Engineering Polysaccharide‐Based Hydrogel Photonic Constructs: From Multiscale Detection to the Biofabrication of Living Optical Fibers (Adv. Mater. 52/2021)

Digitalizing Biology The living hydrogel optical fibers and polysaccharide-based photonic constructs fabricated by Rui L. Reis, Utkan Demirci, and co-workers in article number 2105361 are highly versatile and enable the screening of multiscale phenomena, from macro-level forces and shapes to nano-level biotarget detection. Living optical interactions further allow the direct quantification of dynamic cellular responses, ranging from metabolism to 3D proliferation and anti-cancer drug susceptibility—asking cells the right question.