Turning poison into a source of energy

A research team lhas succeeded in genetically manipulating the microorganism T. kivui to metabolize carbon monoxide

13-Jun-2025 - Genetic changes can occur naturally through evolution or can be initiated with the help of genetic engineering. The bacterium Thermoanaerobacter kivui (T. kivui) was manipulated by a research team led by Stefan Pflügl from the Institute of Chemical, Environmental and Bioscience Engineering at TU ...

Bürkert invests in start-up Green Elephant Biotech

Working together for a sustainable future

17-Feb-2025 - Bürkert Fluid Control Systems has taken a stake in Green Elephant Biotech as a strategic investor so the two companies can work together to develop more efficient, flexible and sustainable cell cultivation processes in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. This partnership should enable more ...

Bioreactor Allows Automated Long-Term Culturing of Stem Cells

06-Jan-2025 - Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) are considered as a promising tool in medicine, with the potential to unlock treatments for many health conditions such as neurodegenerative diseases and disorders. However, producing large amounts of hiPSCs remains a challenge. Researchers from the ...

Biohydrogen from Wood Waste

Biotechnological process with a high hydrogen yield

03-Dec-2024 - Up to now, wood waste has had to be disposed of at great expense and, at best, has been used to generate energy in incineration plants. Fraunhofer researchers are now using this valuable resource to produce biohydrogen in the Black Forest region of Germany. In the joint project H2Wood — ...

On the way to emission-free mining: extracting metals with microorganisms

Innovative process for the bioleaching of copper, indium and zinc developed

12-Jul-2024 - Microorganisms work in an underground bioreactor and convert ores or residual materials from mining into the valuable metals copper, indium and zinc. Innovative membrane filters then filter the valuable metals from the resulting process water. In a pilot plant of a current mining project near ...

Vaccines from the field?

"Green factories" - vaccines from plants: how does it work?

08-Jul-2024 - Molecular farming is a method that pharmaceutical companies use to transform plants into living bioreactors. The plants are given a new genetic blueprint that enables them to produce substances for medicines and, more recently, vaccines - quickly and cost-effectively, sustainably and safely. ...

Limula raises CHF 6.2 million to develop automated cell and gene therapy manufacturing platform

Award-winning technology combines a bioreactor and a centrifuge into one single vessel for the first time

23-May-2024 - Over the last decade, several breakthrough Cell and Gene Therapy products have been approved in the USA and Europe to turn stem cells and immune cells into ‘living cures’, bringing hope to millions living with life-threatening conditions. However, these treatments remain out of reach for 98% of ...

Innovative bioreactor research processes and cryotechnologies improve active ingredient tests using human cell cultures

This is paving the way for efficient real-world use of these cell cultures in toxicity testing and drug discovery

06-May-2024 - Many new drug candidates end up failing because they cause serious side effects in clinical trials. This is a common occurrence if the cells used come from animal tissue, for example. Specially prepared cell cultures made from human tissue known as human induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cells ...

Converting carbon dioxide into useful chemicals with the help of bacteria and solar power

How electrolysis and fermentation can be combined in one system

08-Apr-2024 - Researchers at BAM have developed a new technology that uses bacteria and solar power to produce useful chemicals from CO2. In the future, this could be used in industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions instead of releasing them into the atmosphere. Reducing the greenhouse gas CO2 is crucial to ...

Mix and Match: How a Methanogen creates its own sulfate reduction machinery

Discovery opens up exciting opportunities in biofuel production

08-Jun-2023 - Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Germany, have uncovered the molecular secrets of a methane-generating microbe that can transform sulfate into sulfide – a ready-to-use cellular building block. This discovery opens up exciting opportunities in biofuel ...