German China
The image shows a sample of the used waste, the taken product from bacteria action, as well as several obtained bioplastic products in the project. (Universitat de Barcelona)
Spain: Waste Recycling

Biowaste as a Source of Polymers

The European project RES Urbis (Resources from Urban Bio-waste), showed that different biowaste produced in an urban environment can be treated within the same chain of valorisation. It can be used to obtain products with biological origins, such as bioplastics, with a higher economic value than that of compost and biogas.

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Resolution taken to the extreme: Using a combination of ultrashort laser pulses (red) and a scanning tunnelling microscope, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research are filming processes in the quantum world. (Dr. Christian Hackenberger )
Germany: High-Speed Camera

Ultrafast Microscopy Provides View into the Quantum World

Manish Garg and Klaus Kern, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart, have developed a microscope for the extremely fast processes that take place on the quantum scale. This microscope — a sort of HD camera for the quantum world — allows the precise tracking of electron movements down to the individual atom. It should therefore provide useful insights when it comes to developing extremely fast and extremely small electronic components, for example.

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