NEWS AND VIEWS30 June 2026AI agents collaborate to generate biomedical hypotheses and analyse data, moving towards a laboratory discovery cycle with AI involved in every step.ByOlivier Elemento ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8061-96170Olivier ElementoOlivier Elemento is in the Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Department of Systems and Computational Biomedicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City 10021, USA.View author publicationsSearch author on: PubMed Google ScholarScientific discovery has always been a deeply human enterprise, combining creativity, accumulated knowledge, teamwork and experimental ingenuity. Yet it is constrained by what scientists can collectively read, analyse and propose. Two papers in Nature, one by Gottweis et al.1 and one by Ghareeb et al.2, test how much further these capabilities can be pushed by multi-agent AI tools — systems consisting of several autonomous AI agents that cooperate to solve complex problems.Access optionsAccess Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journalsGet Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription27,99 € / 30 dayscancel any timeLearn moreSubscribe to this journalReceive 52 print issues and online access199,00 € per yearonly 3,83 € per issueLearn moreRent or buy this articlePrices vary by article typefrom$1.95to$39.95Learn morePrices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkoutdoi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-01873-2ReferencesGottweis, J. et al. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10644-y (2026).Article Google Scholar Ghareeb, A. E. et al. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10652-y (2026).Article Google Scholar Boiko, D. A., MacKnight, R., Kline, B. & Gomes, G. Nature 624, 570–578 (2023).Article PubMed Google Scholar Swanson, K., Wu, W., Bulaong, N. L., Pak, J. E. & Zou, J. Nature 646, 716–723 (2025).Article PubMed Google Scholar He, L. et al. Cell 188, 6636–6653 (2025).Article PubMed Google Scholar Yanai, I. & Lercher, M. J. Nature Biotechnol. 43, 667–668 (2025).Article PubMed Google Scholar Cui, H. et al. Nature Methods 21, 1470–1480 (2024).Article PubMed Google Scholar Download referencesCompeting InterestsO.E. is a co-founder of and stockholder in Volastra Therapeutics; holds stock in Freenome; serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards of and holds stock options in Owkin, Harmonic Discovery and Exai; and serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of Canary Biosciences. He has received research funding from Eli Lilly, Janssen/Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi, AstraZeneca and Volastra Therapeutics. Read the paper: Accelerating scientific discovery with Co-Scientist Read the paper: A multi-agent system for automating scientific discovery Teams of AI agents boost speed of research Large language models direct automated chemistry laboratorySee all News & ViewsSubjectsMachine learningScientific communityDrug discoveryLatest on:Machine learningScientific communityDrug discoveryJobs Postdoctoral Researcher (m/f/d)We are seeking a postdoctoral researcher in the field of GPCR signalling, advanced microscopy, proteomics and bioinformatics.Mainz, Rheinland-Pfalz (DE)University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University MainzAssociate or Senior Editor (life sciences), Research Cross-Journal Editorial Team, Nature PortfolioJob title: Associate or Senior Editor (life sciences), Research Cross-Journal Editorial Team, Nature Portfolio Locations: Beijing, Shanghai, Madr...Beijing, Shanghai, Madrid, Pune, New Delhi - hybrid workingSpringer Nature LtdFaculty Positions at Center for Infectious Disease Research, Westlake UniversitySeeking scientists in pathobiology, immunology, vaccinology, epidemiology, drug discovery, focusing on microbial infections and inflammations.Hangzhou, Zhejiang (CN)Center for Infectious Disease Research, Westlake University