Peptides are fragments of proteins that carry out biological functions. They act as signaling entities via all domains of life and interfere with protein-protein interactions, which are indispensable in bio-processes. Short peptides include fundamental molecular information for a prelude to the symphony of life. They have aroused considerable interest due to their unique features and great promise in innovative bio-therapies. This work focusing on the current state-of-the-art short peptide-based therapeutical developments is the first global review written by researchers from all continents, as a celebration of 100 years of peptide therapeutics since the commencement of insulin therapy in the 1920s. Peptide “drugs” initially played only the role of hormone analogs to balance disorders. Nowadays, they achieve numerous biomedical tasks, can cross membranes, or reach intracellular targets. The role of peptides in bio-processes can hardly be mimicked by other chemical substances. The article is divided into independent sections, which are related to either the progress in short peptide-based theranostics or the problems posing challenge to bio-medicine. In particular, the SWOT analysis of short peptides, their relevance in therapies of diverse diseases, improvements in (bio)synthesis platforms, advanced nano-supramolecular technologies, aptamers, altered peptide ligands and in silico methodologies to overcome peptide limitations, modern smart bio-functional materials, vaccines, and drug/gene-targeted delivery systems are discussed.

The electronic structure of nitrogen-containing diamondlike films prepared by sputtering was determined by photoelectron spectroscopy. The $\mathrm{N}1s$ core-level spectra are constituted by two peaks at 400.5 and 398.2 eV associated with substitutional $\mathrm{N}{\mathrm{sp}}^2$ in aromatic rings and N bonded to $\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{sp}}^3,$ respectively. On increasing N, the top of the valence band suffers profound changes. The new features are identified by a comparison of the experimental spectra with theoretically calculated density of states of nitrogen-containing graphite and ${\mathrm{C}}_3{\mathrm{N}}_4$ structures.

This is a perspective article entitled “Frontiers in computational biophysics: understanding conformational dynamics of complex lipid mixtures relevant to biology” which is following a CECAM meeting with the same name.