EurekAlert! In the Spotlight - Artificial Intelligence

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: 12-May-2026 18:16 ET (12-May-2026 22:16 GMT/UTC)

9-Mar-2026

Can people distinguish between AI-generated and human speech?

Society for Neuroscience
Peer-Reviewed Publication

While listeners struggle to distinguish AI-generated versus human speech, their brains rapidly adapt to subtle differences between the two types of sound after short training.

Journal: eNeuro
Funder: Chinese University of Hong Kong

9-Mar-2026

New robotic microfluidic platform brings AI to lipid nanoparticle design

University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Engineers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed LIBRIS, an automated microfluidic platform that dramatically accelerates the formulation of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), the delivery vehicles behind mRNA vaccines and gene therapies. By generating on the order of 1,000 distinct formulations per hour — 100 times faster than manual methods — the system could enable the large, systematic datasets needed to train predictive AI models.

Journal: ACS Nano
Funder: Burroughs Wellcome Fund, American Cancer Society, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Wellcome Leap, University of Pennsylvania

9-Mar-2026

New AI model forecasts bladder cancer survival outcomes

JMIR Publications

Researchers at Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS have developed a promising machine learning algorithm capable of predicting survival and cause of death for patients with bladder cancer undergoing radical cystectomy.

Journal: JMIR Perioperative Medicine

9-Mar-2026

Raccoons solve puzzles for the fun of it, new study finds

University of British Columbia
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A UBC study finds raccoons solve puzzles even without food rewards, suggesting they are driven by curiosity and information-seeking

Journal: Animal Behaviour

9-Mar-2026

Maternal acetaminophen use and child neurodevelopment

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: The findings of this cohort study in Taiwan suggest that positive associations were observed between maternal prenatal acetaminophen prescriptions and offspring’s attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in the full cohort but not in the sibling-matched analyses. A substantial divergence in associations in the sibling bidirectional analyses indicates unaddressed sources of bias and prevents firm conclusions from being drawn using the sibling design.

Journal: JAMA Pediatrics

9-Mar-2026

Mapping 3D-super-enhancers with machine learning to pinpoint regulators of cell identity

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Peer-Reviewed Publication

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists developed an algorithm using machine learning to create 3D maps that reveal factors essential to gene expression in healthy and diseased cells.

Journal: Nucleic Acids Research

9-Mar-2026

Governing with AI: a new AI implementation blueprint for policymakers

University of Ottawa
Reports and Proceedings

To support governments facing AI challenges, an international group of experts from the University of Ottawa and Université de Montréal at IVADO analyzed key factors of AI implementation success and failure in the public sector to propose policy guidance for a transformative and resilient public administration in the age of AI and to better guard against the potentially negative effects and risks brought forth by this technology.