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: 3-Nov-2026 13:17 ET (3-Nov-2026 18:17 GMT/UTC)
Attitude control of multirotor with image-aided terminal guidance for precision target strike
KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Peer-Reviewed Publication
Researchers proposed an image-aided terminal guidance attitude control method for Explosively Formed Penetrator (EFP)-equipped multirotors to achieve long-range precision strikes, solving disturbance, EFP dispersion and visual-attitude coupling problems. Published in Defence Technology, the work built a multi-source EFP dispersion model, designed an NTSM-STO composite controller, and validated its fast response, strong robustness and high hit rate via Monte Carlo simulations and real flight tests.
- Journal
- Defence Technology
Beyond conventional coatings: a spider-web-like mechanically adaptive interphase enables second-level ultrafast zinc metal batteries
Materials FuturesPeer-Reviewed Publication
An international research collaboration, from Sun Yat-sen University, South China University of Technology, University of Liverpool and JiangSu CheeShine Performance Materials Co., has developed a mechanically adaptive artificial interphase for ultrafast zinc metal batteries. By constructing a spider-web-like nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) nanofiber interphase, the researchers achieved synergistic regulation of homogeneous Zn2+ transport, free-water blocking, and interfacial deformation buffering. This strategy transforms unstable zinc growth into a uniform and confined surface deposition process. Based on this interphase, Zn//Zn symmetric cells can operate stably for more than 6,000 hours, while Zn//V2O5 full cells deliver stable cycling for 20,000 cycles at an ultrahigh rate of 50 A g-1, providing a new interfacial engineering strategy for safe and high-power aqueous zinc batteries.
- Journal
- Materials Futures
NovoTags: AI-designed proteins help scientists see inside living cells
European Molecular Biology LaboratoryPeer-Reviewed Publication
A team of researchers from the University of Washington, Janelia Research Campus, and EMBL Heidelberg developed a new class of fluorescent imaging tags called NovoTags. This new tagging system is based on an AI model developed by Nobel Laureate David Baker, which allowed the scientists to create proteins from scratch that bind to exceptionally bright fluorescent dyes developed by Luke Lavis at the Janelia Research Campus. NovoTags will allow researchers to identify specific proteins inside cells and observe many at once, accelerating the study of protein-protein interactions. Future developments in this technology could also help researchers combine fluorescence microscopy with in situ cryo-electron tomography, providing deeper insights into structure-function relationships inside cells.
- Journal
- Science
Polymer‑based flexible wireless sensors for health monitoring
Shanghai Jiao Tong University Journal CenterPeer-Reviewed Publication
Polymer-based flexible wireless sensors have demonstrated significant potential in health monitoring. However, existing studies have predominantly focused on material design, energy harvesting, and wireless communication, while research addressing signal attenuation, noise accumulation, and data distortion within wireless links remains relatively limited. Physiological signals are highly susceptible to multi-source interference during acquisition and transmission; without effective data processing and intelligent analysis strategies, monitoring outcomes may fail to meet the accuracy and stability requirements of clinical applications. To address this research gap, this review constructs a comprehensive framework encompassing signal sensing, link transmission, and intelligent processing, building on advances in flexible materials and wireless energy supply modes. Special attention is given to the critical roles of channel compensation, noise suppression, feature extraction, lightweight artificial intelligence models, and edge computing in enhancing data quality and reducing energy consumption. Furthermore, the review systematically analyzes the impact of wireless link stability and energy management on monitoring performance. By reinforcing the synergistic mechanisms between data processing and communication, this work aims to provide design principles and development directions for the next generation of high-reliability, low-power, and intelligent wireless flexible health monitoring systems.
- Journal
- Nano-Micro Letters
Artificial intelligence and quantum chemistry unveil next-generation "dual-modulated" catalysts for fuel cells
Shanghai Jiao Tong University Journal CenterPeer-Reviewed Publication
The Fe–N–C single-atom catalyst represents a promising candidate for promoting the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), which is crucial for fuel cell applications; yet, identifying optimal modification strategies to enhance its activity and stability remains challenging. Herein, the modulation of Fe–N–C catalysts via in-plane heteroatom doping and axial coordination is systematically investigated using integrated density functional theory (DFT) and machine learning (ML) approaches. The analysis reveals that axial ligands have a more profound influence on ORR performance than in-plane dopants, primarily by modulating the Fe dz2 orbital and weakening *OH adsorption. Through interpretable descriptors extracted from ML models, the key electronic and geometric properties governing catalyst behavior are identified, and several novel dual-modified candidates with enhanced activity relative to pristine Fe–N–C are subsequently predicted and validated by DFT calculations. This work provides a unified mechanistic and data-driven framework for accelerating the design of high-performance Fe–N–C ORR electrocatalysts.
- Journal
- ENGINEERING Energy
UCSF Health, Kleiner Perkins, and Doerr Capital launch a new model for building healthcare AI
University of California - San FranciscoBusiness Announcement
San Francisco, CA (July 15, 2026) – Today, UCSF Health, Kleiner Perkins and Doerr Capital announced UCSF Health Converge, a new health AI accelerator that brings select companies together with clinicians, operators and technology leaders inside a nationally-ranked academic health systems to build, validate, and scale AI solutions in real care delivery settings.