prof. Dr. Regina Birner, agricultural economist and head of Hohenheim University’s Department of Social and Institutional Change in Agricultural Development at the Institute of Agricultural and Social…

Article - 10/01/2019

Stocktaking and recommendations for action: the BBAW’s fourth gene technology report

In the new gene technology report, the interdisciplinary working group of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences (BBAW) takes stock of gene technology developments in Germany during the past few decades, and discusses the societal, legal and ethical challenges associated with these technologies in the future. The report is highly topical due to the controversy surrounding the ruling of the European Court of Justice on CRISPR/Cas9 genome…

Article - 26/11/2018

Innovations to facilitate a greener world

The Second Global Bioeconomy Summit, held in Berlin in April 2018, confirmed the essential role of modern genetic engineering methods such as genome editing in producing heat- and drought-tolerant crops adapted to the changing climate. Such methods are clearly required to help achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Article - 29/05/2018

ITAS – Assessing the impact of life science technologies

The Karlsruhe Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS) is one of the largest and most renowned institutions in Germany involved in evaluating scientific and technological developments. The institute assesses the impacts and possible effects of new methods from a wide range of scientific fields - including the life sciences.

Article - 04/08/2014

Top-class plant research in Tübingen

The German Max Planck Institutes are world leaders in the area of plant research. Prof. Dr. Detlef Weigel Director of the Department of Molecular Biology at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen makes a major contribution to this success. Using Arabidopsis thaliana as model system Weigel studies the molecular mechanisms that enable plants to adapt to environmental conditions and those that underlie plant immunity. He has…

Article - 26/08/2013

International procedures for the detection and identification of GM seeds

In Europe the GM contamination threshold must not exceed 0.1. The Agricultural Technology Centre Augustenberg LTZ in Karlsruhe is accredited by the International Seed Testing Association ISTA to carry out international cooperative studies on GM seed analyses in cooperation with ISTA.

Article - 31/05/2013

Research in Biberach does the bioeconomy have a purple future?

Rhodospirillum rubrum bacteria have long attracted the interest of biotechnologists due to their ability to produce large quantities of pigments. Microbiologist Hartmut Grammel from Biberach University of Applied Sciences and scientists from the Magdeburg-based Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems are studying the bacterias suitability for the fixation of CO2 with the distant objective of producing organic materials with…

Article - 30/04/2012

How is phytochrome B translocated into the cell nucleus?

Plants cannot see but they can perceive the quantity and quality of light. As they have evolved plants have developed numerous molecular photodetectors such as phytochromes. Phytochromes can detect changes in the light situation. The undergrowth of forests thus manages to grow towards the few patches of sunlight that the phytochromes can detect. Researchers have long puzzled over how phytochromes transmit information about the light level into…

Article - 22/08/2011

Can the stress tolerance of moss be transferred to maize and other plants?

The moss Physcomitrella patens has long since been one of several popular model organisms used in research. The Physcomitrella patens genome was sequenced in 2007. Comparative analyses with other plant species show why the relatives of the moss were able to colonise land approximately 500 million years ago the moss relatives developed a large number of mechanisms to protect them against drought and other stress factors which made them real…

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.

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 - 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.

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 - 18/05/2009

Less chemistry and fresher fruits and vegetables

At Lake Constance fruit growers have bigger problems to face than ideological discussions on biotechnology and genetic engineering. They need methodological solutions for devastating plant diseases that would help them reduce the use of chemicals.

Prof. Dr. Harald Krug a toxicologist who runs the Materials-Biology Interaction division at Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research in St. Gallen Switzerland and his team are investigating the interactions of synthetic materials with biological systems. The team of 25 researchers is focusing in particular on the effect of particles and nanomaterials such as CNT on human and animal cells. The division has been an…

The Science Years initiative was launched by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research in the year 2000 to increase the publics confidence in the work of scientists. However the initiative has not been successful in the field of genetic engineering with the repeated destruction of trial fields sown with genetically modified plants being evidence of this. Professor Dr. Andreas Schier agricultural scientist from Nürtingen discusses why…

In the competition for the rather sought-after award Science City the city of Constance had to surrender albeit marginally to the city of Oldenburg. This is however no reason for Constance to abandon the planned Science Year 2009.

Scientific research is not only communicated by research institutions themselves but also through specialist agencies. One such agency is Genius GmbH in Darmstadt. The agency describes itself as a professional in the field of communication of science to the public using the latest communication tools. We spoke to Kristina Sinemus CEO partner and founder of the agency. Sinemus holds a PhD in biology.

What is the difference between knowledge and science? Why did the biotech bubble develop in the first place? Find out more as we talk to the freelance science journalist Sascha Karberg.

After years of directing his focus more on the molecular processes in the development of different cell types Prof. Albrecht Sippel has gone back to his roots. Despite his retirement six months ago Sippel started to actively participate in the search for human genes in the faculties of thought and speech that distinguish us from our animal relatives.

The German Bundestag gave the go ahead for the new version of the German Genetic Engineering Law. The new version incorporates the introduction of the Not genetically engineered label as well as stricter regulations on the cultivation of genetically modified plants.