Chinese chemists boost lignin’s sun protection factor from 5 to 66 and cut colour darkness by one-third through controlled radical grafting and TiO₂ nano-loading, offering a biodegradable alternative to petrochemical filters.

Reporting in the Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts, researchers show that atom-transfer radical polymerisation couples waste-pulp lignin with the commercial UV absorber MBBT, producing sub-micron spheres that remain stable after three hours of intense ultraviolet irradiation.

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.

Engineers have merged neomycin-grafted cellulose nonwovens with a polyvinyl-alcohol/cellulose-nanofiber aerogel to create a biodegradable smart bandage that delivers >99 % kill of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli within 30 min, scavenges 93 % of free radicals and produces –1.4 mmHg micro-negative pressure to pull exudate away from chronic lesions. Reporting in the Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts (2025, 10, 373-385) the team show that blueberry-derived anthocyanins embedded in the matrix act as a built-in pH sensor, shifting colour when infection drives wound alkalinity above pH 8. In a murine full-thickness infection model the dressing closed 88 % of wound area in seven days, outperforming a leading commercial dressing and suppressing inflammatory IL-1β and TNF-α expression to baseline levels. Complete soil burial disintegrates the device within 90 days, offering a plastic-free route to connected wound care.

An international team has quantified furan fatty acid (FuFA) across 48 rubber-tree genotypes planted in Cambodia, recording concentrations from 0.01 % to 0.71 % of latex weight and single-tree yields up to 2 446 mg per cut. Published in the Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts (2025, 10, 111-122), the work links high FuFA levels to increased total fatty-acid pools and identifies palmitoleic acid as a new biochemical marker. With broad-sense heritability estimated at 93 %, breeders can select parent PB5/51 to amplify the trait, offering growers a lucrative side-stream from existing plantations without extra land or fertilizer.

A new study published in eGastroenterology uncovers profound alterations in the mucosal DNA and RNA virome and their interplay with host transcriptomes in colorectal polyps. The research team, led by Dr. Howard Yim and Dr. Xiaotao Jiang at the Microbiome Research Centre, UNSW, analyzed paired polyp and normal mucosal biopsies, revealing reduced viral diversity and distinct enrichment of Poxviridae, Retroviridae, and BeAn 58058 virus. These viral changes correlated with altered gene expression related to cancer and immune pathways, suggesting potential virome-driven mechanisms in early colorectal tumorigenesis.

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.