Introduction

In this lecture, Isabel Arends and Patricia Osseweijer introduce you to the biobased economy. They will show why our society should make the transition from fossil to biobased materials and explain what the role of biotechnology is. They start from sustainable feedstocks and microorganisms that can turn this biomass into valuable products. We included a terminology list, for students who are not so familiar with biotechnology yet.

In this week’s Best Practice, Chris Paddon, principal scientist at Amyris inc., discusses how his company developed a process for producing the antimalarial drug artemisinin.