The development of renewable polymers for use in healthcare has shown excellent results, especially in biomedicine, such as in controlled drug release. Using materials like cellulose, chitosan, and starch, scientists have developed advanced ways of applying these polymers to the human body. However, turning these discoveries into commercially available products is still a significant challenge.  

A recently published article in the journal BioScience reveals that endangered longleaf pine ecosystems—among North America's most biodiverse habitats—face mounting threats from intensifying hurricane regimes driven by climate change. An interdisciplinary team of authors headed by Nicole Zampieri (Tall Timbers and The Jones Center at Ichauway) describe the urgent situation: The North American Coastal Plain was once characterized by extensive longleaf pine savannas covering approximately 36 million hectares. Today, these ecosystems "now occupy less than 5% of their historic distribution, primarily because of habitat fragmentation, widespread unsustainable logging, land-use conversion, and fire suppression during the past half millennium."