Volume 3 Issue 5, May 2025

The development of representative and reliable cellular models requires researchers to prioritize inclusivity and reconsider how to approach differences.

Bioengineering advances and genome-editing technologies can drive the development of a bio-based circular plastic economy to address the plastic crisis.

Redesigning biomaterials to proactively modulate the complement system can reduce unintended immune responses and enhance their therapeutic efficacy.

The incipient use of microphysiological systems (MPSs) in the drug regulatory pathway is based on equivalent or superior predictive value in the evaluation of drug efficacy, safety and toxicology, compared with other novel alternative methods (NAMs) or animal studies. Current MPS practice is not deploying available physiological culture media solutions. Will the clinical translational reliability of MPSs be potentially compromised by the use of hyper-nutritional media?

An article in Nature Materials reports a topological acoustofluidic device that enables the control of sound waves, fluid flow and particles at the micro- and nanoscales, all on a single chip.

Extracellular vesicles can be designed to serve as delivery platforms for gene therapy. This Review discusses the application and engineering of extracellular vesicles for different gene-therapy modalities, outlining crucial steps to advance this technology into the clinic.

Enhancers are genomic elements critical for regulating gene expression. In this Review, the authors discuss how sequence-to-function models can be used to unravel the rules underlying enhancer activity and function as biological ‘oracles’ aiding the design of synthetic enhancers with tailored cell-type-specific or cell-state-specific activities.

Personalized bioengineered implant scaffolds offer customizable medical solutions for tissue and organ regeneration. This Review provides a framework for navigating the regulatory process and addressing challenges in technical development and biofabrication to ensure clinical translation of personalized devices.

Vibration can be applied to cells in vitro and in vivo to trigger specific mechanotransductive pathways and guide cell-fate decisions. This Review explores the use of vibrational stimulation for cell engineering, outlining key pathways, devices and applications for this new mechanical cell-stimulation tool.