Accelerating breakthroughs with artificial intelligence

Ever feel like discoveries in science and technology are coming faster than ever? That’s the law of accelerating returns — the idea that every breakthrough fuels the next one, speeding progress along.

Joan Conaway

While debates around the specifics of this concept continue, especially within the computing world, I think the basic premise still captures what scientific research is all about: every one of us contributes to the foundation on which future discoveries will be built. The development and growth of artificial intelligence is one obvious example, and the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology is actively exploring the implications and applications of artificial intelligence, or AI, in many areas of our work.

This issue of ASBMB Today focuses on the opportunities and challenges presented by the rapid developments in AI in research, while the last edition and our recent conference for undergraduate educators highlighted its use in educational settings. In this issue, you’ll find articles about how AI is advancing antimicrobial, ophthalmological, and transcription research. You’ll also find essays from members sharing their experiences using AI in the classroom and for coding and clinical research.

This is such a transformative topic that the 2026 ASBMB annual meeting will feature an extended deep dive session on AI called “I, biochemist: Automation and AI in the lab.” This session, organized by Polly Fordyce of Stanford University and Hua Su of Merck & Co., will showcase the transformative power of AI, machine learning and robotics in biochemistry, highlighting how computational advancements drive innovation from high-throughput experimentation to large-scale data analysis. I am especially looking forward to kicking off this deep dive session with a special plenary featuring Tanja Kortemme from the University of California, San Francisco.

Plan to attend ASBMB 2026 for all the great science, to share your research and connect with the molecular life sciences community. Be sure to renew your membership — members get discounts on abstract submission and registration and are eligible for travel awards.

Scientific progress doesn’t just move forward. It accelerates, opening doors to possibilities that were unimaginable just a short time ago. Your experiments, insights and discoveries add to a growing body of knowledge.

So, read on to learn more about the groundbreaking discoveries AI is enabling. I look forward to continuing the conversation and hearing more about what you’re making possible at the 2026 ASBMB annual meeting.