Die Natur macht es vor: Zur Nachahmung der Flügel des abgebildeten Morpho‐Schmetterlings wurde ein neuartiges superhydrophobes Material („Lotus‐Effekt“) mit farbgebenden Strukturen entwickelt. Hierbei machte man sich die einzigartigen strukturellen Eigenschaften eines inversen Opalfilmes zunutze, der durch Selbstorganisation von Polystyrolkügelchen und Silicat‐Nanopartikeln erhalten wurde.

The unique photochemical properties of TiO2 provides a stepwise approach for the easy and precise patterning of colloidal crystal films. In this approach patterns of hydrophobic and hydrophilic areas are formed on a TiO2 surface and then a colored film of monodispersed polystyrene spheres is deposited on to the hydrophilic region (fish‐shaped pattern in the example shown).

All-hydrogel dressing systems are extremely beneficial for wound monitoring and treatment. The development of all-hydrogel dressing systems is difficult due to the difficulty in integrating different functional gels. Herein, a...

Genetic polymorphisms are defined as the presence of two or more different alleles in the same locus, with a frequency higher than 1% in the population. Since the discovery of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which refer to a non-coding RNA with a length of more than 200 nucleotides, their biological roles have been increasingly revealed in recent years. They regulate many cellular processes, from pluripotency to cancer. Interestingly, abnormal expression or dysfunction of lncRNAs is closely related to the occurrence of human diseases, including cancer and degenerative neurological diseases. Particularly, their polymorphisms have been found to be associated with altered drug response and/or drug toxicity in cancer treatment. However, molecular mechanisms are not yet fully elucidated, which are expected to be discovered by detailed studies of RNA–protein, RNA–DNA, and RNA–lipid interactions. In conclusion, lncRNAs polymorphisms may become biomarkers for predicting the response to chemotherapy in cancer patients. Here we review and discuss how gene polymorphisms of lncRNAs affect cancer chemotherapeutic response. This knowledge may pave the way to personalized oncology treatments.