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PubMed2026

Making waves: toward systems-level interpretation of hormonal and endogenous biomarkers in wastewater-based epidemiology.

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has proven invaluable for population health monitoring, most notably during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet current WBE largely relies on exogenous markers such as drugs, pathogens, and their metabolites, limiting surveillance to what communities are exposed to. We argue for expanding WBE towards endogenous biomarkers, particularly hormones, which provide insights into physiological stress, metabolic function, and endocrine activity. Hormone-based WBE offers new opportunities to capture population-level biological responses to societal and environmental stressors, disasters, and chronic disease burdens at the community scale. This perspective outlines a systems-level framework for integrating hormonal signals in wastewater with clinical data, behavioral indicators, environmental factors, and digital markers to support more robust and context-aware public health surveillance. We highlight key technical considerations, interpretive challenges, and opportunities for translational pilot studies. By moving beyond exposure tracking toward more integrated interpretation of biological responses, hormone-informed WBE may contribute to more resilient, inclusive, and actionable public health infrastructure.

Humans↗

PubMed2026

Safety of insulin eye drops in the treatment of open angle glaucoma: a randomized phase I clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: The progression of glaucoma despite adequate intraocular pressure (IOP) control highlights the need for neuroprotective and neuroregenerative therapies. Preclinical studies suggest insulin promotes retinal ganglion cell survival and regeneration, but its safety in higher concentrations (100 and 500 units/mL), administered topically, has been poorly characterized in humans. We aim to assess the safety and tolerability of these two concentrations of insulin eye drops in patients with open-angle glaucoma (OAG). DESIGN: A phase I, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, single-centre clinical trial. PARTICIPANTS: Patients with mild to moderate OAG were randomized 2:2:1 to receive once-daily topical insulin U-100, U-500, or placebo in 1 eye for 5 days, with follow-up visits at 1, 3, and 6 months. The primary safety outcomes include glycemia, serum potassium, ocular adverse events (AEs), and ocular tolerability scores. Secondary outcomes included IOP, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), retinal nerve fibre layer thickness, ganglion cell complex, visual field, and OCT angiography. RESULTS: Eighteen open-angle glaucoma patients were enrolled (mean age: 66.2 ± 10.1 years). No serious AEs related to insulin were observed. One asymptomatic, transient near-hypoglycemia event occurred in a fasting participant (3.9 mmol/L), with no recurrence after dietary adjustment. No significant changes were found in serum potassium, IOP, BCVA, visual fields, or OCT. Ocular symptoms in the insulin groups were limited to transient, mild burning sensation upon application. One participant experienced cystoid macular edema at 3 months, which was attributed to pre-existing ocular pathology. CONCLUSION: Topical insulin at 100 and 500 units/mL concentrations was well tolerated in patients for short-term use and did not result in significant systemic or ocular toxicity.

Aged↗

PubMed2026

[Study of a patient with azoospermia due to variant of MOV10L1 gene].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical and genotypic characteristics of a patient with Sertoli cell-only syndrome (SCOS) due to variants of MOV10L1 gene. METHODS: A 27-year-old patient with Non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) underwent routine semen analysis. Serum levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), progesterone (P), estradiol (E2), prolactin (PRL), and testosterone (T) were determined by chemiluminescence assays. Peripheral blood samples were collected for G-banded karyotyping analysis. Multiplex PCR fluorescence detection was used to screen for AZF gene microdeletions. Whole exome sequencing (WES) and Sanger sequencing were performed simultaneously. Testicular biopsy tissues were subjected to Hematoxylin-Eosin (HE) staining to assess seminiferous tubule cell composition, and MOV10L1 protein expression was detected by immunohistochemical staining. Bioinformatics tools were employed to predict the pathogenicity of variants and their impact on protein structure and function. This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Guangdong Institute of Reproductive Sciences [Ethics No.: 2023(01)]. RESULTS: The patient's two semen analyses had failed to detect any sperm. Hormone tests indicated elevated FSH (22.32 mIU/mL) and PRL (397.6 mIU/mL), while T (3.68 nmol/L) and E2 (38.32 pmol/L) were reduced. Chromosomal karyotyping revealed 46,XY, and no AZF gene deletion was detected. WES and Sanger sequencing detected compound heterozygous variants of the MOV10L1 gene, including a c.345C>A (p.C115X) nonsense variant and a c.3323C>T (p.T1108I) missense variant, with the former being unreported previously. HE staining showed only Sertoli cells in the seminiferous tubules, confirming the diagnosis of SCOS. Immunohistochemical staining revealed absent MOV10L1 protein expression in the testicular tissue. Based on the guidelines from American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG), the c.345C>A (p.C115X) was classified as a pathogenic variant (PVS1+PM2_Supporting+PP4), while the c.3323C>T (p.T1108I) was deemed variant of uncertain significance (PM2_Supporting+PP3_Supporting+PP4). Bioinformatics analysis demonstrated that c.345C>A (p.C115X) may cause premature termination of protein translation, while c.3323C>T (p.T1108I) may disrupt the hydrophobicity of the RNA helicase domain, reducing the active pocket volume and decreasing its affinity for MILI protein. CONCLUSION: This study has diagnosed a case of SCOS due to compound heterozygous variants of the MOV10L1 gene, which also enriched its mutational spectrum.

Humans↗

PubMed2026

Inducible flocculation in Komagataella phaffii enables enhanced biomass separation for biopharmaceutical production.

Biomass separation represents a critical bottleneck in Komagataella phaffii-based biopharmaceutical processes, as typically high cell densities of 40 - 50 % create significant operational, technical and economic challenges for harvest operations. Yeast cell aggregation (flocculation) provides a solution to accelerate cell sedimentation by increasing particle size, thus allowing to improve biomass-supernatant separation efficiency during both natural gravity settling and (continuous) centrifugation operations. This study demonstrates successful engineering of K. phaffii strains with an inducible flocculation phenotype using CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing to integrate the Saccharomyces cerevisiae FLO1 (ScFLO1) gene under control of various regulatory elements, including methanol-inducible and derepressible promoters. Flocculation strength could be enhanced by implementing transcriptional positive feedback circuits based on the methanol-inducible AOX1 promoter. To address methanol-free production requirements, we developed alternative systems to retrofit PAOX1-based ScFLO1 expression and exploited the derepressible PDF promoter, offering broader compatibility with biopharmaceutical manufacturing facilities. Flocculating cells cultivated in a bioreactor demonstrated significantly improved sedimentation behavior, with considerably lower supernatant turbidity after short low-speed centrifugation or gravity sedimentation compared to non-flocculating controls. Crucially, cell flocculation had no negative impact on product amount and quality when expressing a multivalent NANOBODY® VHH molecule with pharmaceutical relevance. Thus, this work establishes the first genetically engineered flocculation system in K. phaffii compatible with recombinant protein production, providing the basis for an innovative approach to streamline harvest operations in biopharmaceutical processes.

Flocculation↗

PubMed2026

Control of foreign DNA: emerging roles of xenogeneic silencers.

Bacteria continuously acquire foreign DNA through horizontal gene transfer, yet its successful integration depends on regulatory mechanisms that balance genome protection with evolutionary innovation. Xenogeneic silencers are central to this process: they preferentially bind AT-rich DNA, a common feature of many horizontally acquired genetic elements, and repress its transcription. Recent studies, however, reveal a much broader regulatory repertoire. Beyond transcriptional repression, these proteins contribute to chromosome organization by forming higher-order nucleoprotein complexes and phase-separated condensates that shape bacterial nucleoid architecture. Furthermore, they play roles in regulating bacteriophage infection cycles, including mechanisms by which phages hijack host silencing activities for their own benefit. Their extensive regulatory reach, spanning virulence genes, biofilm formation, specialized metabolite production, and mobile genetic elements (MGEs), underscores their central role in connecting environmental signals, including fluctuations in the second messenger c-di-GMP, with gene expression, and genome organization. The diversification of xenogeneic silencers across bacterial chromosomes, plasmids, phages, and other MGEs highlights their evolutionary significance. Together, these recent findings position xenogeneic silencers as dynamic regulatory modules that shape the fate of foreign DNA across the horizontal gene transfer network.

Gene Transfer, Horizontal↗

PubMed2026

Genetic risk stratification of common diseases in breast cancer survivors: a population-based cohort study.

IMPORTANCE: Patients diagnosed with breast cancer (BCa) are at increased risk of multiple common diseases; however, the spectrum of these diseases and the contribution of inherited genetic susceptibility remain incompletely characterized. METHODS: We evaluated 15 common diseases and tested their associations with BCa exposure and disease-specific polygenic risk scores (PRS) in the UK Biobank (UKB; N = 254,736). Analyses were performed using cause-specific Cox proportional hazards models within a full-cohort framework, with time-updated BCa status, delayed entry at study recruitment, and age as the underlying time scale. RESULTS: After recruitment, incident BCa was diagnosed in 11,386 women (4.47%), including 2,742 (24.08%) with metastatic BCa. Patients with BCa had an increased risk of nine diseases spanning cardiovascular, metabolic, and neuropsychiatric domains (P<0.003, Bonferroni-corrected). Elevated risks were generally observed among patients with both early staged and advanced BCa. Inherited susceptibility further stratified disease risk, with the highest risks observed among patients with BCa with elevated disease-specific PRS. For example, compared with women without BCa, the hazard ratio (HR; 95% CI) for osteoporosis was 2.33 (2.15-2.52) among women with any BCa, 2.38 (2.18-2.59) among those with non-metastatic BCa, and 2.12 (1.78-2.54) among those with metastatic BCa; the HR was 4.48 (3.99-5.02) among patients with BCa in the highest quartile of osteoporosis-specific PRS (all P<0.001). In contrast, BCa was not significantly associated with risk of coronary artery disease. CONCLUSION: BCa and inherited genetic susceptibility jointly contribute to increased risk of multiple common diseases, supporting the integration of genetic risk stratification into survivorship care.

Complications↗

PubMed2026

Activity shapes large herbivores' ecological influences.

The ecological effects of large herbivores are shaped by their spatial and temporal patterns of activity (i.e. where, when and how intensely they use specific locations). When large herbivores' ecological influences are perceived to be undesirable, the traditional approach has been to reduce their population size. This numbers-first logic assumes that ecological effects scale primarily with abundance. We argue that this framing provides an incomplete understanding of large herbivores' ecological impacts. Using African elephants (Loxodonta africana) as a well-documented case study, we show that ecological effects on plants, animals and ecosystem processes correlate more with spatio-temporal patterns of activity than with population size. In large, open systems characterized by strong gradients of water availability, forage quality, shade and risk, elephants concentrate into predictable hotspots while relaxing activity elsewhere, generating localized impacts and opportunities for recovery. By contrast, in small, fenced or fragmented landscapes, where movements are constrained, and gradients are weak, spatial self-regulation breaks down, producing homogenized use and widespread ecological effects. We contend that understanding where, when and under what constraints herbivores use space provides a more general and mechanistic basis for interpreting ecological influence than abundance alone, with implications that extend beyond elephants to large herbivores globally.

Animals↗

PubMed2026

Identification and functional characterization of a novel antiviral chicken interferon-υ.

Interferons are critical mediators of antiviral immunity in vertebrates. While type IV interferon (IFN-υ) has been identified in fish and amphibians, its existence and function in chickens remained unknown. Through systematic genomic screening, we identified and cloned a novel chicken interferon gene, designated ChIFN-υ. Phylogenetic analysis placed ChIFN-υ within a distinct clade alongside zebrafish and clawed frog IFN-υ, confirming its identity as a type IV interferon, with minimal homology to classical type I, II, or III IFNs. Expression profiling revealed constitutive ChIFN-υ expression in mucosal and immune tissues of healthy chickens, exhibiting a distinct developmental shift: highest in trachea and small intestine in 1-day-old chicks, shifting to spleen and lung in 4-week-old chickens. ChIFN-υ expression was strongly upregulated following H9N2 AIV infection. Functionally, recombinant ChIFN-υ protein activated the interferon-stimulated response element (ISRE) and Mx promoter in a dose-dependent manner and significantly inhibited the replication of both vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) and H9N2 AIV in DF-1 cells. In vivo, early treatment with exogenous ChIFN-υ significantly reduced pulmonary and tracheal viral loads and decreased oropharyngeal and cloacal virus shedding in H9N2-infected chickens. In conclusion, this study identifies and functionally characterizes the type IV interferon in chickens, elucidating the evolutionary status, regulated expression, and antiviral efficacy of ChIFN-υ. These findings highlight its potential as a candidate for developing interferon-based therapies against avian viral diseases.

Animals↗

PubMed2026

eIF5A and polyamines restrict mRNA levels in response to ribosome stalls.

Obstacles to translation elongation stall ribosomes and allow deleterious proteins to accumulate, which threatens cellular health. Cells recognize and clear stalled ribosomes via several interrelated pathways, although the mechanisms by which cells distinguish stalled from normally elongating ribosomes and mount an appropriate response are incompletely understood. While recent work highlights how ribosome collisions help cells to recognize stalled ribosomes, how other factors contribute to detection remains unclear. Here, we report a requirement for the translational factor eIF5A in the mRNA decay response to ribosomal stalling, i.e., No-Go mRNA Decay (NGD). We identified the Caenorhabditis elegans polyamine transporter, catp-6, via a forward genetic screen as a factor required for NGD. During our mechanistic dissection of the catp-6 phenotype, we uncovered a role for cellular polyamines and the translation elongation factor eIF5A in NGD, and we show this requirement is conserved from C. elegans to Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Our analyses support the idea that cells use eIF5A to identify ribosomal stalls and execute NGD and uncover a molecular function for a core protein synthesis factor in limiting expression from stall-inducing mRNAs. Our work offers insight into how cells identify and remove problematic mRNAs from the translational pool. Our work also raises the possibility that dysregulated mRNA decay is an unrecognized pathophysiology associated with polyaminopathies and eIF5A disorders, of relevance to varied neurodegenerative and aging phenotypes and efforts to pharmacologically inhibit eIF5A.

Animals↗

PubMed2026

Clinical pharmacokinetics of afatinib: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Afatinib is commonly used in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This systematic review summarizes clinical pharmacokinetics (PK) evidence focusing on the effect of disease state and drug interactions on afatinib exposure. METHODS: Google Scholar, Science Direct, PubMed, and the Cochrane library were searched for human studies reporting the clinical PK of afatinib. The search yielded 24 articles that met the predefined inclusion criteria. RESULTS: Afatinib exposure increased slightly more than dose proportionally, with higher doses producing greater AUC0-24 and Cmax values. The apparent oral clearance reported after administration of the oral solution was lower than that observed following tablet administration. The Cmax of afatinib increases by 38.5% after coadministration with ritonavir and exposure decreases 34.3% with rifampicin. The Cmax decreases 31.45% when given with pemetrexed. Both the AUC0-24 and Cmax increase in NSCLC and tumor state. The AUC0-24 of afatinib is 2.61 folds higher following multiple oral doses among patients with solid tumors. Afatinib exposure is 22.1 % higher in renal impaired patients than in healthy controls. In grade 2 diarrhea, the AUC0-24 of afatinib is 83.93% higher as than in grade 0-1 diarrhea in solid tumor patients. CONCLUSION: This systematic review provides an updated synthesis of clinical PK evidence on afatinib. Afatinib exposure is influenced by dose, repeated administration, renal impairment, diarrhea associated toxicity, and P-glycoprotein mediated drug interactions. These findings may support individualized dosing, toxicity-guided dose adjustment, and future development of PK models for afatinib.

Humans↗

PubMed2026

Inactivation of Aspergillus flavus spores by dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma: Kinetics, physiological properties and proteomic analysis.

A. flavus, as a pathogen, poses a grave threat to both human and livestock health, significantly influencing agricultural production as well. This study aimed to investigate the inactivation effect and mechanism of dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma (DBD-CP) on A. flavus spores. The results exhibited that DBD-CP effectively inactivated A. flavus spores by the Weibull + Tail model. Furthermore, the physiological and proteomic analysis revealed that DBD-CP destructed cell wall and membrane integrity, causing cellular protein leakage and increasing membrane penetration of ROS generated from DBD-CP. Although intracellular ROS was excessively accumulated, the protein levels and activities of SOD and CAT were decreased, indicating that intracellular redox homeostasis was disrupted by DBD-CP. Subsequently, DBD-CP treatment induced cellular protein oxidation and changed protein structures, resulting in unstable protein structures. Meanwhile, protein synthesis and degradation in A. flavus spores were disturbed by inhibiting ribosome biogenesis, initiation process and NEDD8-mediated UPS, which did not compensate for the loss of protein caused by oxidative damage and leakage, leading to A. flavus spore inactivation. Besides, DBD-CP could attenuate A. flavus virulence by downregulating hydrolytic enzymes and CFEM-related proteins. This study provides novel insight into the inactivation mechanism of DBD-CP against A. flavus spores, which establishes a basis for the application of DBD-CP in controlling pathogenic fungi contamination in grains and crops, promoting the development of DBD-CP in food and agricultural decontamination.

Spores, Fungal↗

PubMed2026

Integrated bioinformatics analysis reveals cross-talking hub genes and therapeutic agents between sepsis and acute myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: Sepsis and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) are two significant diseases that may share overlapping etiological mechanisms. This study aims to systematically identify core genes common to both conditions and to explore their potential as therapeutic targets and drug candidates through an integrative analysis of clinical data and bioinformatics. METHODS: The AMI dataset was obtained from the GEO database, and RNA sequencing data were collected from blood samples of patients with sepsis at our hospital. Common genes were identified using differential expression gene analysis (DEG) and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Functional enrichment analyses, including Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis, were performed. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed, and hub genes were identified using the MCC/Degree algorithm. Diagnostic value was assessed via receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Immune infiltration patterns, single-cell sequencing data, and molecular docking simulations were employed to evaluate immune relevance and identify potential therapeutic compounds. RESULTS: A total of 417 genes were identified between sepsis and AMI, with enrichment analysis revealing significant involvement in inflammatory responses. Three hub genes-JAK2, MYD88, and TIMP1-were selected for further investigation. ROC curves confirmed their strong diagnostic performance for both diseases. Immune infiltration analysis showed that these core genes were significantly correlated with the infiltration levels of various immune cell types. Molecular docking indicated that quercetin exhibited stable binding affinity with the proteins encoded by these genes. qPCR validation further confirmed the upregulation of these three genes, supporting the anti-inflammatory effects of quercetin as a potential targeted therapy. CONCLUSION: JAK2, MYD88, and TIMP1 were identified as shared core genes in sepsis and AMI. These genes not only serve as potential diagnostic biomarkers but also offer novel targets for developing common therapeutic strategies for both conditions. Furthermore, quercetin emerges as a promising candidate for targeted treatment.

Humans↗

PubMed2026

Phylogenomics and female reproductive morphology reframe the classification of the Halymeniales (Rhodophyta).

The red algal order Halymeniales (Rhodophyta) exhibits remarkable morphological and taxonomic diversity but its higher-level relationships remain poorly resolved. Here, we present a comprehensive phylogenomic analysis based on newly generated plastid (170 protein-coding genes), mitochondrial (23 genes), and complete nuclear ribosomal cistron sequences from 56 taxa, complemented with an expanded rbcL dataset encompassing 334 sequences. Our results provide a robust phylogenomic framework for the Halymeniales, offering a taxonomic backbone for future systematic studies. The analyses consistently recover six early-diverging lineages (Acrodiscus, Isabbottia, Norrissia, Pachymenia, Zymurgia, and Tsengia) and two strongly supported larger clades (Halymenia s.l. and Grateloupia s.l.). While most small and recently described genera are monophyletic, several traditional genera (e.g., Halymenia, Cryptonemia, Grateloupia) are poly- or paraphyletic, requiring considerable taxonomic revision. At the family level, the data indicate that reinstatement of the Grateloupiaceae sensu Kim et al. (2021) would entail a revised circumscription of the Halymeniaceae and the recognition of at least five small families to accommodate the early-diverging lineages. Although such a revised classification would result in monophyletic families, it is not supported by morpho-anatomical characters. Instead, we propose a more stable two-family system, recognizing a broadly circumscribed Halymeniaceae that is sister to the Tsengiaceae. Female reproductive characters, particularly the structure of carpogonial and auxiliary cell ampullae, support this two-family system and further characterize many genus-level clades, although substantial convergence across lineages exists.

Phylogeny↗

PubMed2025

Healthcare transition readiness in an adolescent and young adult urologic population: The ADHERENT study.

INTRODUCTION: There is a paucity of research regarding transition to adult services within pediatric and adolescent urology. Several recent articles have discussed the barriers in transitioning urologic patients from pediatric to adult health care, but empiric data that may drive intervention are lacking. This study proposes to begin to address this gap in literature and to provide information that may lead to improved understanding of how best to support transition in urologic care. OBJECTIVES: 1) to identify modifiable and non-modifiable factors related to transition readiness as measured by Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire (TRAQ) scores in a congenital urologic population and 2) to evaluate the relationships between TRAQ scores (a validated questionnaire measuring transition readiness) and scores measuring anxiety levels related to transition (using an adapted, non-validated questionnaire). STUDY DESIGN: This is a cross-sectional study of adolescent and young adult patients with complex congenital urologic diagnoses. Subjects were electronically administered the validated TRAQ and a study-developed ADHERENT survey, which assesses anxiety and worry surrounding transition. Regression models for the outcomes of the TRAQ and ADHERENT scales were developed to assess multivariable associations with variables of clinical importance. RESULTS: The youngest subgroup (14-17 years of age) compared to the oldest subgroup (21-25 years of age) had significantly lower TRAQ scores [regression estimate = 12.3 (95 % CI: 2.9, 21.7), p = 0.010]. Additionally, single participants versus those in a stable relationship had significantly lower TRAQ scores [estimate = 8.7 (95 % CI: 1.9, 15.4), p = 0.012]. The Spearman correlation coefficient between TRAQ and ADHERENT scores was 0.52 (p = <0.001), indicating a positive, moderate relationship between the two measures, suggesting more readiness correlated with less anxiety. DISCUSSION: This study found that age, higher education, and stable relationship status were associated with higher measures of transition readiness. There was a correlation found between more transition readiness and less anxiety surrounding transition. This finding can be used to inform future research and emphasizes the need for multidisciplinary support throughout the transition process. CONCLUSION: Early discussion of transition of care and education around transition readiness are not the only solution to improving transition success. The second phase of ADHERENT seeks to understand the patient experience and to include adolescents and young adults in shaping effective healthcare transition strategies.

Humans↗

PubMed2026

Distinct molecular responses to acute cold exposure revealed by comparative transcriptomic and metabolomic profiling in the bay scallop Argopecten irradians.

Acute cold stress can elicit distinct molecular responses even when bay scallop populations show similar phenotypic outcomes. We compared a seventh-generation fast-growing bay scallop line (BS) with a commercial control population (CC) during a 72-h acute cold exposure at -1 ± 0.3 °C. RNA-seq was used as the discovery layer, representative BS cold-responsive genes were evaluated by qRT-PCR, and paired LC-MS profiles provided a comparative metabolic layer. At baseline, 138 genes differed between BS and CC; after cold exposure, 134 of these baseline differences disappeared and 61 of 65 cold-state differences newly emerged. BS showed a larger transcriptomic response magnitude than CC, with 1129 cold-responsive genes compared with 28 genes in CC, and this ordering remained robust across multiple sensitivity analyses. Survival after 72 h was identical in BS and CC (83/90, 92.2% in each population). Biochemical responses were time-dependent and marker-specific: CAT, LZM, T-SOD and T-AOC showed population-by-time interactions, whereas GSH-Px and MDA did not, and the 72-h differences were not consistently favourable to BS. Metabolomic cold effects were strongly concordant between populations, and no feature showed a significant population-by-cold interaction. Features putatively assigned to arachidonic acid metabolism were enriched, but this provider-annotated pathway signal remains exploratory because authentic-standard confirmation was not performed. These findings indicate population-specific differences in molecular responsiveness but do not establish superior cold tolerance in BS.

Animals↗

PubMed2026

Self-healing materials for food packaging: Design principles, activation mechanisms and implications for food safety.

Self-healing materials (SHMs), originally developed to restore mechanical integrity, have recently attracted growing interest in food packaging. By autonomously repairing physical damage, SHMs help preserve packaging integrity, barrier performance, food safety, and shelf-life during storage and transportation. This review summarizes recent advances in the design principles, activation mechanisms, material systems and food packaging applications of SHMs. Key healing strategies, including microencapsulation, dynamic covalent bond exchange, reversible non-covalent interactions and responsiveness to external stimuli such as temperature, pH, and humidity, are discussed. Representative material systems, including biopolymer-based films, hydrogels, nanocomposites, and stimuli-responsive polymers are evaluated with respect to their relevance to packaging animal-derived foods, fruits, and vegetables. Performance evaluation methods, sustainability implications, and food-contact safety concerns are addressed. Despite promising healing efficiency and mechanical resilience, challenges remain regarding production cost, food-grade safety, migration risks, trigger compatibility and stability under fluctuating environmental conditions. Future research should focus on scalable manufacturing, standardized evaluation protocols, repeated damage-healing safety assessment, regulatory compliance, and integration with intelligent packaging technologies.

Food Packaging↗

PubMed2026

Engineered MXene-based nanozyme platform: NIR-II photothermal and dual enzyme-mimetic potentiated chemodynamic synergy for precision tumor eradication.

The antioxidant defense barrier in the tumor microenvironment, particularly glutathione (GSH), considerably restricts the therapeutic efficacy of chemodynamic therapy (CDT). Moreover, CDT generally exhibits relatively mild therapeutic efficacy owing to its intrinsic reaction kinetics, making it difficult to achieve complete tumor eradication within a short time. To address these issues, we construct a functionalized nanotherapeutic platform, Nb2CTx@Ru-PEG2000-FA (NCRPF), for tumor photothermal ablation and enhanced CDT resulting from GSH depletion. NCRPF possesses three key advantages: 1. Efficient near-infrared II photothermal conversion (η = 42.08%), raising the tumor temperature above 45 °C within 90 s for rapid ablation; 2. Dual peroxidase-like and glutathione peroxidase-like activities, simultaneously depleting GSH and generating a burst of ·OH to eliminate residual tumors; 3. Targeted tumor accumulation with 2.9-fold higher efficiency than passive diffusion. Both in vitro and in vivo results confirm that this combined strategy achieves complete tumor eradication with favorable biosafety. Collectively, the NCRPF nanotherapeutic system provides a powerful new paradigm with high translational potential for the complete eradication of breast cancer.

Animals↗

PubMed2026

Genomic insights into end-use grain quality and nutritional traits of an ancient Indian dwarf wheat ( Triticum sphaerococcum Percival) population using a multi-locus genome-wide association study.

BACKGROUND: Triticum sphaerococcum, an ancient hexaploid wheat species, is renowned for its stress resilience and superior nutritional quality. A panel of 116 T. sphaerococcum accessions (the largest known collection at a single site globally), with six bread wheat released varieties, was evaluated for its potential for genetic quality improvement. Field experiments were conducted under standard, heat and moisture-deficit conditions across two cropping seasons for ten grain end-use quality and nutritional traits. RESULTS: Genotypes showed highly significant differences (P ≤ 0.001) for measured traits, with high broad-sense heritability resulting from substantial genotypic variance contributions. Triticum sphaerococcum consistently outperformed T. aestivum across environments, with moisture-deficit stress proving more detrimental to quality parameters than heat stress, while micronutrient content increased under stressed conditions. Trait correlations revealed that the gluten index (GI) correlated negatively with the grain hardness index (GHI), wet gluten (WG), and water-binding capacity (WB), while positively correlating with dry gluten (DG) and protein content (PRO), whereas grain iron (GFE), zinc (GZN), and protein showed consistent positive interrelationships. Two superior accessions, PAUTS10 (WG 35.13%, DG 13.71%, PRO 16.42%, GZN 50.89 ppm) and Sonamoti (WG 33.33%, DG 12.92%, PRO 16.27%, GZN 56.03 ppm), were identified, surpassing the best check variety HD3226 for quality and nutritional parameters. Multi-locus genome-wide association studies identified 30 stable quantitative trait nucleotides across environments, with candidate gene analysis revealing genes involved in transcription regulation, biosynthetic processes, metal ion homeostasis, and transport. CONCLUSIONS: Triticum sphaerococcum demonstrated superior grain quality and micronutrient potential compared with modern wheat, highlighting its value as a genetic resource for biofortification. The identification of elite accessions and stable quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs) provides useful targets for breeding programs aimed at improving protein and micronutrient content. Integrating ancient germplasm with modern genomic tools can accelerate the development of nutritionally enhanced wheat varieties. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.

Triticum↗