Bioengineering sits at the vibrant intersection of biology and engineering, where scientists design new tools to understand life and solve real-world problems. From creating artificial organs to developing smart materials that mimic natural tissues, this field turns complex biological questions into tangible innovations that improve human health and our environment.

At Gist.Science, we track every new preprint in this category directly from bioRxiv. Our team processes each submission to provide both plain-language explanations for curious minds and detailed technical summaries for researchers, ensuring these cutting-edge discoveries are accessible to everyone. Below are the latest papers in bioengineering that have recently appeared on bioRxiv.

📄 bioengineering

Monitoring Autonomic Tone During Spinal Cord Neuromodulation Using Wearble AURIS Sensor

This study validates a novel, non-invasive in-ear AURIS sensor utilizing a PDMS substrate for monitoring heart rate variability during spinal cord neuromodulation, demonstrating gold-standard fidelity comparable to conventional chest electrodes and establishing a robust foundation for closed-loop bioelectronic medicine.

Bohluli, R. S., Lopez, A. F., Perkins, P. L., Griffith, K. M., Babu, A., Cho, S.-M., Thakor, N. V.2026-03-10
📄 bioengineering

Autofluorescence lifetime imaging resolves cell heterogeneity within peripheral blood mononuclear cells

This study demonstrates that label-free optical metabolic imaging (OMI) using autofluorescence lifetime imaging can non-destructively resolve metabolic heterogeneity to accurately identify immune cell subtypes and activation states within heterogeneous peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) cultures, offering a promising tool for improved disease diagnostics and cell therapy development.

Riendeau, J. M., Hockerman, L., Maly, E., Samimi, K. M., Skala, M. C.2026-03-08
📄 bioengineering

Propionic acid-related inhibition during anaerobic digestion: insights into methane production and microbial community adaptation

This study demonstrates that acidity, rather than propionate ions alone, is the primary driver of propionic acid-induced inhibition in anaerobic digestion, causing severe methane production loss and significant microbial community restructuring that correlates strongly with process failure.

Liu, X., Soulard, C., Jamilloux, V., Pauss, A., Andre, L., Ribeiro, T., Guerin-Rechdaoui, S., Rocher, V., Lacroix, C., B (…)2026-03-05
📄 bioengineering

Reproducible Research: Computational Design of PersonalizedClinical Treatments for Walking Impairments Using the Neuromusculoskeletal Modeling Pipeline

This paper introduces detailed, reproducible training tutorials for the Neuromusculoskeletal Modeling (NMSM) Pipeline that guide novice users through creating personalized models and designing optimized clinical treatments for walking impairments, demonstrated through two real-world case studies involving knee osteoarthritis and post-stroke gait rehabilitation.

Salati, R. M., Li, G., Williams, S. T., Fregly, B. J.2026-03-04