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🚀 Biology frontiers — 2026

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What biologists are actively working on now. Each card states the open question, the evidence so far and the methods used — not results that have not happened yet.

  • From connectome to behaviour

    Open question: Can a complete wiring diagram predict what a brain will do?

    Where it stands: Whole-brain maps exist for C. elegans (302 neurons) and the adult fruit fly. Mouse-scale maps cover ~1 mm³; a whole mouse brain is the next target.

    Builds on: FlyWire (2024), MICrONS (2025).

    Electron microscopyAI segmentationCalcium imagingSimulation

  • In-body gene editing at scale

    Open question: Can base and prime editors be made safe, cheap and fast enough to treat thousands of rare diseases — one mutation at a time?

    Where it stands: First approved ex-vivo CRISPR therapy (2023) and first personalised in-vivo base edit (2025). Delivery beyond the liver and blood is the main barrier.

    Builds on: CRISPR-Cas9 (2012), base editing (2016), lipid nanoparticles.

    Base editingPrime editingLNP & viral deliveryOff-target sequencing

  • Virtual cells & protein design

    Open question: Can AI models predict how a whole cell responds to a gene change or drug — and design new proteins on demand?

    Where it stands: Structure prediction (AlphaFold) and de-novo design (Baker lab) are mature; genome-scale language models and ‘virtual cell’ models trained on single-cell atlases are being tested.

    Builds on: AlphaFold 2/3, Human Cell Atlas, single-cell sequencing.

    Deep learningSingle-cell RNA-seqPerturb-seqCryo-EM

  • Biology of ageing

    Open question: Is ageing driven by reversible changes in gene regulation (the epigenome), and can partial reprogramming restore youthful function safely?

    Where it stands: Partial Yamanaka-factor reprogramming rejuvenates some tissues in mice; epigenetic ‘clocks’ measure biological age. Human safety (cancer risk) is unresolved.

    Builds on: iPS cells (2006), epigenetic clocks (Horvath 2013).

    Epigenetic clocksPartial reprogrammingSenolyticsLongitudinal cohorts

  • The microbiome

    Open question: Which gut microbes cause — rather than just accompany — disease, and how can they be changed reliably?

    Where it stands: Strong associations with metabolism, immunity and mood; causal evidence is clearest for C. difficile, where microbiota transplant is an approved treatment.

    Builds on: 16S/metagenomic sequencing, germ-free mice.

    MetagenomicsGnotobiotic miceCulturomicsClinical trials

  • Origin of complex cells

    Open question: How exactly did an archaeon and a bacterium merge to make the first eukaryote?

    Where it stands: Asgard archaea, first cultured in 2019–20, carry many ‘eukaryotic’ genes and are the closest known relatives of our cell lineage.

    Builds on: Endosymbiosis (Margulis 1967), Archaea (Woese 1977).

    MetagenomicsPhylogenomicsCulturingCryo-electron tomography