Bioeconomy News

Two independent ESA research teams have come to the conclusion that the production of cultured meat in space as a protein-rich food source would be particularly worthwhile on long-haul missions.

At a conference organised by the industry association Weiße Biotechnologie e.V. (IWBio) in Berlin, stakeholders discussed the potential and innovation obstacles of biotechnological alternatives to meat, milk and egg products.

More information on the benefits of insects as food and their sustainable production can help to minimise reservations, as an EU country study shows.

At the grand finale of the iGEM competition for synthetic biology in Paris, the university teams from Braunschweig, Dresden, Freiburg and Heidelberg scored particularly well. The other German teams also came home with special prizes and medals.

The Grand Jamboree of iGEM, the international student competition on synthetic biology, starts in Paris on 2 November. There will be 19 university teams from Germany at the start. All projects at a glance.

At a status seminar organised by the BMBF funding programme "Future Technologies for the Industrial Bioeconomy", research associations presented their diverse approaches to developing biohybrid technologies.

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) wants to massively advance the breeding of climate-adapted and high-performance crops. Funding is being provided for alliances and junior research groups that use the entire spectrum of modern breeding techniques – including genome editing.

Diatoms have developed a way to grow successfully even in nutrient-poor marine regions.

Together with partners, Fraunhofer researchers want to develop material-saving processes for the production of durable components made of fibre-reinforced biopolymers and thus reduce the CO₂ content in vehicle components by up to 50%.

The Potsdam Science Park Conference focused on innovations for the food industry and medicine. Around 160 interested people came to find out about new developments on the Golm Campus and in the Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan region.

The chemical company BASF SE is investing a high double-digit million amount in a new fermentation plant in Ludwigshafen for the production of sustainable crop protection products.

For a long time, the living environment in the fermenters of biogas plants was a black box. An EU consortium with the participation of researchers from Cottbus has used metagenome analysis to track down the most important microbial biogas producers.

As part of an EU project, Fraunhofer ISC is working on a bio-based alternative to so-called 'Forever Chemicals' for packaging and textiles.

A Max Planck team from Bremen has studied a methane microbe living in oil fields that can elegantly convert CO₂ into formic acid.

Temperatures in the ground are rising faster than in the air. This is the conclusion of a study in which researchers also call for a reassessment of the effects of heat extremes in the ground.

The enzyme PET46, which originates from archaea, decomposes medium- and long-chain plastic molecules, as a research team from Germany has discovered.

A European research network aims to optimize ozone tolerance, photosynthetic performance and stem quality in barley.

With Darwinibacteriales, researchers in the EU Micro4Biogas project have identified a new group of anaerobic bacteria that could be the key to optimized biogas production.

Just in time for the UN Summit on Agenda 2030 in New York, the German Federal Ministry of Research has published its own sustainability strategy - and the bioeconomy plays an important role in it.

Heidelberg-based Cultivated B is the first company in the world to submit an application to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for approval of a cell-based sausage product.