Special Issues

Biology publishes Special Issues to create collections of papers on specific topics, with the aim of building a community of authors and readers to discuss the latest research and develop new ideas and research directions. Special Issues are led by Guest Editors, who are experts on the topic and all Special Issue submissions follow MDPI's standard editorial process. The journal’s Editor-in-Chief and/or designated Editorial Board Member will oversee Guest Editor appointments and Special Issue proposals, checking their content for relevance and ensuring the suitability of the material for the journal. The papers published in a Special Issue will be collected and displayed on a dedicated page of the journal’s website. Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies and Guest Editor responsibilities can be found here. For any inquiries related to a Special Issue, please contact the Editorial Office.

Section
Search by Title/Keyword
 
Order results
Display
Results per page
Emerging Hallmarks in Cancer Immunology submission deadline 1 Feb 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 352 | Submission Open
Keywords: immune vigilance; cancer immunoediting; tumor microenvironment; immunotherapy
(This special issue belongs to the Section Immunology)
Neural and Glial Aging In Vitro
edited by
submission deadline 13 Feb 2026 | Viewed by 88 | Submission Open
Keywords: neurons; glia; aging; neurodegenerative diseases; morphological changes
(This special issue belongs to the Section Neuroscience)
Cell Self-Destruction (Programmed Cell Death), Immunonutrition and Metabolism (2nd Edition) submission deadline 15 Feb 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 5113 | Submission Open
Keywords: autoimmunity; cell self-destruction; infection; inflammation; immunonutrition; lipotoxicity; metabolism; programmed cell death
(This special issue belongs to the Section Immunology)
Gut Microbiota in Aquatic Animals Nutrition, Immunity, and Host–Microbe Interactions
edited by Qunlan Zhou
submission deadline 15 Feb 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 2932 | Submission Open
Keywords: gut microbiota; aquatic animal health; host– microbe interactions; functional probiotics; immunomodulation; nutrient metabolism; multi-omics integration; microbial ecology; environmental adaptation
(This special issue belongs to the Section Microbiology)
Synaptic Function and Energy Use
edited by
submission deadline 15 Feb 2026 | Viewed by 780 | Submission Open
Keywords: presynapse; postsynapse; ATP; mitochondria; glia; pericyte; vasculature; fatty acids; ketone bodies; leptin; insulin; glucose; lactate
(This special issue belongs to the Section Neuroscience)
Plant Nutrition—Molecular Biology and Genetics
edited by Guohua Mi and
submission deadline 24 Feb 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 2766 | Submission Open
Keywords: plant nutrition physiology; root development and regulation; plant genetics; high-efficiency crop agronomy technologies
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Science)
Roles and Functions of Neurotrophins and Their Receptors in the Brain (2nd Edition) submission deadline 24 Feb 2026 | Viewed by 198 | Submission Open
Keywords: aging; behavior; learning; memory; mental disorders; neuroanatomy; neurobiology; neuronal plasticity; neurophysiology; synaptic plasticity
(This special issue belongs to the Section Neuroscience)
Physiology and Pathophysiology of Skin
edited by Seon-Pil Jin
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 10 articles | Viewed by 26353 | Submission Open
Keywords: epidermal barrier; melanogenesis; wound healing; skin immunity; sensory perception; dermatitis; psoriasis; atopic dermatitis; autoimmune skin disorders; therapeutic approaches
(This special issue belongs to the Section Physiology)
De Novo Detection of Transposons
edited by Dongying Gao, and
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 12858 | Submission Open
Keywords: transposons; de novo detection; genome; evolution; activity; data analysis pipeline
(This special issue belongs to the Section Genetics and Genomics)
AI Deep Learning Approach to Study Biological Questions (2nd Edition) submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 6 articles | Viewed by 12286 | Submission Open
Keywords: OpenCV; Mask RCNN; YOLO; U-Net; StarDist; ImageJ; MATLAB; image segmentation; image classification; locomotion trajectory analysis; volumetric prediction; plants; animals; protozoa; invertebrates; animal behavior; developmental biology; toxicology; zebrafish; medaka; daphnia
(This special issue belongs to the Section Bioinformatics)
Bioavailability, Metabolism, and Health Effects of Phenolic Compounds
edited by and Alice Cattivelli
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 7569 | Submission Open
Keywords: phenolic compounds; gut microbiota; metabolism; cardiovascular diseases; cancer; anti-proliferative activity; bioavailability; bioaccessibility
(This special issue belongs to the Section Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
Young Researchers in Ecology submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 5 articles | Viewed by 7212 | Submission Open
Keywords: adaptations to variable environments; biodiversity; biogeography; biotic interactions (e.g.; competition; predation parasitism; mutualism; amensalism; commensalism); community assembly; conservation; ecological management and restoration; ecological sustainability; ecosystem processes (productivity; decomposition; nutrient cycling); evolution; functional traits; global changes (e.g.; climate change; land use change; biological invasions; nitrogen deposition); landscape ecology; life histories; physiological ecology; population dynamics; protected areas; succession; trophic levels         TRANSLATE with x English Arabic Hebrew Polish Bulgarian Hindi Portuguese Catalan Hmong Daw Romanian Chinese Simplified Hungarian Russian Chinese Traditional Indonesian Slovak Czech Italian Slovenian Danish Japanese Spanish Dutch Klingon Swedish English Korean Thai Estonian Latvian Turkish Finnish Lithuanian Ukrainian French Malay Urdu German Maltese Vietnamese Greek Norwegian Welsh Haitian Creole Persian   //   TRANSLATE with COPY THE URL BELOW Back EMBED THE SNIPPET BELOW IN YOUR SITE Enable collaborative features and customize widget: Bing Webmaster Portal Back //     This page is in English   Translate to Simplified Chinese         Afrikaans Albanian Amharic Arabic Armenian Azerbaijani Bengali Bulgarian Catalan Croatian Czech Danish Dutch English Estonian Finnish French German Greek Gujarati Haitian Creole Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Icelandic Indonesian Italian Japanese Kannada Kazakh Khmer Korean Kurdish (Kurmanji) Lao Latvian Lithuanian Malagasy Malay Malayalam Maltese Maori Marathi Myanmar (Burmese) Nepali Norwegian Pashto Persian Polish Portuguese Punjabi Romanian Russian Samoan Simplified Chinese Slovak Slovenian Spanish Swedish Tamil Telugu Thai Traditional Chinese Turkish Ukrainian Urdu Vietnamese Welsh   Always translate English to Simplified Chinese Never translate English Never translate admin.mdpi.com
(This special issue belongs to the Section Ecology)
Nutraceutical and Bioactive Compounds in Foods
edited by and
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 6202 | Submission Open
Keywords: bioactive compounds; functional food ingredients; nutraceuticals; antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents; metabolic regulation; biotechnology in food science; gut microbiota interactions   This page is in English   Translate to Simplified Chinese         Afrikaans Albanian Amharic Arabic Armenian Azerbaijani Bengali Bulgarian Catalan Croatian Czech Danish Dutch English Estonian Finnish French German Greek Gujarati Haitian Creole Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Icelandic Indonesian Italian Japanese Kannada Kazakh Khmer Korean Kurdish (Kurmanji) Lao Latvian Lithuanian Malagasy Malay Malayalam Maltese Maori Marathi Myanmar (Burmese) Nepali Norwegian Pashto Persian Polish Portuguese Punjabi Romanian Russian Samoan Simplified Chinese Slovak Slovenian Spanish Swedish Tamil Telugu Thai Traditional Chinese Turkish Ukrainian Urdu Vietnamese Welsh   Always translate English to Simplified Chinese Never translate English Never translate admin.mdpi.com
(This special issue belongs to the Section Biotechnology)
Nature's Pharmacy: Ethnobotanical Approaches to Medicinal Plant Research for the Discovery and Development of Potential Phytochemicals submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 5 articles | Viewed by 5914 | Submission Open
Keywords: medicinal plants; herbal medicine; ethnopharmacology; drug discovery; bioactive compounds; biological activity; molecular mechanism; signaling pathway
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Science)
RNA Biology and Roles in Diseases
edited by Nan Wu and
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 4465 | Submission Open
Keywords: RNA biology; diseases; circRNA; mRNA; non-coding RNA
(This special issue belongs to the Section Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
Molecular Basis of Metabolic Homeostasis
edited by Verónica Miksztowicz
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 2902 | Submission Open
Keywords: metabolic homeostasis; adipose tissue; liver diseases; cardiovascular disease TRANSLATE with x English Arabic Hebrew Polish Bulgarian Hindi Portuguese Catalan Hmong Daw Romanian Chinese Simplified Hungarian Russian Chinese Traditional Indonesian Slovak Czech Italian Slovenian Danish Japanese Spanish Dutch Klingon Swedish English Korean Thai Estonian Latvian Turkish Finnish Lithuanian Ukrainian French Malay Urdu German Maltese Vietnamese Greek Norwegian Welsh Haitian Creole Persian   //   TRANSLATE with COPY THE URL BELOW Back EMBED THE SNIPPET BELOW IN YOUR SITE Enable collaborative features and customize widget: Bing Webmaster Portal Back //
(This special issue belongs to the Section Cell Biology)
Animal Models of Autoimmune Diseases
edited by Feng Zhu and Keqiang Chen
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 2470 | Submission Open
Keywords: autoimmune disease; infection; innate immunity; inflammation; cancer risk; therapeutic target; adaptive immunity
(This special issue belongs to the Section Physiology)
Hope for the Forgotten: Tackling Endemic Parasitic Diseases with New Tools and Ideas
edited by Cecilia Perez Brandán
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 1377 | Submission Open
Keywords: parasitic diseases; neglected tropical diseases (NTDs); host– parasite interactions; virulence mechanisms; immune evasion; molecular pathogenesis; genomic adaptations; drug discovery; drug repurposing; vaccine development; diagnostic biomarkers; tropical medicine; endemic infections
(This special issue belongs to the Section Infection Biology)
The Role of Gut Microbiota in Human Metabolism and Disease submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 652 | Submission Open
Keywords: microbiota; bacteriome; fungiome; virome; cross-talk
Advancements in Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Secretome
edited by Chiara Giannasi
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | Viewed by 366 | Submission Open
Keywords: mesenchymal stem cells; secretome; extracellular vesicles; conditioned medium; cell-free therapeutics; regeneration; immunomodulation; inflammation
(This special issue belongs to the Section Cell Biology)
Regulatory Mechanisms of Gene Expression and Its Regulatory Networks
edited by , and Ionara Rodrigues Siqueira
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | Viewed by 229 | Submission Open
Keywords: transcriptional regulation; gene regulatory networks; epigenetic mechanisms; non-coding RNAs; functional genomics; multi-omics integration; signaling pathways; systems biology; epidrugs; pharmaco-transcriptomics
(This special issue belongs to the Section Genetics and Genomics)
Diabetes and Cardiovascular Diseases in the New Era
edited by Prashilla Soma and
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | Viewed by 225 | Submission Open
Keywords: metabolic dysregulation; endothelial dysfunction; inflammation; immune response; molecular signaling pathways; oxidative stress and vascular remodeling
(This special issue belongs to the Section Medical Biology)
Photomorphogenesis and Stress Response Mechanisms Involving Light in Plants
edited by Ilektra Sperdouli
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | Viewed by 197 | Submission Open
Keywords: light quality and quantity; photoprotection; photoinhibition; chlorophyll; photoreceptors; abiotic stress; antioxidant defense; hormonal interactions; growth responses
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Science)
Uncovering the Intricate Relationship Between the Human Microbiome and Chronic Diseases
edited by
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | Viewed by 192 | Submission Open
Keywords: gut microbiome; oral microbiome; metabolomics; proteomics; inflammation; multi-omics; diet; cardiovascular diseases; type 2 diabetes mellitus
(This special issue belongs to the Section Medical Biology)
Algal Stress Responses: Molecular and Ecological Perspectives
edited by
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | Viewed by 186 | Submission Open
Keywords: phytoplankton; stress; global changes
(This special issue belongs to the Section Ecology)
Effects of Ionizing Radiation on Biomolecular Systems
edited by Antonella Bertucci
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | Viewed by 122 | Submission Open
Keywords: biomarkers; ionizing radiation; omics; high-throughput; dose
(This special issue belongs to the Section Biophysics)
Transcription Factors and Signaling Pathways in Tooth and Craniofacial Development
edited by Devi Atukorallaya
submission deadline 28 Feb 2026 | Viewed by 99 | Submission Open
Keywords: teeth; taste buds; facial bones and cartilage; animal models; birth defects; dental hard tissue development and mineralization; regeneration; cell signaling pathways
(This special issue belongs to the Section Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
The Biology, Ecology, and Management of Plant Pests
edited by , , Suli Liu and Yuxin Zhou
submission deadline 1 Mar 2026 | 6 articles | Viewed by 4144 | Submission Open
Keywords: climate change; genetic diversity; life table; population dynamic; biomathematics; insect behavior; insect physiology; pest resistance; molecular mechanism; olfactory peripheral neurons; insecticide resistance; plant– pest– natural enemy; plant– insect-vector– pathogen; integrated pest management; pest monitoring and early warning
(This special issue belongs to the Section Ecology)
Physiological and Pathophysiological Responses to Biomaterials 2.0: From Nano- to Microscale Effects and Interactions submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | 4 articles | Viewed by 11825 | Submission Open
Keywords: extracellular stimuli and physiological responses; plasma membrane interface; cell– material interactions; tissue– material interactions; tissue engineering; biomaterials; biomedical devices; in vitro models and on-chip/microfluidic systems; bioreactors; structure– function relationship
(This special issue belongs to the Section Physiology)
Proteomics and Human Diseases
edited by Lei Fang
submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | 4 articles | Viewed by 8771 | Submission Open
Keywords: proteomics; clinical proteomics; human diseases; biomarker identification; therapeutic target; molecular mechanism; cancers; metabolic diseases; cardiovascular diseases; neurodegeneration diseases
(This special issue belongs to the Section Medical Biology)
The Emerging Role of Mitochondria in Neurobiology submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 4926 | Submission Open
Keywords: mitochondrial dynamics; neurodegenerative diseases; neuronal bioenergetics; synaptic function; neurogenesis; neuronal plasticity
(This special issue belongs to the Section Neuroscience)
Feeding Biology and Nutrition in Insects
edited by and Christopher W. Weldon
submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 4668 | Submission Open
Keywords: diet; digestion; ecology; evolution; feeding; insects; mass-rearing; microbiome; nutrients; taste
(This special issue belongs to the Section Ecology)
How Epigenetics Shapes the Nervous System
edited by
submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 4568 | Submission Open
Keywords: nervous system; epigenetics; DNA methylation; histone tail modifications; non-coding RNAs; neurological disorders; neurodegenerative diseases; biomarkers; environmental epigenetics
(This special issue belongs to the Section Neuroscience)
Advances in Biological Research of Chiroptera
edited by Jiang Feng, Ying Liu and
submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | 6 articles | Viewed by 3673 | Submission Open
Keywords: individual development; ecolocation; powered flight; high-frequency hearing; pest control; bat ecosystem service; habitat suitability; evolutionary adaptations
(This special issue belongs to the Section Zoology)
Pathophysiology of Testis
edited by María Susana Theas, and María Noel Galardo
submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 3603 | Submission Open
Keywords: testis; infertility; aging; inflammation; spermatogenesis; steroidogenesis; energy balance
(This special issue belongs to the Section Physiology)
Microbial Life at the Extremes: From Environmental Diversity to Functional Insights submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 2785 | Submission Open
Keywords: extremophiles; microbial diversity; functional adaptation; extreme environment; synthetic extreme environments; biosignatures TRANSLATE with x English Arabic Hebrew Polish Bulgarian Hindi Portuguese Catalan Hmong Daw Romanian Chinese Simplified Hungarian Russian Chinese Traditional Indonesian Slovak Czech Italian Slovenian Danish Japanese Spanish Dutch Klingon Swedish English Korean Thai Estonian Latvian Turkish Finnish Lithuanian Ukrainian French Malay Urdu German Maltese Vietnamese Greek Norwegian Welsh Haitian Creole Persian   //   TRANSLATE with COPY THE URL BELOW Back EMBED THE SNIPPET BELOW IN YOUR SITE Enable collaborative features and customize widget: Bing Webmaster Portal Back //     This page is in English   Translate to Simplified Chinese         Afrikaans Albanian Amharic Arabic Armenian Azerbaijani Bengali Bulgarian Catalan Croatian Czech Danish Dutch English Estonian Finnish French German Greek Gujarati Haitian Creole Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Icelandic Indonesian Italian Japanese Kannada Kazakh Khmer Korean Kurdish (Kurmanji) Lao Latvian Lithuanian Malagasy Malay Malayalam Maltese Maori Marathi Myanmar (Burmese) Nepali Norwegian Pashto Persian Polish Portuguese Punjabi Romanian Russian Samoan Simplified Chinese Slovak Slovenian Spanish Swedish Tamil Telugu Thai Traditional Chinese Turkish Ukrainian Urdu Vietnamese Welsh   Always translate English to Simplified Chinese Never translate English Never translate admin.mdpi.com
(This special issue belongs to the Section Ecology)
Gene–Environment Interactions in Evolutionary Developmental Biology
edited by Alexander Shingleton
submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 2364 | Submission Open
Keywords: phenotypic plasticity; gene– environment interactions; genetic architecture of plasticity; mechanisms of phenotypic variation; anthropogenic stressors; evolution of plastic responses
(This special issue belongs to the Section Evolutionary Biology)
Animal Models of Gastrointestinal Diseases
edited by Yan Hu
submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 2343 | Submission Open
Keywords: gastrointestinal diseases; animal models; digestive system; inflammatory bowel diseases; colorectal cancer; disease pathology; research methodologies; therapeutic interventions; clinical applications; translational research
(This special issue belongs to the Section Physiology)
Biological Control and Molecular Biology of Bacterial Plant Diseases
edited by Lei Li and Xiaofeng Zhou
submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1946 | Submission Open
Keywords: bacterial plant diseases; biological control; plant pathogens; endophytes; genomic; transcriptomic; and proteomic studies of antagonistic or pathogenic bacteria interactions; pathogenic mechanism
(This special issue belongs to the Section Plant Science)
Gene Editing and Genetic Regulation: New Insight in Insect Sex Determination, Reproductive Development and Pest Control
edited by Honglun Bi
submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1940 | Submission Open
Keywords: insect gene editing; genetic regulation  ; CRISPR/Cas  ; gene drive  ; pest control; sex determination  ; reproductive development; insect sterile technique
(This special issue belongs to the Section Zoology)
Exploring the Biodiversity, Taxonomy, Ecology and Genomics of Fungi submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1794 | Submission Open
Keywords: biodiversity; ecological roles of fungi; fungal communities; genomics; polyphasic approaches; metabolomics
Aquatic Animal Pathogens and Immunity
edited by and Junsoung Kwak
submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1708 | Submission Open
Keywords: disease mechanism; diagnosis methods for emerging diseases; host– pathogen interaction; immune defense mechanism; vaccines; immunostimulants; disease control and prevention; therapy
(This special issue belongs to the Section Microbiology)
In Vitro 2.0—Improving the Cell Culture Environment for Biology
edited by
submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 1687 | Submission Open
Keywords: in vitro technologies; microfluids; bioreactors; organoids; tissue engineering; lab-on-a-chip; life-support systems; symbioses
(This special issue belongs to the Section Cell Biology)
Cardiovascular Autonomic Function: From Bench to Bedside—2nd Edition
edited by and
submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1255 | Submission Open
Keywords: dysautonomia; heart rate variability; autonomic function testing; cardiovascular autonomic function; autonomic neuroscience; syncope; orthostatic hypotension; baroreflex; autonomic molecular mechanisms
Biodiversity, Conservation, and Application of Crustaceans
edited by and Alejandro M. Maeda-Martinez
submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 997 | Submission Open
Keywords: application; aquaculture; aquatic ecology; biodiversity and conservation; crustaceans; evolutionary biology; experimental toxicology; genetic diversity; phylogenetic relationships; taxonomy and classification
(This special issue belongs to the Section Conservation Biology and Biodiversity)
Decoding the Molecular Landscape of Atopic Dermatitis: Bridging Mechanisms, Biomarkers, and Therapeutics
edited by and
submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | Viewed by 277 | Submission Open
Keywords: atopic dermatitis; molecular pathogenesis; immune dysregulation; epidermal barrier dysfunction; skin microbiome; cytokine signaling; JAK-STAT pathway; therapeutic biomarkers; precision dermatology; neuroimmune interactions
(This special issue belongs to the Section Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
Latest Biological Advances in Neuromuscular Diseases
edited by James P. Orengo
submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | Viewed by 238 | Submission Open
Keywords: neuromuscular medicine; muscle disease; neuropathy; neurogenetics; neurological disorders; neurodegeneration; neurology
(This special issue belongs to the Section Neuroscience)
Molecular Insights into the Immune Contexture of Tumors
edited by and Guilherme Zweig Rocha
submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | Viewed by 164 | Submission Open
Keywords: immunology; immune oncology; cancer; molecular biology; biomarkers; inflammation
(This special issue belongs to the Section Cancer Biology)
Advances in the Molecular Evolution of Free-Living and Plant Parasitic Nematodes
edited by
submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | Viewed by 153 | Submission Open
Keywords: biodiversity; biogeography; criptic species; phylogenetics; sequencing
(This special issue belongs to the Section Zoology)
Signaling Mechanisms Controlling Cell Fate in Cancer
edited by Wittaya Chaiwangyen and
submission deadline 31 Mar 2026 | Viewed by 117 | Submission Open
Keywords: cell fate; cancer signaling; miRNA; p53; Wnt; apoptosis; proliferation; differentiation; therapy resistance; biomarkers
(This special issue belongs to the Section Cell Biology)
Back to TopTop