The AlbLavendel project - 20/11/2023 Swabian lavender cultivation: aesthetic and sustainable Blue-violet, fragrant fields like those in Provence may soon become a common sight in the Swabian Alb. As part of the AlbLavendel project, the University of Hohenheim along with the company naturamus GmbH and the German Institutes of Textile and Fibre Research Denkendorf has started to investigate the cultivation of lavender, the production of essential oils and the use of distillation residues for producing textile fibres in the local region.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/swabian-lavender-cultivation-aesthetic-and-sustainable
Press release - 15/11/2023 Nanoparticles for optimized cancer therapy Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest types of cancers in humans. Chemotherapies attack not only the tumor cells but also healthy cells throughout the body. Innovative nanoparticles could be a new approach to treat cancer more precisely. The approach was developed by a research team from the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Multidisciplinary Sciences, the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/nanopartikel-fuer-optimierte-krebstherapie
Climate-neutral wastewater treatment plants thanks to patented real-time analytics - 08/11/2023 Using AI to reduce greenhouse gases in wastewater companies The wastewater industry is responsible for global greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of global aviation. The start-up Variolytics has found a way to significantly reduce greenhouse gases in wastewater treatment plants using real-time analytics. The patented sensor technology and AI-supported process optimisation offer multiple benefits: in addition to reducing nitrous oxide, the system helps to reduce energy costs and resources. https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/using-ai-reduce-greenhouse-gases-wastewater-companies
Wasser 3.0: #detect|remove|reuse - 31/10/2023 How to sustainably remove and recycle microplastics from water We all pollute our water with things we use in our everyday lives. In the process, microplastics and micropollutants accumulate in sometimes significant quantities and are difficult to remove. This has increasingly devastating consequences for our health and the environment. Wasser 3.0, a non-profit start-up from Karlsruhe, has declared war on this problem by developing a customisable process to detect, remove and even recycle these pollutants.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/how-sustainably-remove-and-recycle-microplastics-water
Press release - 27/10/2023 Lignin coating makes Geotextiles made from environmentally friendly natural fibers durable Textiles are a given in civil engineering. Until now, textiles made of resistant synthetic fibers have been used for this purpose, having a long lifetime. For some applications, however, it would not only be sufficient but even desirable for the auxiliary textile to degrade when it has done its job. Natural fibers, in contrast, often decompose too quickly. The DITF are developing a bio-based protective coating that extends their service life.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/lignin-coating-makes-geotextiles-made-environmentally-friendly-natural-fibers-durable
Press release - 25/10/2023 Epigenetically acting drugs could support cancer immunotherapy Epigenetically active drugs enable the cell to read parts of the genome that were previously blocked and inaccessible. This leads to the formation of new mRNA transcripts and also new proteins, as scientists from the German Cancer Research Center and the University Hospital Tübingen have now published. These "therapy-induced epitopes" could help the immune system recognize cancer cells.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/epigenetically-acting-drugs-could-support-cancer-immunotherapy
Press release - 25/10/2023 Epigenetically acting drugs could support cancer immunotherapy Epigenetically active drugs enable the cell to read parts of the genome that were previously blocked and inaccessible. This leads to the formation of new mRNA transcripts and also new proteins, as scientists from the German Cancer Research Center and the University Hospital Tübingen have now published. These "therapy-induced epitopes" could help the immune system recognize cancer cells.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/epigenetisch-wirkende-medikamente-koennten-krebs-immuntherapie-unterstuetzen
Press release - 18/10/2023 SARS-CoV-2: Alert immune system in the respiratory tract protects children from severe courses of the disease Why are severe courses of SARS-CoV-2 infection less common in children and adolescents than in adults? Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have now discovered that the immune system in the upper respiratory tract is much more alert and active in children before infection than in adults and is therefore better equipped to fight the virus.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/sars-cov-2-aktiveres-immunsystem-den-atemwegen-schuetzt-kinder-vor-schweren-verlaeufen
Press release - 11/10/2023 Land Use: Producing More Food and Storing More Carbon Doubling food production, saving water, and increasing carbon storage capacity – this may sound paradoxical, but would be theoretically feasible. Reaching this goal, however, would require a radical spatial reorganization of land use. This is the conclusion of researchers from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Heidelberg Institute for Geoinformation Technology (HeiGIT) of Heidelberg University.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/landnutzung-mehr-nahrung-produzieren-und-gleichzeitig-mehr-kohlenstoff-speichern
Press release - 09/10/2023 Microalgae: Environmentally friendly and healthy alternative to fish Researchers at the University of Hohenheim are working on an alternative to fish consisting of microalgae. Advantage: Microalgae have high quality ingredients and also contribute to carbon storage.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/microalgae-environmentally-friendly-and-healthy-alternative-fish
Preventing waste from instant meals - 05/10/2023 EDGGY: edible packaging film made from eggshell waste Many instant meals such as ramen soups have both a protective outer packaging and individual ingredients in small plastic sachets. To prevent this environmentally harmful waste, five students at the University of Hohenheim have developed a sustainable film based on eggshells and plant proteins that dissolves in hot water and is edible.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/edggy-edible-packaging-film-made-eggshell-waste
Press release - 27/09/2023 Raw material requirements for reducing global poverty calculated for the first time Researchers at the University of Freiburg quantify the amount of material needed to enable people to live without poverty. 1.2 billion people live in poverty. To lift them out of it, an average of about six tons of raw materials are needed per person and year – in particular minerals, fossil fuels, biomass and metal ores. This is the result of a study by researchers from the Chair of Sustainable Energy and Material Flow Management.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/raw-material-requirements-reducing-global-poverty-calculated-first-time
Press release - 26/09/2023 Local Food Systems: How sustainable are the business models for local food chains? Mobile units for processing fruit and vegetables on-site may play an important role in food supply in 2035. The EU’s FOX project investigated the form that such local food chains might take. To this end, Fraunhofer ISI developed future scenarios that could be used to test the viability of business models for regional food processing and distribution.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/local-food-systems-how-sustainable-are-business-models-local-food-chains
Press release - 14/09/2023 The Cultivated B Initiated Pre-Submission Process towards EFSA Certification for Cultivated Sausage The Cultivated B (TCB) began discussions with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and officially entered the pre-submission process for novel food approval of a novel or non-farmed sausage product. Subsequent to the official submission, TCB will emerge as world’s first biotech company to apply for EFSA certification for cultivated meat. This is a pivotal first step in the evolution of the cultivated meat market.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/cultivated-b-initiated-pre-submission-process-towards-efsa-certification-cultivated-sausage
Press release - 18/08/2023 TÜV SÜD gets UK Approved Body designation TÜV SÜD has received approval as a UK Approved Body (UKAB) for medical devices. With this approval, medical device manufacturers can implement UKCA certification for the UK market and CE certification for the European market in a time- and cost-efficient manner with TÜV SÜD.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/tuev-sued-gets-uk-approved-body-designation
Press release - 07/08/2023 Vegan trend in Europe: In Germany, milk substitutes from plants are most popular alternative Germany has the most active market, Southern Europe wants more variety, and people in Poland find dairy substitutes too expensive, according to a recent study by the University of Hohenheim.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/vegan-trend-europe-germany-milk-substitutes-plants-are-most-popular-alternative
Press release - 07/08/2023 Vegan trend in Europe: In Germany, milk substitutes from plants are most popular alternative Germany has the most active market, Southern Europe wants more variety, and people in Poland find dairy substitutes too expensive, according to a recent study by the University of Hohenheim.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/vegan-trend-europe-germany-milk-substitutes-plants-are-most-popular-alternative
Press release - 27/07/2023 Self-healing plastic becomes biodegradable Konstanz chemists develop mineral plastics with numerous positive properties from sustainable basic building blocks and, together with biologists, demonstrate the material's excellent microbiological degradability.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/Self-healing-plastic-becomes-biodegradable
Press release - 27/07/2023 Materials Research: Biocatalytic Foams of Tremendous Stability and Activity Industrial biocatalysis with enzymes is deemed to be a “game changer” in the development of a sustainable chemical industry. Enzymes can be used to synthesize an impressive range of complex molecules. Researchers of KIT have now developed a new class of materials by producing enzyme foams of tremendous stability and activity. The researchers have already filed a patent application on the process to produce enzyme foams.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/materials-research-biocatalytic-foams-tremendous-stability-and-activity
Press release - 21/07/2023 Biosurfactants might offer an environmentally friendly solution for tackling oil spills Can biosurfactants increase microbiological oil degradation in North Sea seawater? An international research team from the universities of Stuttgart und Tübingen, together with the China West Normal University and the University of Georgia, have been exploring this question and the results have revealed the potential for a more effective and environmentally friendly oil spill response.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/biosurfactants-might-offer-environmentally-friendly-solution-tackling-oil-spills
Press release - 20/07/2023 Animal testing under REACH: bringing numbers into the debate So far, 4.2 million animal tests under the REACH chemical regulation: A study from Konstanz and Baltimore quantifies the number of animals that died for the hazard assessment of chemicals in the chemical industry.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/tierversuche-durch-reach-zahlen-die-debatte-bringen
Press release - 20/07/2023 Anal Cancer Screening: New Microbiome-Associated Biomarkers Could Improve Prevention A new study published in Nature Medicine, July 2023 has identified two novel markers for screening high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL), a precursor to anal cancer, from the anal microbiome of people with HIV (PWH). PWH are at a significantly higher risk of developing anal cancer. Current screening methods, such as anal cytology, have low specificity for detecting HSIL, which hinders the prevention of anal cancer.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/anal-cancer-screening-new-microbiome-associated-biomarkers-could-improve-prevention
Press release - 18/07/2023 Robotically manufactured timber construction as a model for resource-efficient construction As the world's population continues to grow, the construction industry faces the challenge of using fewer resources and switching to sustainable materials. Scientists from the Universities of Stuttgart and Freiburg are developing new interdisciplinary approaches to construction for the future. https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/robotically-manufactured-timber-construction-model-resource-efficient-construction
Press release - 12/07/2023 Danger for the world's oceans and biodiversity Insightful study with participation from the University of Konstanz warns of human-induced impacts on the marine ecosystem.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/pm/gefahr-fuer-weltmeere-und-biodiversitaet
Innovative materials - 14/06/2023 Reinventing ‘wood’ with programmable bacteria Conserving wood by producing furniture and other objects from wood-based materials with the help of microorganisms? That is exactly what a team of researchers from the University of Freiburg and the Leibniz Institute for New Materials (INM) in Saarbrücken is working on in the DELIVER project. The aim is to create a database of materials with a broad range of controllable properties for various applications that can be produced from wood waste.https://www.biooekonomie-bw.de/en/articles/news/reinventing-wood-programmable-bacteria