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: 8-May-2026 02:16 ET (8-May-2026 06:16 GMT/UTC)

21-Jan-2026

Medical LLMs may show real-world potential in identifying individuals with major depressive disorder using WhatsApp voice note recordings

PLOS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new medical large language model (LLM) achieved over 91 percent accuracy in identifying female participants diagnosed with major depressive disorder after analyzing a short WhatsApp audio recording where participants described their week, according to a study published January 21, 2026 in the open-access journal PLOS Mental Health by Victor H. O. Otani, from Santa Casa de São Paulo School of Medical Sciences and Infinity Doctors Inc., Brazil, and colleagues.

Journal: PLOS Mental Health

21-Jan-2026

AI platform helps cities develop within planetary boundaries

Frontiers
Meeting Announcement

Genisys AI today announced the launch of AI Polis, a pioneering AI-powered platform that helps cities plan and scale sustainable, people-centered growth. The announcement was made during a session at the Frontiers Science House, taking place on the Davos Promenade alongside the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026.

21-Jan-2026

New UMass Amherst-led study shows that analog hardware may solve internet of things’ speedbumps and bottlenecks

University of Massachusetts Amherst
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The ubiquity of smart devices—not just phones and watches, but lights, refrigerators, doorbells and more, all constantly recording and transmitting data—is creating massive volumes of digital information that drain energy and slow data transmission speeds. With the rising use of artificial intelligence in industries ranging from healthcare and finance to transportation and manufacturing, addressing the issue is becoming more pressing.

Funder: Army Research Laboratory, Office of Naval Research

21-Jan-2026

Rare sciatic nerve tumor in child successfully treated with microsurgery

Impact Journals LLC
Peer-Reviewed Publication

BUFFALO, NY — January 21, 2026 — A new case report was published in Volume 12 of Oncoscience on December 23, 2025, titled “Solitary diffuse-type giant neurofibroma arising from the sciatic nerve in a 13-year-old: A rare occurrence.”

Journal: Oncoscience

21-Jan-2026

Oxford team engineer quantum-enabled proteins, opening a new frontier in biotechnology

University of Oxford
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a world first, a research team led by the University of Oxford’s Department of Engineering Science has shown it is possible to engineer a quantum mechanical process inside proteins, opening the door to a new class of quantum-enabled biological technologies. The study has been published today (21 January) in Nature.

Journal: Nature

21-Jan-2026

Generative AI use and depressive symptoms among US adults

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: This survey study found that artificial intelligence (AI) use was significantly associated with greater depressive symptoms, with magnitude of differences varying by age group. Further work is needed to understand whether these associations are causal and explain heterogeneous effects.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

21-Jan-2026

Childhood ADHD linked to midlife physical health problems

University College London
Peer-Reviewed Publication

People who have ADHD traits at age 10 are more likely than those without such traits to have physical health problems and to report physical health-related disability at age 46, according to a study led by University College London (UCL) and University of Liverpool researchers.

Journal: JAMA Network Open
Funder: Medical Research Foundation