Journals
2026 EN
Hoffman Yasmin · Egeler Annika · Rödl Saskia
+1 more
Most mitochondrial proteins are synthesized in the cytosol and imported into the organelle. Here, we describe a novel Import and de‐Quenching Competition (IQ‐compete) assay which monitors the import efficiency of model proteins by fluorescence in living cells. For this method, the sequence of the tobacco etch virus (TEV) protease is fused to a mitochondrial precursor and coexpressed with a cytosolic reporter which becomes fluorescent upon TEV cleavage. Thus, inefficient import of the fusion protein leads to a fluorescent signal. With the IQ‐compete assay, the import efficiency of proteins can be reliably analyzed in fluorescence readers, by flow cytometry, by microscopy, and by western blotting. We are convinced that the IQ‐compete assay will be a powerful strategy for many different applications. Impact statement This article describes a novel method to monitor the mitochondrial import efficiency for a given protein in living yeast cells. With this IQ‐compete assay, protein import efficiencies can be quantified by fluorescent microscopy, flow cytometry, fluorescence spectrometry or western blotting.
Journals
2026 EN
Olmo Marta · Ector Carolin · Herzel Hanspeter
Biological systems are fundamentally rhythmic, with oscillations emerging at multiple scales, from intracellular gene circuits to organ‐level coordination. Many of these rhythms, including the circadian clock, arise from feedback‐driven genetic networks that interact to produce coherent temporal organisation. In this review, we examine the circadian system as a model for understanding the dynamics of coupled biological oscillators. We introduce the core theoretical concepts of delayed feedback, nonlinearity and coupling, and show how these principles govern the emergence of synchronisation, entrainment, and complex dynamics across cellular populations and tissues. Drawing on tools from nonlinear dynamics, we explore how oscillator models help explain robustness, plasticity, and failure modes in circadian systems. Finally, we discuss how this theoretical framework informs experimental design and translational applications in circadian medicine, from optimising drug timing to understanding rhythm disruptions in disease.
Journals
2026 EN
Arnouts Jorine · Koljenović Senada · Daems Elise
+6 more
Molecular diagnostics has revolutionized cancer management, enabling the identification of diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarkers. Despite advancements in technologies such as whole genome sequencing, their translation into clinical practice remains challenging due to insufficiently demonstrated clinical utility. This study identifies unmet clinical needs and requirements for innovative molecular technologies in oncology through interviews ( n = 22) and an online survey ( n = 116), gathering insights from hospital professionals, industry representatives, and health policy and quality assessment experts. Our findings emphasize the increasing importance of liquid biopsies (LBx), particularly plasma‐based assays. Key unmet needs in this area include therapy response monitoring, minimal residual disease detection, and predictive biomarker testing. Additionally, we outline technology requirements tailored to diverse clinical biomarker applications and both centralized and decentralized laboratory settings. A central challenge lies in achieving an optimal balance between multiplexing capacity and turnaround time. By bridging the gap between technology development and real‐world application, this study paves the way for the implementation of new molecular technologies that better meet the needs of the oncology community, ensuring clinical utility and ultimately improving patient care.
Journals
2026 EN
Vazzano Jennifer · Challa Bindu · Arole Vidya
+13 more
Abstract Increasing workload combined with the shortage of pathologists is the leading cause of diagnostic errors and delays. Nonetheless, in clinical practice, pathologists often spend hours on tedious tasks such as counting mitoses and searching for lymph node micro‐metastasis, which may yield unreliable results. The advent of digital pathology and the development of artificial intelligence (AI) applications (app) for image analysis have opened new possibilities for improving the efficiency and accuracy of pathologists. However, the perceived black box nature of AI has led to skepticism among many pathologists about its diagnostic capabilities, resulting in a lack of trust in AI. In addition, it is a common belief that AI applications should be limited to the areas they were trained in, which has significantly limited their generalizability. Given the homogeneous cell population of lymph nodes and overlapping of tumor morphology across different organs, we hypothesized that a lymph node metastasis detection application trained on a few organs could potentially recognize metastasis from multiple organs. We used the commercially available Visiopharm app (AI tool), initially trained on lymph node metastases from breast and colon cancer, to detect metastasis of 12 distinct types of cancer from 15 organ systems based on the analysis of 172 slides (all with corresponding immunohistochemical staining confirmation). Furthermore, by using the annotation map generated by the app as a guide, pathologists were also able to reduce the time spent searching for metastasis substantially (from 54.7 to 42.1 s per slide on average) without compromising diagnostic accuracy. With pathologists serving as the trusted gatekeepers and the development of more sophisticated image analysis applications, the use of AI can help to address the shortage of pathologists, enhance their performance and eventually improve patient care.
Journals
2026 EN
Abdorahimzadeh Seyedamirhosein · Bozó Éva · Bölükkaya Zikrullah
+5 more
Microfluidic technology has created new opportunities for developing innovative tools for biological applications. Given the significance of extracellular vesicles (EVs), extensive research has focused on developing microfluidic techniques for EV isolation. This research protocol presents electro‐viscoelastic microfluidics as a novel approach for manipulating EVs. The system leverages the viscoelasticity of the suspending medium along with an externally applied electric field to alter EV motion within a microchannel. These findings suggest that our electro‐viscoelastic microfluidic system has the potential for further development to be used for EV isolation.
Journals
2026 EN
Fülöp Krisztina · Kozák Eszter · Tőkési Natália
+11 more
The predominant cause of death among diabetic patients comes from cardiovascular complications, including vascular calcification. The objectives of this study were to improve the understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in diabetes‐related calcification and to test potential preventive therapies. We found that levels of plasma pyrophosphate—a potent inhibitor of calcification—were decreased in type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients with cardiovascular symptoms. To further investigate vascular calcification, we developed a diabetic mouse model that showed increased aorta and renal calcification compared to control. Alkaline phosphatase activity was also increased in the circulation of diabetic mice, which resulted in a significant decrease in plasma pyrophosphate. Oral treatment with pyrophosphate prevented diabetes‐induced calcification in mice, providing a direct translational value for clinical applications.
Journals
2026 EN
Giosafatto C. Valeria L. · Avitabile Marika · Famiglietti Michela
+4 more
Fossil‐based material manufacturing has long been linked to the acceleration of climate change through carbon dioxide emissions. In addition to their negative impact on the environment, the depletion of nonrenewable fossil fuels has led to a global demand for sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives. This has sparked a surge of academic interest in the past few decades on the manufacture of bio‐based materials as substitutes for fossil‐based materials. As sustainability becomes a global imperative, bioplastics are rapidly emerging as a viable alternative to conventional petroleum‐derived plastics. These materials might be manufactured by using polymers from different bio‐based sources such as plants, animal tissues, or can have a microbial origin. Bioplastics not only offer biodegradability, thereby reducing long‐term environmental impact, but also possess various functional properties that make them suitable for diverse applications, including packaging, agriculture, textiles and pharmaceuticals. This review focuses on new developments in bioplastics regarding their material, processing, and applications. Recent developments in the preparation of bioplastics are reported, highlighting the distinct properties of each type of material according to the polymers of origin. Special attention is given to the film‐forming properties, the barrier functionality, thermal stability, and compatibility with the bioactive compounds, supported by recent empirical findings.
Journals
2026 EN
Pustak Anđela · Maršavelski Aleksandra
Plastic waste from fossil‐derived polymers remains a major environmental challenge, driving interest in biopolymers and enzyme‐enabled end‐of‐life strategies. This review synthesizes current understanding of how polymer structure and thermal state govern enzymatic degradability, with emphasis on semicrystalline architectures and state‐dependent accessibility. Within the Keller–Flory two‐phase framework, crystalline lamellae embedded in an amorphous matrix dictate water/enzyme diffusion, chain mobility, and hydrolysis kinetics. Enzymatic attack preferentially initiates in amorphous regions, producing characteristic biphasic behavior as amorphous domains erode faster than crystalline regions, leading to crystallinity enrichment and subsequent slowing of degradation. Thermal transitions further modulate this balance: near or above T g , segmental mobility and free volume rise, accelerating hydrolysis if enzymes remain stable; above T m , chain mobility is maximal, but enzyme stability typically limits feasibility. Processing and architecture also strongly influence outcomes: annealing increases crystallinity and slows mass loss, quenching suppresses crystallization and hastens degradation, random copolymerization disrupts packing and lowers T m , while block copolymers often degrade selectively by domain. Recent advances expand the operational window toward rubbery or near‐molten states for low‐melting aliphatic polyesters (e.g., PCL, PLGA, PEG‐ b ‐PLA), leveraging thermophilic/engineered hydrolases (cutinases, PETases, lipases, carboxylesterases) with demonstrated stability at 60–90 °C. Emerging strategies—including enzyme thermostabilization, AI‐guided design, disulfide grafting, smart encapsulation, and in‐situ enzyme embedding—enable self‐degradation of materials and accelerate inside‐out depolymerization under mild triggers. Integrating thermal analysis with polymer morphology and enzyme engineering offers a path to programmable, circular end‐of‐life for biopolymers, translating fundamental structure–property–reactivity relationships into practical enzymatic recycling and reduced environmental impact.
Journals
2026 EN
Repinc Sabina Kolbl · Stres Blaž · Karlovits Mirica
+6 more
A growing demand for sustainable materials across various industries has sparked an increasing interest in bio‐based polymers as eco‐friendly alternatives to conventional fossil‐based polymers. Sourced from renewable materials, bio‐based polymers offer significant advantages, such as biocompatibility, the ability to modify their functional properties for specific applications and, increasingly sought after, the capability for biodegradation. This review article provides an overview of bio‐based polymer sources, discussing their unique functional properties, environmental impact and potential for end‐of‐life options, such as composting and anaerobic digestion. It highlights the importance of ensuring human health and environmental hazard assessment, by incorporating principles like a Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) approach and assessing the product's life cycle (LCA). The dual role of the anaerobic digestion of biodegradable polymers and its potential for methane generation is reviewed, emphasising its contribution to reducing environmental impact and renewable energy production through waste management. Lastly, possibilities of applications in different industries and future market trends are reviewed. By integrating current knowledge, this review highlights the potential of bio‐based polymers in advancing sustainability across various sectors, while addressing key existing challenges and future opportunities in their development, production, and application across various sectors, while addressing key existing challenges and future opportunities in their development, production and application.
Journals
2026 EN
Giosafatto C. Valeria L. · Porta Raffaele
Plastic pollution from fossil fuel–derived materials has become a pressing environmental and public health issue, driving urgent demand for sustainable alternatives. Conventional plastics can take centuries to degrade and, instead of breaking down completely, fragment into micro‐ and nanoplastics that are now found in oceans, rivers, soil and atmosphere. These particles have been detected in drinking water, food and animal tissues, raising serious concerns about their impact on human health and ecosystems. Millions of tons of plastic enter the oceans each year, forming massive debris patches that accumulate along coastlines. Many organisms mistakenly ingest or become entangled in plastic, causing injury, starvation and often death. Birds, turtles, fish and marine mammals are among the most affected. On land, plastic waste clogs waterways, pollutes landscapes and overwhelms waste management systems, especially in regions lacking adequate recycling infrastructure. The development of bioplastics—materials derived from renewable sources and designed to biodegrade naturally—represents a promising path forward. Bioplastics aim to reduce dependence on fossil resources, minimize environmental persistence and offer tailored properties for specific applications. Transitioning to bio‐based alternatives is not only a scientific and technological challenge but also a crucial step towards safeguarding environmental health and ensuring a more sustainable future. In this context, this ‘In the Limelight’ issue of FEBS Open Bio presents five review articles focusing on the production, characterization and biodegradation of novel bioplastics from diverse renewable sources. Together, the results may contribute to reduced plastic pollution, offering a more sustainable and conscious approach to material design.