Nature Biomedical Engineering

Nature Biomedical Engineering, Published online: 14 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41551-026-01778-5 The potential for machine learning to reshape the medical landscape is vast, and we are in the midst of an explosion in tool development. In this Focus issue, we share both critical and forward-looking insights from experts on artificial intelligence in medicine and emphasize how thoughtful engineering…

Nature Biomedical Engineering, Published online: 11 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41551-026-01762-z This Perspective assesses the role of foundation models as clinical tools and introduces real-world evaluation and assessment of foundation models (REAL-FM), a framework for assessing data, technical readiness and clinical value towards responsible artificial intelligence.

Nature Biomedical Engineering, Published online: 12 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41551-026-01760-1 TRICARE is a deep-learning triage framework that serves to enhance the benefits of volumetric imaging for improved diagnostics without increasing pathologist workloads by identifying high-risk two-dimensional cross sections in three-dimensional pathology datasets.

Nature Biomedical Engineering, Published online: 10 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41551-026-01783-8 Author Correction: The evolving role of cytokines for CAR-T cell manufacturing and beyond

Nature Biomedical Engineering, Published online: 05 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41551-026-01765-w Engineered lipid nanoparticles enable CD34-targeted delivery and in vivo editing of haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells while preserving haematopoiesis.

Nature Biomedical Engineering, Published online: 07 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41551-026-01742-3 This Perspective explores and outlines how causal graph neural networks can impact the future of artificial intelligence in healthcare, from diagnostics to causal digital twins.

Nature Biomedical Engineering, Published online: 13 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41551-026-01749-w Key tissue features shared by fibrotic diseases are distilled into clear design rules for human in vitro models, with practical guidance on choosing cells, matrices and platforms for mechanistic studies and drug testing.

Nature Biomedical Engineering, Published online: 14 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41551-026-01775-8 A cell encapsulation strategy inspired by the biological development of the zona pellucida enables the spontaneous formation of thin capsules on cell surfaces. Encapsulated islets were successfully used to achieve normoglycaemia in diabetic mice.

Nature Biomedical Engineering, Published online: 17 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41551-026-01758-9 Biomedical engineers are poised to meet urgent unmet needs in women’s health. We share our excitement about research in women’s health and our plans to champion such advances in our pages.

Nature Biomedical Engineering, Published online: 10 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41551-026-01752-1 Author Correction: The softness of tumour-cell-derived microparticles regulates their drug-delivery efficiency

Nature Biomedical Engineering, Published online: 13 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41551-026-01740-5 A foundation model for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with large-scale multi-sequence pretraining, MARS, overcomes limitations in image heterogeneity to enable versatile real-world multi-sequence MRI analysis on diverse anatomical structures.

Nature Biomedical Engineering, Published online: 17 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41551-026-01763-y Nanosensor-integrated catheters for chemical mapping of bladder cancer biomarkers

Nature Biomedical Engineering, Published online: 15 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41551-026-01737-0 Two studies highlight the ways in which artificial intelligence can be used to improve ionizable lipid design for lipid nanoparticle-mediated mRNA delivery.

Nature Biomedical Engineering, Published online: 17 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41551-026-01761-0 Outracing antibiotic resistance with deep learning

Nature Biomedical Engineering, Published online: 16 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41551-026-01746-z A strategy using chemically modified antisense oligonucleotides with locked nucleic acid shows broad applicability for inhibiting RNA modifications by blocking the formation of required structural conformations.

Nature Biomedical Engineering, Published online: 13 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41551-026-01734-3 Small language models can serve as a more scalable, practical and efficient alternative for medical applications compared to large language models. Here we discuss the strengths and limitations, challenges and future directions of small language models in healthcare implementation, highlighting their pot…

Nature Biomedical Engineering, Published online: 24 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41551-026-01691-x A large-scale benchmark of 87 clinical text tasks across nine languages reveals just how far large language models remain from mastering real-world medical records — and raises the question of what comes next.

Nature Biomedical Engineering, Published online: 23 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41551-026-01727-2 Consumer wearables can measure physiological parameters indicative of health, blurring the boundary between wellness products and medical tools. We critically evaluate the FDA’s 2026 guidance on consumer wearables and sensor-based technologies with regard to validation standards, safety risks, definition…

Nature Biomedical Engineering, Published online: 23 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41551-026-01701-y This Perspective examines the concept of medical reasoning artificial intelligence for emulating the thinking processes of humans in complex clinical situations, an approach that could bring artificial intelligence closer to being a thinking partner and collaborative tool for clinicians.

Nature Biomedical Engineering, Published online: 23 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41551-026-01723-6 A self-amplifying RNA circuit whose replication is activated by an FDA-approved small molecule enables precise, reversible and programmable control of RNA amplification and antigen expression for improved therapeutic and vaccine design.