A Canadian team turned 23,000 mating types into a materials library, showing nuclear-mitochondrial combos double film strength or ductility depending on cross-linker choice.

Writing in the Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts, researchers report the first systematic screen of wild fungal genotypes for pure mycelial materials, proving that strain choice can outperform process tweaks in green fabrication.

Italian scientists melt-blend lignin scorched in a gliding-arc tornado into polypropylene, doubling toughness and keeping 98 % of strength after two re-extrusions without any chemical compatibilizer.

Reporting in the Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts, researchers show that a 30-second argon-plasma whirl cuts hydroxyl groups on lignin by one third, spawns phenoxy radicals and forges stronger bonds with polypropylene, yielding recyclable, high-performance green composites.

Reporting in the Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts, a China-led team cultivated the cellulose-secreting bacterium Taonella mepensis inside thin silicone tubes, producing hollow hydrogel cylinders of extraordinary purity. After a 30 % strain twist and overnight drying, the resulting fibers reached 1.06 GPa tensile strength—higher than any previously reported bacterial-cellulose thread—while remaining light enough to lift 342,000 times their own mass. Exposure to water vapor triggers a rapid untwisting motion that peaks at 884 revolutions per minute per metre, a speed unmatched by existing biopolymer actuators. No synthetic additives are required; the response emerges from reversible hydrogen-bond rearrangement between nanofibrils. Stored fibers retain 86 % of their rotational speed after eight months, and prototypes already function as remote rain sensors, on–off switches and self-opening curtains. The work, supported by China’s National Key R&D Program, points toward low-carbon, biodegradable hardware for soft robotics and environmental monitoring.

An Emirati-led team has converted pineapple peels into cellulose nanofibres 43 nm wide and used them to amend three Arabian desert sands. Published in the Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts (2025, 10, 513-529), the work shows that alkali-bleached ball-milled fibres at only 1–2 % (w/w) reduce hydraulic conductivity by 58 %, extend water evaporation time by 55 % and boost compressive strength four-fold to 0.5 MPa without sacrificing breathability. Phosphate retention climbs from 30 % to 60 % relative to unamended sand, while biodegradation tests reveal negligible CO₂ evolution in sterile desert matrices, indicating multi-year stability. Cherry-tomato seedlings grown in 1 % fibre-amended sand achieved 100 % survival versus 40 % at 3 %, underscoring a narrow agronomic optimum. The open-source process uses kitchen-grade blenders and yields 13 % cellulose from peel waste, offering smallholders a circular, low-tech weapon against land degradation.

The latest issue of Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts (2025, 10, 295-309) surveys four millennia of cellulose sutures and concludes that newly engineered nanocellulose and oxidized regenerated cellulose fibers lose more than half their tensile strength in only seven days—fast enough to qualify as absorbable under ISO standards. The Chinese–Iranian team behind the survey demonstrates wet-spun cellulose nanofibril (CNF) threads reaching 1 877 MPa when blended with chitosan, while interfacial polyelectrolyte complexation (IPC) embeds antibiotics or growth factors directly into the filament core. In vivo rodent data reveal smaller inflammatory footprints and 1.7-fold higher collagen deposition than silk or Vicryl controls, suggesting the plant-based threads could soon move from bench to bedside.

Reporting in the Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts, researchers outline a closed-loop concept: a glutaraldehyde-cross-linked chitosan/carboxymethyl-cellulose sponge first adsorbs Cr³⁺, Al³⁺ and Zr⁴⁺ from simulated tannery liquor at pH 4, obeying Langmuir kinetics. Instead of conventional acid desorption, the metal-laden gel is simply swollen, sheared and added to the re-tanning bath where its wide-molecular-weight fragments and coordinated metals raise shrinkage temperature by up to 8 °C and increase tear strength 40 %. The tactic eliminates a disposal step while cutting virgin chrome demand.

This study uncovers a new molecular mechanism by which the E3 ubiquitin ligase PIAS4 orchestrates pluripotency exit and lineage commitment in porcine embryonic stem cells (pESCs). Using a genome-wide CRISPR screening approach, the researchers identified PIAS4 as a critical regulator that modulates histone H3K4me3 marks via SUMOylation-mediated stabilization of KDM5B. Loss of PIAS4 impaired stem cell differentiation, disrupted lineage specific gene programs, and altered mesendoderm specification through LEFTY2–SMAD signaling. These findings not only provide fundamental insight into porcine stem cell biology but also pave the way for applications in livestock breeding, artificial meat production, and regenerative medicine.