MaterialDistrict Rotterdam 2019: imaginative new materials
MaterialDistrict Rotterdam, the yearly exposition and conference on new materials, has 140 exhibitors this year, 200 new materials, presentations by 100 front-runner start-ups & designers, and op top of that a conference program with some 60 speakers. Rotterdam Ahoy will be the host again to wonderful, exciting, problem solving and actual materials innovations. MaterialDistrict Rotterdam
Can we engineer life? 4.6 Golden rice
Golden rice symbolizes the protracted trench war between proponents and opponents of modern biotechnology. The Swiss Ingo Potrykus of ETH Zürich is the golden man behind the golden rice. With great ardour he defends this controversial rice, and attacks the opponents of gene technology. With his colleague Peter Beyer of Freiburg University he developed the
Rob Baan (Koppert Cress): vegetables are healthy, but we’re not allowed to claim so
Five years ago, we visited the outstanding horticultural company Koppert Cress in Monster near The Hague in the Netherlands. Then already, general manager Rob Baan told us that horticulture should concentrate on fresh produce for a healthy diet; with ingredients that help overcome diseases like cancer, obesity and diabetes 2. But health claims are supposed
Can we engineer life? 4.5 Novel plant breeding techniques
Plants have large and complicated genomes. Therefore, until recently, the insertion of foreign DNA was a kind of roulette: where will DNA be modified, will the insertion work, and will there be side effects? But by now, techniques have much improved and totally novel plant breeding techniques have been developed, carrying names like ZFNs, TALENs
Can we engineer life? 4.4 Plant gene technology, modern techniques
Modern techniques are in very rapid development. We can now analyse the most complex DNAs down to the level of individual base pairs, knowledge that will enable us to continue to produce enough food in times of climate change. And we get an increasing number of techniques to our disposal that make use of this
Can we engineer life? 4.2 Plant gene technology: Bt aubergines
Anyone attached to Greece (and I am one of them) knows moussaka, one of the most traditional dishes of the Greek kitchen. I have mixed feelings on it, even though I love all ingredients of this oven dish with aubergines as main ingredient. How come? Many Greek chefs add cinnamon to the dish, in addition
Can we engineer life? 3.1 Transition is unavoidable
‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world’ (Nelson Mandela). Hans Tramper is professor emeritus in Bioprocess Technology at Wageningen University and reflects on the development of his subject in a series of essays. His pieces were published so far on 18 June, 30 June, 11 July, 22 July,
Can we engineer life? 2.3 Precision modification of the genome
Gene technology is a much-discussed technology with almost endless opportunities. Opponents have objected to it right from the start. Their worry was and is, that researchers do not exactly know what they’re doing when they adjust genes and modify the genome, where they’re doing it, and what the consequences might be. Opponents look upon gene
