EurekAlert! In the Spotlight

Welcome to In the Spotlight, where each month we shine a light on something exciting, timely, or simply fascinating from the world of science.

This month, we’re focusing on artificial intelligence (AI), a topic that continues to capture attention everywhere. Here, you’ll find the latest research news, insights, and discoveries shaping how AI is being developed and used across the world.

Latest News Releases

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 17-Nov-2025 16:11 ET (17-Nov-2025 21:11 GMT/UTC)

11-Nov-2025

Five minutes of training could help you spot fake AI faces

University of Reading
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The research tested faces created by the most advanced system available

Journal: Royal Society Open Science

11-Nov-2025

AI detects hidden objects on chest scans better than radiologists

University of Southampton
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the University of Southampton have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can spot hard-to-see objects lodged in patients’ airways better than expert radiologists.

In a study published in npj Digital Medicine, the AI model outperformed radiologists in checking CT scans for objects that don’t show up well on scans.

Journal: npj Digital Medicine
Funder: Medical Research Council, China Scholarship Council

11-Nov-2025

New study finds generative AI can brainstorm objectives but needs human expertise for decision quality

Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

While generative AI (GenAI) can help define viable objectives for organizational and policy decision-making, the overall quality of those objectives falls short unless humans intervene.

Journal: Decision Analysis

11-Nov-2025

Discussion approach improves comprehension for 4th, 5th graders, study finds

Penn State
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Small-group discussions designed to help elementary students engage in conversations that promote critical analytic thinking, reasoning and deeper understanding of the content they read increased critical thinking over time for fourth- and fifth-grade students, according to a new study by a team that includes researchers from the Penn State College of Education. It’s the latest evidence in support of Quality Talk, the “deliberate approach to discussion that transforms student engagement” developed by P. Karen Murphy, associate dean for research and outreach in the Penn State College of Education.

Journal: Learning and Instruction

11-Nov-2025

Viewing AI as magical sparks adoption among less tech-savvy consumers

American Marketing Association

Consumers with lower AI literacy are more likely to adopt AI tools because they view AI as magical and awe-inspiring.

Journal: Journal of Marketing

11-Nov-2025

Mind readers: Stevens researchers peek at how large language models encode theory-of-mind

Stevens Institute of Technology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Humans have the cognitive capacity to infer and reason about the minds and thoughts of other people. Our brains are very good at it—much better than the Large Language Models or LLMs. Although LLMs were inspired by some concepts from neuroscience and cognitive science, they aren’t exact mimics of the human brain. Now, two scientists team up in a multi-disciplinary effort to tune the LLMs to make fewer redundant computations, so they operate closer to how a human brain does.

11-Nov-2025

Chatting with your cells

CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Single-cell sequencing provides great insights into the inner workings of cells – but making sense of the data requires advanced bioinformatics skills. Researchers at CeMM, Medical University of Vienna, and St. Anna Children’s Cancer Research Institute have now developed an artificial intelligence (AI) method and software tool that lets scientists explore such datasets through natural-language conversations – speaking English with the computer instead of having to learn a programming language. This study, published in Nature Biotechnology (DOI 10.1038/s41587-025-02857-9), illustrates how modern AI makes biomedical research more accessible and effective.

Journal: Nature Biotechnology