AI reshaping life sciences: intelligent transformation, application challenges, and future convergence in neuroscience, biology, and medicine

Abstract

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is profoundly transforming research paradigms and clinical practices across neuroscience, biology, and medicine with unprecedented depth and breadth. Leveraging its robust data-processing capabilities, precise pattern recognition techniques, and efficient real-time decision support, AI has catalyzed a paradigm shift toward intelligent, precision-oriented approaches in scientific research and healthcare. This review comprehensively reviews core AI applications within these domains. Within neuroscience, AI advances encompass brain-computer interface (BCI) development/optimization, intelligent analysis of neuroimaging data (e.g., fMRI, EEG), and early prediction/precise diagnosis of neurological disorders. In biological research, AI applications include enhanced gene-editing efficiency (e.g., CRISPR) with off-target effect prediction, genomic big-data interpretation, drug discovery/design (e.g., virtual screening), high-accuracy protein structure prediction (exemplified by AlphaFold), biodiversity monitoring, and ecological conservation strategy optimization. For medical research, AI empowers auxiliary medical image diagnosis (e.g., CT, MRI), pathological analysis, personalized treatment planning, health risk prediction with lifespan health management, and robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery (e.g., da Vinci Surgical System). This review not only synthesizes AI's pivotal role in enhancing research efficiency and overcoming limitations of conventional methodologies, but also critically examines persistent challenges, including data access barriers, algorithmic non-transparency, ethical governance gaps, and talent shortages. Building upon this analysis, we propose a tripartite framework ("Technology-Ethics-Talent") to advance intelligent transformation in scientific and medical domains. Through coordinated implementation, AI will catalyze a transition toward efficient, accessible, and sustainable healthcare, ultimately establishing a life-cycle preservation paradigm encompassing curative gene editing, proactive health management, and ecologically intelligent governance.