The year 2026 is shaping up to be a pivotal moment across science, from artificial intelligence and gene editing to space exploration and particle physics. According to a recent article in Nature, one of the most closely watched shifts will be the rise of AI-driven research.
Beyond large language models, scientists are beginning to deploy AI agents capable of executing complex, multi-step scientific tasks with minimal human oversight. At the same time, smaller, more specialized AI systems – trained on modest datasets and optimized for reasoning rather than text generation – are proving surprisingly powerful. This progress raises both excitement and concerns about reliability and oversight.
Image: Nature
In biomedicine, momentum is building around personalized gene editing. Following the landmark case of a CRISPR therapy tailored for a single child with a rare metabolic disorder, multiple clinical trials are expected to launch in 2026 to test similar approaches across small patient populations. Meanwhile, the UK is set to report results from a massive trial of a blood test designed to detect dozens of cancers before symptoms appear – a potential turning point for early diagnosis.
Space science will also see major activity in 2026. NASA’s Artemis II mission will carry astronauts around the Moon for the first time in over five decades, while China’s Chang’e-7 and Japan’s MMX mission target the Moon’s south pole and Mars’s moons, respectively. Europe’s PLATO telescope aims to identify Earth-like exoplanets, and India’s Aditya-L1 will provide critical observations of the Sun during solar maximum.
On Earth, China’s new deep-ocean drilling vessel plans to probe the planet’s mantle, while physicists prepare for major infrastructure upgrades, including CERN’s high-luminosity Large Hadron Collider. Overlaying all of this, shifting US science policy under President Trump’s second term is expected to reshape funding priorities and global collaboration, with implications extending well beyond 2026.
Read more:
- Science in 2026: the events to watch for in the coming year
- Organoids in 2025: The Year Regulation Met Reality
