Scientists design molecules “backward” to speed up discovery
Peer-Reviewed Publication
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.
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 6-May-2026 19:16 ET (6-May-2026 23:16 GMT/UTC)
Generative AI models can propose molecular structures guided by target properties, compressing what once took years of trial-and-error into hours of computation. A team of researchers has now developed a new method that advances this capability even further. The method, PropMolFlow (Property-guided Molecular Flow), can generate molecular candidates roughly 10 times faster than existing methods—and without compromising the accuracy or chemical validity of the results.
In the most comprehensive review of its kind to date, UC San Francisco researchers found robust evidence that stress occurring as early as before birth or as late as adolescence can affect multiple conditions in kids, from asthma to mental health to cognitive functioning. The results appear Jan. 20 in the Annual Review of Psychology.
DiaCardia, a novel artificial intelligence model that can accurately identify individuals with prediabetes using either 12-lead or single-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) data, has been recently developed. This breakthrough holds promise for future home-based prediabetes screening using consumer wearable devices, without requiring invasive blood tests. This study emphasizes the utility of the ECG as a powerful biomarker and highlights that the innovative AI model can contribute to the prevention of diabetes.
A £3.5 million UK-Japan research project will transform sign language AI by ensuring training is on real conversations between Deaf people, not interpreted signing.