biotechnology research

Smart Rings Can Track Menstrual Cycles. But Are They Reliable for Birth Control?

The Oura Ring and other smart rings forecast menstrual cycles by detecting changes in body temperature

Sarah Sloat

What It’s like to Live with a Brain Chip, according to Neuralink’s First User

Thirty-year-old Noland Arbaugh says the Neuralink chip has let him “reconnect with the world”

Lauren Leffer

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This Start-Up Wants You to Put Custom Bacteria on Your Teeth

Lumina Probiotic has said a genetically modified microbe could prevent cavities. Experts, though, have safety concerns

Christina Szalinski

‘Smart Gloves’ Teach Piano Playing through Touch

A high-tech pair of gloves can help make learning instruments and other hands-on activities easier

Riis Williams

The Tale of the Snail Slime Wrangler

Mucus is a miracle of evolution, and some researchers are trying to re-create what nature makes naturally.

Christopher Intagliata

Your Next Flight's Fuel Could Be Made By Microbes

The aviation industry is getting ready to embrace fuel produced by fermentation

Emily Waltz, Nature Biotechnology

A-fib—a Rapid, Irregular Heartbeat—Can Kill You, but New Tech Can Spot It

A fluttering heartbeat called A-fib can lead to stroke, but smartwatches can detect it, and there are good treatments

Lydia Denworth

Elon Musk’s Neuralink Has Implanted Its First Chip in a Human Brain. What’s Next?

The wealthiest person on Earth has taken the next step toward a commercial brain interface

Ben Guarino

Ultrasound Enables Remote 3-D Printing—Even in the Human Body

For the first time, researchers have used sound waves to 3-D print an object from a distance—even with a wall in the way

Rachel Berkowitz

Your Organs Might Be Aging at Different Rates

It turns out that your chronological age really is just a number. What’s more important for knowing disease risk is the biological age of each of your organs

Lori Youmshajekian

New Soft Electrode Unfolds inside the Skull

An electrode inspired by soft robotics could provide less invasive brain-machine interfaces

Simon Makin

Hearing Aids May Lower Risk of Cognitive Decline and Dementia

As few as 15 percent of people who would benefit from hearing aids use them

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Research articles

Engineered platelets as targeted protein degraders and application to breast cancer models

Protein degradation is targeted to disease sites using engineered platelets.

Genome editing with the HDR-enhancing DNA-PKcs inhibitor AZD7648 causes large-scale genomic alterations

A compound that enhances homology-directed repair in CRISPR editing leads to genome instability.

• Grégoire Cullot
• Eric J. Aird
• Jacob E. Corn

Recovery of biological signals lost in single-cell batch integration with CellANOVA

A statistical framework quantifies single-cell batch variation and recovers meaningful biological signals.

• Zhaojun Zhang
• Divij Mathew
• Nancy R. Zhang

Intravenous administration of blood–brain barrier-crossing conjugates facilitate biomacromolecule transport into central nervous system

Biomacromolecules are delivered across the blood–brain barrier when administered systemically.

• Yizhou Dong

Lipid nanoparticle-mediated mRNA delivery to CD34 + cells in rhesus monkeys

A lipid nanoparticle is used to deliver mRNA to hematopoietic stem cells in macaques.

• Ryan Zenhausern
• James E. Dahlman

Pooled CRISPR screens with joint single-nucleus chromatin accessibility and transcriptome profiling

MultiPerturb-seq profiles gene expression and chromatin accessibility in single-cell pooled CRISPR screen.

• Rachel E. Yan
• Alba Corman
• Neville E. Sanjana

Directed evolution of engineered virus-like particles with improved production and transduction efficiencies

Engineered virus-like particles are improved through directed evolution.

• Aditya Raguram
• David R. Liu

Multimodal scanning of genetic variants with base and prime editing

Thousands of rare oncogene variants are evaluated using multimodal gene editing screens.

• Olivier Belli
• Kyriaki Karava
• Randall J. Platt

Saturation profiling of drug-resistant genetic variants using prime editing

PEER-seq characterizes the drug resistance profiles of thousands of genetic variants.

• Younggwang Kim
• Hyeong-Cheol Oh
• Hyongbum Henry Kim

Binary vector copy number engineering improves Agrobacterium -mediated transformation

Agrobacterium -mediated transformation of plants and fungi is enhanced by plasmid copy number variants.

• Matthew J. Szarzanowicz
• Lucas M. Waldburger
• Patrick M. Shih

Site-specific drug release of monomethyl fumarate to treat oxidative stress disorders

Peroxides localized at oxidative stress sites trigger prodrug release for treating chronic pain in mice.

• Thomas D. Avery
• Peter M. Grace

Development of compact transcriptional effectors using high-throughput measurements in diverse contexts

Improved effectors for CRISPRi/CRISPRa are developed following high-throughput screening of transcriptional domains.

• Mike V. Van
• Michael C. Bassik

A resurrected ancestor of Cas12a expands target access and substrate recognition for nucleic acid editing and detection

ReChb is a Cas12a nuclease with expanded target access and substrate recognition.

• Ylenia Jabalera
• Igor Tascón
• Raul Perez-Jimenez

Comprehensive genome analysis and variant detection at scale using DRAGEN

DRAGEN rapidly identifies diverse types of genetic variants.

• Sairam Behera
• Severine Catreux
• Fritz J. Sedlazeck

A structurally informed human protein–protein interactome reveals proteome-wide perturbations caused by disease mutations

Protein–protein interactomes incorporating structural data predict the functional consequences of disease mutations.

• Dapeng Xiong
• Yunguang Qiu

Gold-siRNA supraclusters enhance the anti-tumor immune response of stereotactic ablative radiotherapy at primary and metastatic tumors

Gold-siRNA clusters boost the immune response of radiotherapy against primary and distant tumors.

• Yuyan Jiang
• Hongbin Cao
• Quynh-Thu Le

Droplet Hi-C enables scalable, single-cell profiling of chromatin architecture in heterogeneous tissues

Chromatin organization is measured in single cells using droplet microfluidics.

Lung and liver editing by lipid nanoparticle delivery of a stable CRISPR–Cas9 ribonucleoprotein

An engineered clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat ribonucleoprotein delivered in lipid nanoparticles efficiently edits cells in vivo.

• Jennifer A. Doudna

Global profiling of protein complex dynamics with an experimental library of protein interaction markers

FLiP–MS uses a library of protein–protein interaction markers to understand protein complex dynamics.

• Christian Dörig
• Cathy Marulli
• Paola Picotti

Model-directed generation of artificial CRISPR–Cas13a guide RNA sequences improves nucleic acid detection

Model-directed generative design is applied to CRISPR–Cas13a guide RNAs, outperforming natural sequences.

• Sreekar Mantena
• Priya P. Pillai
• Hayden C. Metsky

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• Chemical Replacement of TNT: Impact On Plants
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Thursday, November 7, 2024

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• A New Approach to Modeling Complex Biological Systems

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• Researchers Challenge Longstanding Theories in Cellular Reprogramming

Thursday, October 31, 2024

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• Understanding How Mutations Affect Diseases
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• Researchers Discover Underlying Mechanisms That Make CRISPR an Effective Gene Editing Tool

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• Scientific Discovery Scratching Beneath the Surface of Itchiness
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NCBI Bookshelf. A service of the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.

National Academy of Medicine; Yamamoto K, Woolley M, Higginbotham E, et al., editors. Transforming Human Health: Celebrating 50 Years of Discovery and Progress. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2023 Feb 13.

Transforming Human Health: Celebrating 50 Years of Discovery and Progress.

• Hardcopy Version at National Academies Press

1 BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Depiction of gene-editing technology (iStock ® ).

“What started as a curiosity-driven, fundamental discovery project has now become the breakthrough strategy used by countless researchers working to help improve the human condition.” —Jennifer Doudna, Winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and NAM/NAS Member

Digitally enhanced 3D magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of a normal human brain (Science Photo Library ® ).

• Neuroscience and Neurological Diseases

Treatment for Parkinson's Disease

A “gps” in the brain, role of the brain in hormone regulation, discovery of opioid receptors in the brain, understanding alzheimer's disease, mapping the olfactory system, navigating neuroplasticity, diagnosing huntington's disease, gene therapy for infants, three-dimensional mapping of the brain.

• Genomics and Gene Regulation

An Unexpected Origin of Cancer

“seeker” cells, reading biological blueprints, the beginnings of biotechnology, tapping the potential of dna replication, sequencing the human genome, the first cloned animal, a revolutionary advance in gene editing, direct-to-consumer genetic testing, patenting dna.

• Infection, Immunity, and Inflammation

Differentiating Self from Non-Self

Understanding the vast diversity of antibodies, infectious proteins, two types of immune help, recognizing microbial invaders, triggering the death of cancer cells, a cell that kills other cells, engineering the immune system to defeat cancer, adoptive cell transfer to treat cancer.

• Metabolism and Bioenergetics

Understanding Photosynthesis

A multifaceted regulatory mechanism, the formation of adenosine triphosphate, rapid-effect steroid hormones, expanding the reach of newborn screening, cancer-causing metabolites, the progression of multifactorial disorders.

• Diagnostics, Therapeutics, and Imaging

3D Imaging Through X-Ray Slices

Advanced drug delivery systems, the origins of magnetic resonance imaging, increasingly specific and sensitive imaging, the first baby conceived in a laboratory, the first artificial heart, a bridge to heart transplantation, robotic assistance in surgery, watching the brain function, reprogramming human body cells, rna vaccines.

• Scientific and Medical Ethics

Research Misconduct Exposed in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study

After tuskegee: putting human subjects research guidelines in place, the birth of clinical medical ethics, bolstering regulation of research, fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism of research, preventing data suppression in clinical trials, added oversight for potentially harmful research, the origin of hela cells, addressing structural racism and health inequities, #metoo and #timesup in science and medicine, genetically modified babies in china.

• Neuroscience and Neurological Diseases: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Brain

Illustration of neural networks in the brain (iStock ® ).

As the nexus among health, behavior, and medicine, the brain is vital in extending human life and enhancing well-being. Intensive study of the cellular and molecular processes that control our thoughts and actions, combined with the use of animal models in neurological research, have produced key insights into how the brain works and the development and treatment of neurological disorders.

Advanced 3D MRI scan of a human brain (Science Photo Library ® ).

Although Parkinson's disease was first described in medical literature in 1817, an effective treatment wasn't available to most patients until the 1970s. Levodopa works by addressing dopamine deficits in the brain thought to be responsible for symptoms such as tremors and stiffness. In 1986, an effective surgical technique known as deep brain stimulation was introduced. In 1997, scientists discovered that a neuronal protein called alpha-synuclein plays both a genetic and neuropathological role in Parkinson's disease, opening a path to new therapies.

Illustration of a deep brain stimulation treatment for Parkinson's disease: A brain pacemaker sends electrical impulses to specific areas of the brain through an electrode implanted below the scalp. Continuous electrical stimulation blocks the signals (more...)

Humans and other mammals can orient themselves in space and remember the route from one place to another thanks to a positioning system in the brain. Nerve cells known as “place cells,” discovered in 1971, form a mental map of a person's surroundings, while “grid cells,” not discovered until 2005, act as a coordinate system that enables precise positioning and pathfinding.

iStock ® .

In 1971, scientists synthesized luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone, a compound produced by the hypothalamus to regulate the pituitary gland's secretion of certain reproductive hormones. Culminating decades of research to understand the relationship between the nervous and endocrine systems, the achievement led to new treatments for infertility and hormone-sensitive cancers.

Illustration of the pituitary gland (upper red) and the thyroid gland (bottom red), part of the endocrine system (iStock ® ).

Opiates have been used to dull pain for thousands of years, but scientists didn't understand how drugs like morphine and heroin affected the brain until 1973. This breakthrough led to the discovery of endorphins and other naturally occurring opiate-like molecules, which dramatically advanced understanding and treatment of pain and substance use disorders.

Illustration of an enkephalin molecule, which is an endorphin and one of the opioid peptides that occurs naturally in the human brain (Science Photo Library ® ).

Within the brains of individuals with Alzheimer's disease, proteins responsible for the formation of plaques were discovered in the 1980s, followed shortly by the identification of genes associated with inherited and idiopathic forms of the disease. Cognex, the first drug to treat the memory loss and dementia associated with Alzheimer's, reached the market in 1993—a year before President Ronald Reagan announced his own Alzheimer's diagnosis. By 2010, Alzheimer's had become the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, and prevention and treatment remain urgent areas of research.

Illustration of amyloid plaques among neurons: The plaques lead to degeneration of the affected neurons. (iStock ® ).

The human brain can recognize about 10,000 different odors. In 1991, scientists discovered that about 3 percent of the human genome is dedicated to maintaining this complex sense of smell. About 1,000 genes determine the makeup of highly specialized olfactory receptors located on cells in the nasal cavity, which in turn send signals to the olfactory center of the brain.

Illustration of olfactory nerves (Science Photo Library ® ).

For many years, scientists believed that brain plasticity—the ability to change and adapt—was limited to early childhood. However, beginning in the 1990s, research began to demonstrate that the brain is capable of remodeling itself at any age, although at a more limited scale and pace. Principles of neuroplasticity have informed treatment for brain injury and a range of neurological disorders. More recently, scientists have learned about processes that inhibit plasticity, including the role of glial cells in “synaptic pruning” and the accumulation of proteins that affect the brain's receptors.

In 1993, scientists succeeded in isolating and sequencing HTT, the gene that causes Huntington's disease—an autosomal-dominant, fatal neurodegenerative disorder. A simple blood test can now determine the presence of HTT, allowing those with the gene to make informed decisions about family planning.

Illustration of pyramidal neurons of human brain temporal cortex (Science Photo Library ® ).

The most common cause of inherited infant mortality, spinal muscular atrophy usually results from a missing or mutated form of the survival motor neuron 1 gene. Children with this condition suffer from debilitating and often fatal muscle weakness and have problems holding their head up, swallowing, and breathing. In 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a gene replacement therapy involving a one-time intravenous injection that replaces the defective or missing gene with a working copy that increases motor neuron function, decreases the need for respiratory support, and increases the likelihood of survival.

Light micrograph of dendrites (black) from motor neurons in muscle tissue (pink-purple strands) (Science Photo Library ® ).

Woman with spinal muscular atrophy (Science Photo Library ® ).

In 2019, a map of neural connections in the brain of the microscopic worm C. elegans was published—the first complete “connectome” of a multicellular animal. Partial connectomes of a mouse and fruit fly followed months later, marking a significant step forward in visualization of brain processing. These and future connectomes may yield important insights into brain diseases like Alzheimer's and schizophrenia.

Colored 3D diffusion spectral imaging scan of the bundles of white matter nerve fibers in the brain (Science Photo Library ® ).

To reduce the ravages of neurological diseases, much still needs to be learned about how disease and age alter the structure and function of the brain. New knowledge could inaugurate an era of “neurotherapeutics” in which gene therapies, pharmaceuticals, and brain–computer interfaces can address a wide variety of neurological conditions.

• Genomics and Gene Regulation: Deciphering the Instruction Books of Biology

Circular genetic map, showing human chromosome 17. Scientists have isolated chromosome 17 to be the site of a defective gene responsible for many cases of inherited breast cancer. (Science Photo Library ® ).

Following Rosalind Franklin's groundbreaking X-ray diffraction image of DNA and identification by James Watson and Francis Crick of the double helix form of the DNA molecule in the 1950s, the development of genetic engineering in the 1970s opened the door to a wealth of exciting scientific discoveries. Since then, genetic and genomic techniques have expanded far beyond the laboratory, propelling advances in health care, forensic science, evolutionary biology, and biotechnology.

Gene research into breast cancer using a grid of DNA fragments making up human chromosome 17 (Science Photo Library ® ).

The 1970 discovery of cancer-causing genes, known as oncogenes, radically changed the future of cancer research. Building on decades of study of viruses that cause tumors in chickens, scientists discovered that oncogenes originate from normal genes, called proto-oncogenes, that can cause cancer when activated. Identification of oncogenes has led to cancer drugs that target the proteins they make in the body.

Molecular model of H-Ras p21 oncogene protein (Science Photo Library ® ).

For decades, scientists searched for a “magic bullet” that could target specific molecules within the body. In the 1970s, they created one. They combined short-lived cells that produce antibodies with an immortal myeloma cell to produce hybridomas, immortal cell lines that can generate an endless supply of identical antibodies that selectively bind to particular substances. Researchers use these antibodies to detect, isolate, and classify proteins, viruses, cells, tissues, and organs. Monoclonal antibodies also have many therapeutic applications in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease.

No method existed to sequence DNA molecules until the mid-1970s, when two techniques appeared almost simultaneously: the Sanger chain-termination method, and the Maxam-Gilbert sequencing method. In the Sanger method, enzymes create DNA fragments of varying lengths; in the Maxam-Gilbert method, chemical reactions produce DNA fragments. Both methods then sort these fragments by size to read out the sequence of the original DNA molecule. Though the Maxam-Gilbert method quickly fell from favor, the Sanger method remains widely used today.

NAM member Frederick Sanger (1918–2013), a British biochemist and double Nobel Laureate who pioneered a method of establishing base sequences of DNA (Science Photo Library ® ).

In 1972, scientists discovered how to cut and paste individual genes from one organism into another, creating the first genetically modified organisms and paving the way for the biotechnology industry. This revolutionary process uses molecules known as restriction enzymes as “scissors” to cut molecules of DNA from both organisms. Enzymes known as ligases then act as “glue” to combine the DNA pieces. The resulting DNA molecules have genes from both organisms and are known as recombinant DNA.

DNA profile from a human sample (Science Photo Library ® ).

Since its invention in 1985, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique has become one of the most widely used and transformative technologies in science and medicine. Within a matter of hours, PCR allows for millions of identical copies of DNA to be created from even the smallest sample. In medicine, PCR is used to diagnose genetic defects and detect viruses. In law, PCR generates DNA “fingerprints” that are used to help solve crimes. Evolutionary studies use PCR to reproduce DNA from fossils. Perhaps most importantly, PCR has enabled genomic sequencing on a massive scale that has transformed biological and biomedical research.

Nasal swab sample collection for PCR testing to detect antigens of SARS-CoV-2, responsible for COVID-19 (iStock ® ).

Molecular model of Taq polymerase replicating DNA: The Taq polymerase is blue, the two strands of DNA are green. (Science Photo Library ® ).

In 1988, the U.S. Congress launched the Human Genome Project, an international research collaboration to determine all 3 billion bases encompassed within the DNA sequence of a representative human being. Recognized as the biggest, costliest, and most controversial biomedical project in history, the project's objectives were achieved in 2003. Completion of the project created a new research infrastructure that has revolutionized human genetics and biomedicine. Since then, many thousands of people and animals have had their entire genetic code sequenced.

Computer screen display of a human DNA sequence for the Human Genome Project (Science Photo Library ® ).

Technician loading samples into automated DNA sequencers used for the Human Genome Project. Both images photographed at the Sanger Centre in Cambridge, United Kingdom (Science Photo Library ® ).

On July 5, 1996, Dolly the sheep was born at The Roslin Institute in Scotland, becoming the first mammal successfully cloned from an adult cell. This feat was accomplished through a process called somatic cell nuclear transfer in which a mammary gland cell from an adult sheep was inserted into an unfertilized egg cell without a nucleus. Dolly's birth proved that a cell from part of the body could be used to create an entire individual. This line of research led to advances in stem cell research and the cloning of many other mammals.

British embryologist and NAS member Professor Ian Wilmut and Dolly, the cloned sheep (Science Photo Library ® ).

When viruses infect certain single-celled organisms, they leave behind fragments of their DNA. The organisms use these fragments to form families of repeated DNA sequences, known as clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, or CRISPRs, which identify and help to combat infections. In 2012, scientists reengineered a CRISPR system that relies on a protein called Cas9 and created a “cut-and-paste” tool that can selectively alter almost any DNA sequence. This powerful gene-editing technology inaugurated a new era in biomedical research and biotechnology.

Computer artwork depicting CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing: The multicolor piece of DNA is a new part replacing an existing portion of the DNA with a new one. (Science Photo Library ® ).

The National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine launched an initiative on Human Genome Editing in 2015 to inform decision-making related to ongoing advances in human genome editing research. Subsequent consensus studies and summits have explored the scientific underpinnings of these technologies, their potential use in biomedical research and medicine, and implications of their use.

Since 2008, when Time magazine named “The Retail DNA Test” the Invention of the Year, direct-to-consumer genetic testing (now called consumer genomics) has become increasingly available and affordable. Most direct-to-consumer tests do not analyze the whole genome. Instead, they check for the presence or absence of specific genetic variants known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a person's genetic code. These markers provide DNA-based information on health, traits, and ancestry. Also in 2008, Americans became protected from discrimination based on their genetic information in both health insurance and employment through the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.

A home saliva collection gene testing kit for ancestry and health-related genes (Science Photo Library ® ).

Beginning in 1994, Myriad Genetics discovered, isolated, and patented two genes—BRCA1 and BRCA2—that can contain genetic variants that greatly increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned these patents, ruling that naturally occurring DNA cannot be patented because it is not a product of human invention. However, synthetically created composite DNA is “patent eligible” because it doesn't occur naturally. This ruling could improve medical innovation and patient care by making it harder for diagnostics companies to gain exclusive control over a person's genetic information.

The previously large gap between how genetic information is used in biomedical research and how it is used in health care is narrowing. Genetic testing, genome editing, the growth of tissues and organs in the lab, and other techniques based on genomics and gene regulation will find a steadily expanding range of clinical uses, but ethical, legal, and social implications will need to be addressed.

• Infection, Immunity, and Inflammation: Unraveling and Applying the Capacities of the Immune System

Tremendous advances in understanding of the immune system and inflammation have led to powerful new treatments against infectious and autoimmune diseases. This golden age of immunology research continues today, offering promise that the body's immune system could be harnessed to fight a wide range of diseases.

Illustration of CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) T cell immunotherapy, a process that is being developed to treat cancer: T cells (one at center), are taken from the patient and have their DNA modified by viruses (spiky spheres) so that they produce CAR (more...)

Receptors on cells known as T cells are responsible for recognizing foreign molecules in the body and triggering an immune system response. In 1974, scientists discovered that these receptors can only recognize foreign molecules that are bound to proteins generated by what is known as the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), a set of genes that varies from person to person and population to population. This discovery heightened understanding of the immune system by revealing the link between people's immune responses and their genetic profiles.

NAS member George Davis Snell shared the 1980 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of the MHC. (Science Photo Library ® ).

B cells help regulate the immune system by producing antibodies and more. Our bodies can generate many millions of structurally different antibodies that defend us against a host of foreign molecules, organisms, or substances. For many years, scientists were unsure whether the genetic diversity required to produce millions of antibodies was generated during evolution (and therefore is carried in sperm and egg cells) or occurs during development (and is generated in other body cells). In 1976, researchers answered this question by showing that the rearrangement of genes in cells other than sperm and egg cells allows the generation of a great diversity of antibodies from a finite number of genes, solving the mystery and opening the way to further discoveries involving gene rearrangements.

Illustration of plasma cells (B-cells, orange) secreting antibodies (white) against viruses (blue). (Note that B cells would be larger than any known viruses.) (Shutterstock ® ).

In 1982, the discovery that variants of normal proteins can act as infectious agents expanded understanding of disease mechanisms and transmission. These proteins, named “prions” (short for proteinaceous infectious particles), are misfolded forms of proteins that act as templates to to promote misfolding among other proteins. Once thought to cause only relatively rare brain diseases, similar aggregates of misfolded proteins are found in Alzheimer's disease, some cancers, and other disorders, suggesting that protein misfolding may play a larger role in human diseases than previously suspected.

Illustration of prion spread: A normal form of prion protein (tiny green balls, lower left) is made with instructions from cell nuclei (brown, one at bottom right). The prions (pink balls, upper right) are a different shape of this normal prion protein, (more...)

A balanced immune response requires the proper regulation of immune cells known as helper T cells. In 1986, scientists identified two types of helper T cells that differ in how they respond to foreign molecules. One type orchestrates an inflammatory response that leads to direct killing of invading microbes, while the other helps stimulate the production of antibodies that ultimately destroy the invader. Recently, the discovery of new subsets of helper T cells has further illuminated the remarkable complexity of the human immune system.

Illustration of a mycobacteria (upper right) infecting a dendritic cell (upper left), and triggering the release of heterodimeric cytokine (lower left), which is an important part of the inflammatory response against infection (Science Photo Library ® (more...)

Roughly a decade after the 1985 discovery of a protein known as Toll in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster , many laboratories discovered Toll-like receptors (TLRs) on human cells that play a vital role in activating the immune system in response to danger signals. TLRs are a class of proteins that are primarily produced by white blood cells and recognize white blood cells and recognize molecules broadly shared by pathogenic microbes. The specificity of TLRs and an elaborate regulatory system associated with these receptors ensure that they only recognize molecules associated with these microbial threats, do not activate an inappropriate response to benign microbes, and are highly specific in their response to the different types of antagonistic microbes.

Illustration of a plasma cell (left) secreting antibodies (white) against influenza viruses (right) (Shutterstock ® ).

In 2001, scientists discovered the FOXO3 gene, which plays a pivotal role in causing cell death. Mounting evidence suggests that FOXO3 normally functions as a tumor suppressor by detecting cancerous cells and triggering a variety of responses to these abnormalities, including cell death, but is dysregulated in several types of cancer. Better understanding of the protein encoded by this gene may provide new possibilities for cancer treatment and may have implications for human longevity.

Breast cancer scan (left) with gene mapping visualization (center) and cell cultures (right) (Science Photo Library ® ).

Natural killer (NK) cells are a type of white blood cell that provides a rapid response to cells that have been invaded by a virus or have become cancerous. For many years, NK cells were thought to lack specific cell surface receptors that, if present, would enable them to recognize and kill infected or abnormal cells that they have previously encountered. However, in 2006, a subset of NK cells was found to possess memories of past exposure to a threat, demonstrating a new immunological capacity independent of B and T cells.

Illustration of white blood cells attacking a cancer cell (Shutterstock ® ).

T cells were first used in 2011 to treat advanced cancers. By modifying the cells to express particular receptors, they could be targeted at malignancies that display the protein they were engineered to recognize. Treatment using these engineered immune cells delayed cancer progression and launched a wave of research into modulating the immune system to fight disease.

Illustration of a genetically engineered CAR T cell (top right) recognizing cancerous cells (left) (Science Photo Library ® ).

In 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a therapy for certain kinds of leukemia and lymphoma that uses genetically engineered T cells. In an approach known as adoptive cell transfer, T cells from a person with cancer are removed, genetically altered to target tumor cells, and then transferred back into the person. The technique heralds a new era of individualized cancer therapy.

Young girl with acute lymphocytic leukemia receiving chemotherapy (Science Photo Library ® ).

Continued research into the immune system will drive continual improvements in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of disease. At the same time, better understanding of inflammation will provide key insights into widespread diseases, such as dementia and obesity, where inflammation plays a major role.

• Metabolism and Bioenergetics: Linking Energy Use to Health

Light micrograph showing a section through a leaf: Each cell contains several round, green vesicles that are known as chloroplasts. (Science Photo Library ® ).

Building on research conducted during the first seven decades of the 20th century, scientists have made dramatic advances in understanding metabolism and bioenergetics since 1970. Defined as the chemical processes that maintain life, metabolism is highly individual, with both genetic and environmental influences. But research has identified larger patterns and factors that affect metabolism, providing new insights into body weight, metabolic disorders, and the development and progression of disease.

The conversion of light from the sun into energy to drive biological processes, known as photosynthesis, involves the transport of electrons among proteins bound in specialized membranes. Before the early 1980s, the structure of these membrane-bound proteins remained unknown. Then scientists determined the three-dimensional structure of a protein complex that performs the primary energy conversion reaction in a purple bacterium. Though photosynthesis in bacteria is simpler than in algae and green plants, the commonalities among organisms have resulted in greatly increased understanding of how living things capture energy from light.

Molecular model of purple bacterium photosynthesis center (Science Photo Library ® ).

Thousands of structurally different proteins within the body regulate biochemical processes. A critical mechanism in this regulation is phosphorylation, a process probed in the late 1980s, in which enzymes attach a phosphate group to targeted proteins. This chemical alteration is responsible for such vital mechanisms as the regulation of blood sugar, the battle against infection, and the development of cancers. The purification and characterization of proteins that carry out phosphorylation or become phosphorylated themselves launched a wave of research into regulatory processes within the body.

Researcher analyzing protein kinase inhibitors to determine their selectivity as part of research into drug targeting: This technique is known as “kinase profiling.” (Science Photo Library ® ).

The molecule adenosine triphosphate (ATP) functions as the carrier of energy in all living organisms. An enzyme known as ATP synthase, characterized in the 1980s, uses the energy derived from nutrients to add a phosphate group to the molecule adenosine diphosphate. The resulting ATP molecule then transfers this energy to other biochemical molecules, driving the fundamental processes of life.

Illustration of the enzyme complex that drives the synthesis of the energy-carrying molecule ATP (red): The enzyme complex is embedded in the mitochondrial inner membrane (orange). The lower part is a channel through which protons (yellow dots) move. (more...)

For a long time, scientists believed that steroid hormones, which regulate many physiological and developmental processes, act by binding to specific receptors in target cells. But by the mid-1990s they had learned that steroid hormones can act much more quickly through such mechanisms as biochemically altering cell membranes. These fast-acting mechanisms are involved in many cell functions and in the development of hormone-responsive cancers, offering new opportunities for chemotherapeutics.

Researcher with mass spectrometer at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, United Kingdom (Science Photo Library ® ).

By 1970 it was possible to diagnose a handful of treatable diseases in newborn babies who appeared healthy by examining their blood a day or two after birth. Technological advances in mass spectrometry in the 1990s made it possible to diagnose dozens of these diseases at once by examining metabolite levels in a drop of blood. These expanded newborn screening assays are now performed in millions of babies each year, allowing physicians to begin lifesaving therapies before the babies even appear sick.

A blood sample is taken on a purpose-designed form from the heel of a newborn infant for a PKU (Phenylketonuria) test at a California hospital. (Science Photo Library ® ).

Tumors frequently display altered metabolism, but until recently it was unknown whether these changes could initiate cancer. Starting in 2008, two related metabolic enzymes were discovered to be frequently mutated in cancers of the brain, bone marrow, and other organs. The mutant enzymes produce large quantities of a metabolite that prevents cells from activating genes needed for cells to mature properly. Some leukemias can now be treated with drugs that block these mutant enzymes and cause cells to lose their malignant properties.

Research on the genetic material of families suffering from diabesity (diabetes and obesity) by the UMR 8090 unit of the French National Centre for Scientific Research, which specializes in the genetics of multifactorial diseases (Science Photo Library (more...)

With multifactorial diseases, heterogeneous combinations of genetic and environmental factors account for the origins of the disease, but how this happens and how it varies from one individual to another have been difficult to unravel. Nevertheless, progress is being made. In 2010, for example, scientists discovered that people have inherited differences in the ability of cells to oxidize nutrients and release chemical energy to be stored in adenosine triphosphate. These differences in cellular energetics may contribute to diseases subject to environmental factors such as diabetes, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases, and better understanding of these linkages could open new avenues for treatment.

Diabetes patient workshop (Science Photo Library ® ).

Improved knowledge of metabolic processes will enable personalized medicine, in which therapies are tailored to individual patients. Rising rates of obesity and diabetes make this approach especially critical to prevent an onslaught of diseases related to metabolic dysfunction. >

• Diagnostics, Therapeutics, and Imaging: Technologies to Understand, Treat, and Repair the Body

One of the first computed tomography (CT or CAT) scans ever taken of the brain (Science Photo Library ® ).

Technological advances over the past 50 years have transformed diagnostics, therapeutics, and imaging. New devices and techniques have produced sharper images, more reliable diagnoses, and better treatments. Medicine has become more effective, safe, and accurate as a result.

Colored 3D CT scan of a cross-section of healthy lungs from a young adult seen from below. The color differences represent differences in aeration. (Science Photo Library ® ).

A woman with a suspected brain tumor received the first clinical computed tomography (CT) scan at Atkinson Morley Hospital in London on October 1, 1971. This non-invasive body imaging procedure relies on multiple X-ray transmissions, or “slices,” that are then reassembled by a computer to create 3D images of the body's tissues and organs. Though early scanners took several minutes to create a single slice and days to create the reassembled image, modern CT machines take only a few seconds to generate images of the body.

Colored CT scans of the human head and brain (Science Photo Library ® ).

A drug delivery system is a formulation or device that facilitates the introduction of a therapeutic substance into the body and improves its effectiveness and safety by controlling the rate, time, and place of release of drugs in the body. The first drug delivery systems with internal control of their rate of delivery of a therapeutic agent were developed in 1971. By the 1980s, advances in biotechnology and molecular biology had led to systems that enabled ever greater control over the delivery of drugs to the body.

Colored scanning electron micrograph of an open drug delivery capsule. The outer layer enteric coating resists being digested by the stomach and breaks down to release the drug particles inside a specific area of the small intestine. (Science Photo Library (more...)

The quest to develop clinically useful applications of what would become known as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) started after the first image was taken of a mouse using this technique in 1974. MRI scanners measure the speeds at which atoms in the body return to equilibrium after exposure to magnetic fields. The data then are reconstructed using computed tomography to create a 3D image of the body's internal tissues, including tumors or tissue damage.

Positron emission tomography (PET) generates images by detecting the energy given off by decaying radioactive isotopes following their injection into the body. First developed in 1974, PET scanning is the most specific and sensitive method to image molecular interactions and pathways within the human body, using biomarkers to reveal information about disease, pharmaceutical effects, and many other biological processes. Hybrid PET/CT and PET/MRI imaging systems are now common in clinical settings.

The world's first “test tube baby” conceived via in vitro fertilization (IVF) was born on July 25, 1978, in Aberdeen, Scotland. In this procedure, mature eggs retrieved from the mother's ovaries are fertilized with the father's sperm in a laboratory dish and incubated briefly before the embryo is implanted into the mother's womb. Since 1978, millions of children have been born using IVF, which is now viewed as a mainstream medical treatment for infertility. However, the procedure remains far from perfect, with fewer than one-third of attempts ending in a live birth.

Light microscope image of intracytoplasmic sperm injection for IVF (Science Photo Library ® ).

In 1982, a dentist received the first totally artificial heart to permanently replace his failing natural heart. This device, called the Jarvik-7, featured a pump that replicated the lower two chambers of the heart, providing blood flow to the rest of the body. Though the operation was a success and the patient lived on the Jarvik-7 for 112 days, his quality of life was poor, tethered to a large air compressor and suffering from convulsions, kidney failure, and memory lapses before his death. Subsequent patients with artificial hearts fared better, but work on the “holy grail” of modern medicine, a permanent synthetic heart, continues today.

Jarvik-7 artificial heart (Science Photo Library ® ).

In 1984, the left ventricular assist device (LVAD) made history when it began keeping heart patients alive until donor hearts became available for transplantation. A shortage of donors has led to improvements to these devices that have enabled them to be used as long-term alternatives to heart transplants.

Surgeon (left, at console) performing minimally invasive surgery on a patient's heart using a remotely-controlled surgical robot (center right) (Science Photo Library ® ).

In 1985, surgeons used a robotic arm for the first time to perform a delicate brain biopsy. Since then, robotic systems have become increasingly adept, generally in combination with flexible fiber optic cameras. With their steadily improving dexterity, accuracy, and visualization, robotic systems can now perform minimally invasive procedures that result in shorter hospital stays and quicker recovery times.

MRI is so powerful that it can detect changes in the oxygenation level of the blood. In 1992, several groups began using this technique to map activity in the human brain. Functional MRI (fMRI) imaging can be used to study any motor, sensory, or cognitive task that a patient can perform while in a scanner. Applied clinically to preserve critical functions in patients needing neurosurgery, it has produced groundbreaking insights into how the brain functions in health and disease.

fMRI obtained during presentation of a visual stimulus to the subject in the MRI unit (Science Photo Library ® ).

Almost all of the cells in the human body have developed into a specific type of cell and cannot change—they are skin cells, heart cells, brain cells, and so on. But in 2008 scientists learned how to reprogram human body cells through a process called induction, converting them into cells with the potential to develop into many different cell types. These induced pluripotent stem cells have become vital tools for research and drug development and may someday be used to generate tissues and organs for transplantation.

Colored scanning electron micrograph of a clump of pluripotent stem cells (Science Photo Library ® ).

A classical vaccine works by artificially introducing a weakened or inactivated infectious agent (called an antigen) into the body, stimulating the immune system to produce antibodies that will fight against that infectious agent in the future. In contrast, RNA-based vaccines contain genetic instructions that the body uses to produce antigens, which trigger the immune response to create disease-specific antibodies. The development and use in 2020 of several RNA-based vaccines that effectively protect against COVID-19 will likely drive huge growth of this technology. In the future, RNA vaccines may allow for a single vaccination to protect against multiple diseases.

COVID-19 RNA vaccine, illustration: The vaccine consists of strands of mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) encased in a lipid nanoparticle sphere (red) surrounded by a polyethylene glycol coat (violet). (Science Photo Library ® ).

As the quest for better medical imaging devices, diagnostic measures, and therapeutic tools advances, health care will continue to improve. Diagnoses will become more accurate, procedures less invasive, and treatments more effective.

• Scientific and Medical Ethics: Protecting People While Enhancing Autonomy and Justice

Philosopher and physician Hippocrates (c. 460–c. 370 BC), also known as the Father of Medicine. His code of ethical conduct forms the basis of the modern-day Hippocratic oath taken by doctors. (iStock ® ).

Ethical lapses and emerging quandaries in biomedical research and practice have provided continual reminders of the need to emphasize scientific and medical ethics in the training of students and the oversight of researchers and health care providers. Today, hospitals and research institutions maintain ethics committees to provide researchers and physicians with consultation and guidance, and bioethics education has become a strong component of training and research programs.

For 40 years, a group of 600 African American men from Tuskegee, Alabama—about 400 with syphilis and 200 who did not have the disease—were unknowing subjects in a study of the effects of syphilis sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (today the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). Administrators misinformed study subjects about the purpose of the research and withheld penicillin, a widely available and effective treatment. After a news story alerted the public and Congress about this misconduct in 1972, the study was found to be “ethically unjustified” and was ended. Although victims of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study eventually received a settlement and health benefits from the U.S. government, the incident led to long-lasting mistrust of public health officials among many African American communities.

Tuskegee Syphilis Study participant being X-rayed (Science Photo Library ® ).

In 1973, Congress passed the National Research Act, which called for the development of regulations on research with human subjects, required institutions to form Institutional Review Boards to oversee these regulations, and formed a new commission to shape bioethics policy in the United States. In 1978, this commission was replaced with the President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research, which was charged with creating recommendations for policymakers, practitioners, and the public on such issues as health care access, the definition of death, patient consent, human research subjects, genetic engineering, and the terminally ill.

Nurse discussing paperwork with two brothers who are taking part in research on siblings (Science Photo Library ® ).

Prior to 1970, little research and guidance existed to help physicians deal with the ethical dilemmas they faced in daily clinical practice. In response to this need, the field of clinical medical ethics emerged in the 1970s to provide a platform for research, education, and evaluation around ethical decision-making in clinical care. In contrast to the broader focus of bioethics, clinical medical ethics seeks to help physicians and other health professionals identify and respond to ethical challenges that arise in the ordinary care of patients, including truth telling, informed consent, confidentiality, surrogate decision making, and end-of-life care.

Reports of research misconduct in the 1980s led to the creation of the Office of Research Integrity within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which works to investigate scientific misconduct and provide support to universities conducting research using human subjects. In 1991, a new regulatory framework dubbed the “Common Rule” added protection of human subjects in almost all government agencies. Among other requirements, the Common Rule provides special protections for pregnant women, children, and incarcerated people.

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy finalized a federal definition of research misconduct in 2000 as “fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism” in proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting research results. The definition does not include “honest error or differences of opinion.” Misconduct must be proved to have been committed knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly, or with a significant departure from accepted practices of the relevant research community. Overseen by a federal Office of Research Integrity, this process built on a 1992 report on responsible research from the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.

Science Photo Library ® .

For decades, drug companies were reported to have suppressed data about dangerous side effects of popular medications, both in publications and in seeking approvals by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for new drugs or new uses of drugs. In 2001, reports of propensity for heart attack and stroke associated with the pain reliever Vioxx and increased suicidality among children and young adults taking certain antidepressants prompted action. The FDA and academic journals began to require that the initiation of clinical trials and the availability of results from clinical trials be registered on a publicly available website and also implemented the Sentinel System for real-time monitoring of new therapeutics.

Vioxx was used mainly to relieve pain due to osteoarthritis, but was withdrawn due to fears that it increased the risk of heart attack. (Science Photo Library ® ).

In response to recommendations from the 2004 National Research Council report Biotechnology Research in an Age of Terrorism , the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services established the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity in 2005. The goal was to provide advice and guidance to federal agencies, scientists, and journals concerning oversight and public availability of research in biotechnology or biomedicine that has the potential to be a threat to public health, agriculture, the economy, or national security. A high-profile example involved the decision by Science magazine to publish the molecular methods for recreating and studying the strain of influenza virus that caused the 1918 pandemic that killed tens of millions of people.

Technician working in a high-security isolation cabinet, used for work with the most dangerous of microorganisms: Photographed at the World Influenza Center at the National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill, London. (Science Photo Library ® (more...)

In 2010, a widely acclaimed book recounted the story of Henrietta Lacks, an African American woman who provided the tissue from which HeLa cells, an immortal cell line widely used in biomedical research, were derived in 1951. In an echo of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, the public learned that researchers had used Lacks's cells without her consent and without providing the family any compensation. In 2013, criticisms concerning privacy and informed consent intensified after the online publication of the whole genome sequence of one strain of HeLa cells. Though the sequence was quickly removed from the public domain, controversy continues over whether consent should be required for the use of biospecimens in research.

Colored scanning electron micrograph of HeLa cells that have just replicated (Science Photo Library ® ).

Henrietta Lacks (Science Photo Library ® ).

In addition to gender and other inequities, addressing ongoing racial disparities must be intentionally integrated into the movement toward health equity and high-quality care for all. The Black Lives Matter movement, increased large-scale demonstrations and national dialogue around the material impacts of structural racism, and disproportionately high levels of COVID-19 infection and mortality in communities of color have demonstrated the critical need to address inequities and structural racism in the health and medicine fields today and into the future. Ensuring racial equity will be a focus of scientific and medical ethics in the coming years.

Starting in 2017, the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements brought the scope and severity of sexual harassment and gender inequity to the forefront of public consciousness—extending to the experiences of women in the sciences, engineering, and medicine. In 2018, a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine identified sexual harassment of women as an enduring problem in academia, and the following year each of the National Academies adopted a code of conduct establishing standards for personal and professional conduct.

Sign photographed at the Women's March, January 20, 2018, San Francisco, CA (Shutterstock ® ).

In defiance of an unofficial international moratorium on editing human embryos intended for a pregnancy, a Chinese scientist announced in 2018 that he had edited the genomes of twin girls in an attempt to make them immune to human immunodeficiency virus. His actions sparked international outrage and caused many scientists and policymakers to call for an official ban on human germline genome editing. A 2020 National Academy of Medicine/National Academy of Sciences report, Heritable Human Genome Editing , detailed the scientific, medical, ethical, moral, and societal issues that need to be addressed before heritable genome editing could be permitted.

Scientific and medical ethics will become increasingly complex as the world confronts new issues, such as the effects of climate change on human health or the role of government in shaping individual behavior. Continual attention to medical and research ethics will be essential to ensure individual and collective responsibility and human well-being.

• Cite this Page National Academy of Medicine; Yamamoto K, Woolley M, Higginbotham E, et al., editors. Transforming Human Health: Celebrating 50 Years of Discovery and Progress. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2023 Feb 13. 1, BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.
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Open Access

The future is bright, the future is biotechnology

* E-mail: [email protected]

Affiliation Public Library of Science, San Francisco, California, United States of America and Cambridge, United Kingdom

• Richard Hodge, 
• on behalf of the PLOS Biology staff editors

Published: April 28, 2023

• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002135
• Reader Comments

As PLOS Biology celebrates its 20 th anniversary, our April issue focuses on biotechnology with articles covering different aspects of the field, from genome editing to synthetic biology. With them, we emphasize our interest in expanding our presence in biotechnology research.

Citation: Hodge R, on behalf of the PLOS Biology staff editors (2023) The future is bright, the future is biotechnology. PLoS Biol 21(4): e3002135. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002135

Copyright: © 2023 Hodge, on behalf of the PLOS Biology staff editors. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

The PLOS Biology Staff Editors are Ines Alvarez-Garcia, Joanna Clarke, RichardHodge, Paula Jauregui, Nonia Pariente, Roland Roberts, and Lucas Smith.

This article is part of the PLOS Biology 20th Anniversary Collection.

Biotechnology is a revolutionary branch of science at the forefront of research and innovation that has advanced rapidly in recent years. It is a broad discipline, in which organisms or biological processes are exploited to develop new technologies that have the potential to transform the way we live and work, as well as to boost sustainability and industrial productivity. The new tools and products being generated have a wide range of applications across various sectors, including medicine, agriculture, energy, manufacturing and food.

PLOS Biology has traditionally published research reporting significant advances across a wide range of biological disciplines. However, our scope must continue to evolve as biology increasingly becomes more and more applied, generating technologies with potentially game-changing therapeutic and environmental impact. To that end, we recently published a collection of magazine articles focused on ideas for green biotechnologies that could have an important role in a sustainable future [ 1 ], including how to harness microbial photosynthesis to directly generate electricity [ 2 ] and using microbes to develop carbon “sinks” in the mining industry [ 3 ]. Moreover, throughout this anniversary year we are publishing Perspective articles that take stock of the past 20 years of biological research in a specific field and look forward to what is to come in the next 20 years [ 4 ]; in this issue, these Perspectives focus on different aspects of the broad biotechnology field—synthetic biology [ 5 ] and the use of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) for the delivery of therapeutics [ 6 ].

One fast moving area within biotechnology is gene editing therapy, which involves the alteration of DNA to treat or prevent disease using techniques such as CRISPR-Cas9 and base editors that enable precise genetic modifications to be made. This approach shows great promise for treating a variety of genetic diseases. Excitingly, promising phase I results of the first in vivo genome editing clinical trial to treat several liver-related diseases were reported at the recent Keystone Symposium on Precision Genome Engineering. This issue of PLOS Biology includes an Essay from Porto and Komor that focuses on the clinical applications of base editor technology [ 7 ], which could enable chronic diseases to be treated with a ‘one-and-done’ therapy, and a Perspective from Hamilton and colleagues that outlines the advances in the development of LNPs for the delivery of nucleic acid-based therapeutics [ 6 ]. LNPs are commonly used as vehicles for the delivery of such therapeutics because they have a low immunogenicity and can be manufactured at scale. However, expanding the toolbox of delivery platforms for these novel therapeutics will be critical to realise their full clinical potential.

Synthetic biology is also a rapidly growing area, whereby artificial or existing biological systems are designed to produce products or enhance cellular function. By using CRISPR to edit genes involved in metabolic pathways, researchers can create organisms that produce valuable compounds such as biofuels, drugs, and industrial chemicals. In their Perspective, Kitano and colleagues take stock of the technological advances that have propelled the “design-build-test-learn” cycle methodology forward in synthetic biology, as well as focusing on how machine-learning approaches can remove the bottlenecks in these pipelines [ 5 ].

While the potential of these technologies is vast, there are also concerns about their safety and ethical implications. Gene editing, in particular, raises ethical concerns, as it could be used to create so-called “designer babies” with specific traits or to enhance physical or mental capabilities. There are also concerns about the unintended consequences of gene editing, such as off-target effects that could cause unintended harm. These technologies can be improved by better understanding the interplay between editing tools and DNA repair pathways, and it will be essential for scientists and policymakers to be cautious and work together to establish guidelines and regulations for their use, as outlined at the recent International Summit on Human Genome Editing .

Basic research has also benefitted from biotechnological developments. For instance, methodological developments in super-resolution microscopy offer researchers the ability to image cells at exquisite detail and answer previously inaccessible research questions. Sequencing technologies such as Nanopore sequencers are revolutionising the ability to sequence long DNA/RNA reads in real time and in the field. Great strides have also been made in the development of analysis software for structural biology purposes, such as sub-tomogram averaging for cryo-EM [ 8 ]. The rate of scientific discovery is now at an unprecedented level in this age of big data as a result of these huge technological leaps.

The past few years has also seen the launch of AI tools such as ChatGPT. While these tools are increasingly being used to help write students homework or to improve the text of scientific papers, generative AI tools hold the potential to transform research and development in the biotechnology industry. The recently developed language model ProGen can generate and then predict function in protein sequences [ 9 ], and these models can also be used to find therapeutically relevant compounds for drug discovery. Protein structure prediction programs, such as AlphaFold [ 10 ] and RosettaFold, have revolutionized structural biology and can be used for a myriad of purposes. We have recently published several papers that have utilized AlphaFold models to develop methods that determine the structural context of post-translational modifications [ 11 ] and predict autophagy-related motifs in proteins [ 12 ].

The future of biotechnology is clearly very promising and we look forward to being part of the dissemination of these important new developments. Open access science sits at the core of our mission and the publication of these novel technologies in PLOS Biology can help their widespread adoption and ensure global access. As we look forward during this year of celebration, we are excited that biotechnology research will continue to grow and become a central part of the journal. The future is bright and the future is very much biotechnology.

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