We leverage two categories of optical manipulation - manipulating materials with light and manipulating light with materials - and machine learning to innovate the measurement of biological structures and functions with high sensitivity, resolution and speed. For example, we have developed four-dimensional adhesion frequency assay for full profiling of cell-cell interactions, and intelligent microscopy for high-resolution organism imaging and classification. We have also developed surface-enhanced chiroptical spectroscopy to enable label-free ultrasensitive enantiodiscrimination of chiral molecules. These advances push the boundaries of optical measurement in biology, while offering new opportunities for space life detection, pharmaceutical quality control, and disease diagnosis.