Membrane computing, a nature inspired computational paradigm introduced 25 years ago, has been systematically investigated on theoretical aspects regarding computational power and complexity, and used in a broad spectrum of applications. This talk will present the key features of kernel P systems, one of the membrane computing models. Kernel P systems unify features of various P systems, aiming at increasing the expressivity of these models and provide ways of analysing the models created through formal verification methods, such as model checking, and testing techniques.