Magi of the orient visit FAL - German/Egyptian Year of Science and Technology ends with FAL

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The German-Egyptian Year of Science and Technology had been initiated by the Ministries of Education and Research in Germany and Egypt | Download

Hinweis zur Verwendung von Bildmaterial: Die Verwendung des Bildmaterials zur Pressemitteilung ist bei Nennung der Quelle vergütungsfrei gestattet. Das Bildmaterial darf nur in Zusammenhang mit dem Inhalt dieser Pressemitteilung verwendet werden. Falls Sie das Bild in höherer Auflösung benötigen oder Rückfragen zur Weiterverwendung haben, wenden Sie sich bitte direkt an die Pressestelle, die es veröffentlicht hat.

The Workshop lecturers. From the left: Ebtissam Hussein, Universität Kairo; Michaela Schlathölter, Saatzucht Petersen, Lundsgaard; Mahmoud Saker, NRC Kairo; Salah Ahmed, NRC Kairo; Heiko Kiesecker, DSMZ Braunschweig; Ewald Schnug, FAL Braunschweig; Shawky Bekheet, NRC Kairo; Mervat Ahmed, ARC Kairo; Reinhard Lieberei, Universität Hamburg; Ahmed Ashoub, ARC Kairo; Dirk Selmar, Technische Universität Braunschweig; Silvia Haneklaus, FAL Braunschweig. | Quelle: photo: FAL-PB | Download

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This time not three, but six magi from the orient were led to Braunschweig where the Federal Agricultural Research Centre (FAL) is located and not to a stable in Bethlehem. For the second time in 2007 scientists from Germany and Egypt met under the theme "Better Plants for Better Life" and discussed the chances of biotechnology to improve crop productivity, dietetic, pharmacological and technological characteristics of crop plants, and their resistance against biotic and abiotic stress.

The German scientists focussed on innovative biotechnological methods in plant research and new procedures such as biofumigation, which takes advantage of the anti-fungal and nematicide effect of bio-active gases which are released after decomposition and degradation of secondary compounds of plant products and plant residues in the soil. Another example is the production of functional food such as broccoli that is rich in glucosinolates and selenium and thus might be efficient in prophylaxis and cure against prostate cancer. The Egyptian colleagues firstly presented an extra-ordinary and demanding concept of detecting landmines by employing genetically modified organisms.

The workshop, which was held at FAL in Braunschweig on December 11- 12, 2007 was one of the official events during the German-Egyptian Year of Science and Technology that had been initiated by the Ministries of Education and Research in Germany and Egypt on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of scientific collaboration between both countries.

The event coincided with the ending of the Federal Agricultural Research Centre (FAL) 60 years after its foundation. The individual research units of FAL will be split and assigned to three new Federal Research Institutes: The Institutes of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science and Crop and Grassland Science will be part of the new Julius Kühn-Institute and the institutes of the livestock section will be part of the Friedrich-Löffler-Institute. The Institutes of Agroecology and Organic Farming, and the institutes of the sections Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Engineering will belong to the Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institute.

The lectures of both workshops "Better Plants for Better Life" (Part 1: in Cairo, held in April 2007; part 2 in Braunschweig, held in December 2007) will be published on the website http://www.yearofscience.org.

Weitere Informationen:
http://www.yearofscience.org - the lectures of both workshops "Better Plants for Better Life" (Part 1: in Cairo, held in April 2007; part 2 in Braunschweig, held in December 2007) will be published on this website
http://idw-online.de/pages/de/news240468 - deutsche Fassung der Pressemitteilung