Research labs produce 2% of all the one-way plastics world-wide (Urbina, Nature, 2015). Based on their own analysis and categorization of plastic waste in the lab, Climate@MaxPerutzLab has carried out a pilot project focused on reducing the amount of plastic entering the lab while increasing the percentage that can be recycled. In cooperation with Green Labs Austria and other partners, the Climate@MaxPerutzlabs team is currently looking into solutions to recycle polypropylene (PP), high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polystyrene (PS).
Climate@MaxPerutzLabs used the ClimCalc tool to analyze CO2 emissions of the institute. This analysis has determined business travel, electricity, and heating/cooling as the three major contributors. The results will be used as the basis for future activities, in addition to collecting more data on the emissions associated with equipment and consumables in order to strategically reduce it.
The ClimCalc tool was developed by experts from the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna and the Technical University of Graz as part of the Sustainable Universities Austria initiative.
While biological samples need to be stored at low temperature for their preservation, studies have shown that -70°C is sufficient for most samples. Increasing the freezer temperature from -80°C to -70°C can save 35% of the energy without detectable effects on sample stability. As part of the Freezer Challenge, the Climate@MaxPerutzLabs team continues to encourage research groups at the Perutz to save even more energy by managing freezer space and by de-icing or defrosting them regularly.
Cycling to work can play an important part in decreasing the CO2 footprint of an organization. With currently about 25% of employees using bikes for their daily commute to the lab (data from 2019 internal survey), the goal of Climate@MaxPerutzLabs is to motivate even more employees by organizing convenient on-site bike repair and inspection at the Vienna BioCenter.
Nutrient-regulated control of lysosome function by signaling lipid conversion
Shedding Light on the Dark Side of Terrestrial Ecosystems: Assessing Biogeochemical Processes in Soils
Protein homeostasis and lifelong cell maintenance
Dissecting the turgor sensing mechanisms in the blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae
Pikobodies: What does it take to bioengineer NLR immune receptor-nanobody fusions
When all is lost? Measuring historical signals
Gene regulatory mechanisms governing human development, evolution and variation
Regulation of Cerebral Cortex Morphogenesis by Migrating Cells
Phage therapy for treating bacterial infections: a double-edged sword
Suckers and segments of the octopus arm
Using the house mouse radiation to study the rapid evolution of genes and genetic processes
CRISPR jumps ahead: mechanistic insights into CRISPR-associated transposons
SLiMs and SHelMs: Decoding how short linear and helical motifs direct PPP specificity to direct signaling
Title to be announced
Visualising mitotic chromosomes and nuclear dynamics by correlative light and electron microscopy
Enigmatic evolutionary origin and multipotency of the neural crest cells - major drivers of vertebrate evolution
Engineered nanocarriers for imaging of small proteins by CryoEM
Bacterial cell envelope homeostasis at the (post)transcriptional level
Title to be announced
Hydrologic extremes alter mechanisms and pathways of carbon export from mountainous floodplain soils
Dissecting post-transcriptional gene expression regulation in humans and viruses
Polyploidy and rediploidisation in stressful times
Prdm9 control of meiotic synapsis of homologs in intersubspecific hybrids
Title to be announced
RNA virus from museum specimens
Programmed DNA double-strand breaks during meiosis: Mechanism and evolution
Title to be announced