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: 19-Nov-2025 20:11 ET (20-Nov-2025 01:11 GMT/UTC)

21-Oct-2025

Advincula leads project on self-driving labs of the future

University of Tennessee at Knoxville

Self-driving laboratories (SDLs) powered by AI and machine learning revolutionize research by automating experiments, accelerating discoveries, and optimizing processes in materials science and pharmaceuticals. University of Tennessee Knoxville’s Rigoberto Advincula leads efforts to develop SDLs, enabling faster innovation, cost savings, and preparing students for future careers in advanced R&D technologies.

20-Oct-2025

Machine learning-driven design of a high-energy NASICON cathode for sodium-ion batteries

Research
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A team led by Prof. Lei Li from Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT), with collaborators, developed a data-driven machine learning (ML) approach, leading to the creation of Na₃Mn₀.₅V₀.₅Ti₀.₅Zr₀.₅(PO₄)₃ (NMVTZP)—a new NASICON cathode setting a new SIB performance benchmark.

Journal: Research
Funder: Zhejiang Province Science and Technology Program, National Key Research and Development Program of China, National Natural Science Foundation of China, State Key Laboratory of New Ceramic and Fine Processing at Tsinghua University, Beijing Natural Science Foundation, Beijing Nova Program

20-Oct-2025

Artificial intelligence boosts eco‑friendly dye cleanup

Biochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University

As industries continue to produce colorful textiles and plastics, the dyes that make them vibrant pose a serious threat to rivers and lakes. A new study published in Carbon Research shows how machine learning can help design better materials to capture and remove toxic dyes from water, improving both environmental safety and industrial sustainability.

Journal: Carbon Research

20-Oct-2025

National study finds public Montessori programs strengthens early learning outcomes -- at sharply lower costs compared to traditional preschool

University of Virginia
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The first national randomized trial of public Montessori preschool students showed stronger long-term outcomes by kindergarten, including elevated reading, memory, and executive function as compared to non-Montessori preschoolers. The research also appears highly actionable for policymakers, because the results found the Montessori programs delivered better outcomes at sharply lower costs. The study of 588 children across two dozen programs nationwide shows an imperative to follow and study these outcomes through graduation and beyond.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Funder: Institute of Education Sciences, Department of Education, American Institutes for Research, Arnold Ventures, Institute of Education Sciences

20-Oct-2025

Commercially important fish found congregating at methane seep off Chile

University of California - San Diego
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A team of scientists from Chile and the United States discovered dozens of red cusk-eels, fish prized in Chilean seafood markets and celebrated in a poem by renowned Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, embedded in a bushy thicket of tubeworms at a methane seep off the coast of central Chile. This is the first time this commercially important species has been documented using methane seeps as habitat.

Journal: Ecology

20-Oct-2025

How do people learn new facts?

Society for Neuroscience
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The quality of activity in distinct brain areas during learning can predict whether people successfully acquire knowledge about places and characters in fictional civilizations.

Journal: JNeurosci
Funder: HORIZON EUROPE European Research Council

20-Oct-2025

AI-generated content triple threat for Reddit moderators

Cornell University
Reports and Proceedings

Reddit bills itself as “the most human place on the internet,” but the proliferation of artificial intelligence-generated content is threatening to squeeze some of the humanity out of the news-sharing forum, according to new Cornell University research.