Bioeconomy

For quite some time now, the European Commission (EC) is putting a special focus on biodegradable and compostable polymers when assessing the general role of bioplastics.

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.

Dossier - 09/04/2018

Digitisation in agriculture - from precision farming to farming 4.0

Automated steering systems, data-driven targeted application of fertilisers and pesticides, field robots and drones, soil analysis sensors, autonomous driving - digitisation is advancing in agriculture as elsewhere. The question asked by farmers and by society in general is whether the increasing adoption of digital technologies in agriculture is a curse or a blessing.

Article - 08/06/2017

Forests as providers of ecosystem services – the facets and consequences of logging

One billion people worldwide rely on forests as living spaces. Illegal and legal deforestation endangers people’s livelihoods as well as social and economic structures. It also has a detrimental effect on the global climate. Prof. Dr. Daniela Kleinschmit, Professor for Forest and Environmental Policy at the University of Freiburg, discusses the causes and consequences of deforestation. She is co-editor of an international report on illegal…

Article - 07/02/2017

Agroforestry for sustainable agriculture

Agroforestry systems can provide effective protection against soil erosion caused by wind and water. They can also contribute to stabilising and improving the yield of annual plants. In addition, strips in fields planted with shrubs and trees form living spaces and areas to which plants and animals can retreat. In the AUFWERTEN innovation group, the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO is working with other German research…

Article - 06/06/2016

Natural genetic engineering

New plant breeding technologies, and the CRISPR/Cas technique in particular, are making headlines. For the first time in the history of agriculture, these technologies enable the quick and, in particular, precise modification of DNA at a predetermined locus. However, these methods provide authorities with an unexpected headache: are genome-edited plants genetically modified organisms or not?

Press release - 09/12/2015

New financing conditions from High-Tech Gründerfonds

High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) is raising its seed investment to €600k and lowering interest rates by 4%. This is in response to changing requirements in the start-up and venture capital scene, as well as current interest rate trends. The package of measures will be effective from January 1, 2016.

Article - 14/05/2012

Biogas and sustainability

The German Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) has led to a considerable increase in the use of biogas in Germany. However, increasing biogas production must make ecological sense and not generate conflict with the sustainability objectives of environmental conservation schemes. There must therefore be a careful consideration of the overall conditions. An analysis of the ecological impact of the generation and use of biogas in Germany taking into…

Careers and mobility international co-operation research infrastructures joint programming and knowledge sharing are todays main concerns of European research actors according to a report just published by the European Commission.

The German government and the state of Baden-Württemberg have agreed to the merger between Karlsruhe University and the Karlsruhe Research Centre to be known as the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT.