The wide-ranging effects of healthful vs. damaging consequences of UV irradiation on key physiologic parameters are reviewed in this paper. The effects are largely dependent on the wavelengths encountered, the absolute intensity and duration of the exposure, the tissues exposed, and whether the UV effects were delivered via in vivo or as an extracorporeal exposure in vitro typically performed with freshly obtained heparinized aliquots of whole blood. While damaging effects of high UV intensity may include irreversible irradiation damage to key cellular and molecular components, controlled low dosages of UV irradiation delivered via a conventional biophotonic apparatus at specific, controlled wavelengths can deliver beneficial effects on blood oxygenation, tissue repair, immune responses, glycemia, and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) concentrations. HbA1c is an important diagnostic marker for the effectiveness of diabetes management. Studies reviewed demonstrate increases in blood oxygenation and corresponding decreases in HbA1c concentrations following nominal biophotonic treatment and indicate that the application of this therapy extends beyond its more commonly applied applications in the treatment and control of infectious illnesses.

Through the arrow decomposition of the Mueller matrix, respective sets of sixteen independent polarimetric images of biological tissues are obtained for enpolarizing, retarding and depolariz-ing descriptors. In addition to the mean intensity coefficient and the three indices of polarimetric purity, the absolute values and Poincaré orientations of diattenuation, polarizance, entrance re-tardance and exit retardance vectors are considered. In this work we use for the first time this set of polarimetric observables for the visualization of biological structures, both of animal and vege-tal origin. Results show images with enhanced visualization derived from the spatial variation of such significant polarimetric properties. The experimental results are discussed, showing the suit-ability of such set of observables for applications in biophotonics imaging, providing not only ex-cellent visualization of biological tissues, but also showing structures not visible in non-polarimetric images.

The article continues the author's publications about the matrix-tensor study of universal rules of stochastic (probabilistic) organization of long single-stranded DNA sequences in eukaryotic and prokaryotic genomes. The author reveals that corresponding matrices of probabilities of n-plets in n-textual representations of each genomic DNA are numerically interrelated each with other in such algebraic form, which has analogies with formalisms of the known tensor-matrix theory of digital antenna arrays. These arrays combine many separate antennas into a single coordinated ensemble with unique emergent properties, due to which antenna arrays are widely used in devices of medicine, astrophysics, avionics, etc. The noted analogies allow putting forward the author's hypothesis that the stochastic organization of genomic DNAs is connected with bio-antenna arrays. From the point of view of this hypothesis, many known facts about using principles of antenna arrays in inherited physiological phenomena are collected in a single grouping with genomic DNAs. This new topic about the biological meaning of profitable properties of antenna arrays includes problems of biological evolution, the origin of the genetic code, regenerative medicine, and the development of algebraic biology. These issues are discussed jointly with the author's results of quantum information analysis of stochastic features of genomic DNAs.

Recent developments in optical biosensors based on integrated photonic devices are reviewed with a special emphasis on silicon-on-insulator ring resonator. The review is mainly devoted to the following aspects: (1) Principles of sensing mechanism, (2) sensor design, (3) biofunctionalization procedures for specific molecule detection and (4) measurement set-ups and advances in chip-integration. The inherent challenges of implementing photonics-based biosensors to meet specific requirements of applications in medicine, food analysis, and environmental monitoring are discussed.

Discovery and development of effective strategies to treat emerging and often drug resistant strains of viral and microbial pathogens presents one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. Despite nearly a century of progress in developments in antimicrobial and antiviral therapies, infectious diseases still account for a substantial proportion of deaths worldwide, including over 100 million globally in the recent pandemic to date. In recent decades, the plague of antimicrobial resistance also represents an additional and alarming signal for both human and animal healthcare and signals a renewed sense of urgency in addressing this issue. This has made the search for novel classes of antibiotics, antivirals and therapeutics found to be capable of bypassing the microbial and viral resistance mechanisms necessary to in order to replenish our current arsenal of antimicrobial and antiviral drugs and update our therapeutic regimens. In addition, the tremendous impact exerted by viral infections and related pathologies on our lives during the recent decade has forced scientists to acknowledge the opportunities and challenges associated with tackling infectious diseases by developing effective antiviral agents endowed with novel mechanisms of action. The discovery of new antimicrobial/antiviral agents, as well as the repurposing of existing drugs and therapeutic options will be crucial to fight the ever-increasing resistance of “superbugs”, pathogenic fungi, viruses, and parasites. Proponents of modern biophoton therapy proposed in this paper can trace its origins to the Russian scientist Alexander Gurwitsch, who a century ago observed ultra-weak emissions of light emerging from an onion root and soon found additional living tissues to be emanating similar energetic phenomena, thus energizing research which continues to the present day and projected toward the development of useful applications of the new-found biological photonic phenomena. The purpose of the present paper is to introduce the past experiences, potential applications and highly successful outcomes of biophotonic therapy as an option to treat infectious diseases including HIV, Hepatitis C, MRSA, and others, with emphasis on efficacy of using biophotonic therapies to treat and ameliorate the drug resistant variants of the above infectious agents, including potential applications for the current COVID-19 pandemic and in preparation for the emergence of the next epidemic or pandemic.