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 14:17 ET (3-Nov-2026 19:17 GMT/UTC)
15-Jul-2026
Helpful microbes could battle pathogens in our hospitals and schools - with the help of AI to make it work
Applied Microbiology InternationalPeer-Reviewed Publication
Helpful microbes that combat harmful pathogens could be the answer to rising antimicrobial resistance - particularly within built environments such as hospitals, homes and schools.
That’s according to a fascinating new review that discusses the ongoing threat of antimicrobial resistant infections and why current prevention and treatment methods fall short.
- Journal
- Journal of Applied Microbiology
15-Jul-2026
Heart Warning
Technion-Israel Institute of TechnologyPeer-Reviewed Publication
Researchers at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology have developed DeepHHF, an artificial intelligence model that predicts the risk of heart failure up to five years before the onset of clinical disease using routine 24-hour Holter ECG recordings. Published in npj Digital Medicine, the model was trained on approximately 70,000 Holter examinations provided by Leumit Health Services and detects subtle ECG abnormalities that are often imperceptible to clinicians. By enabling early identification of high-risk patients, DeepHHF could support timely preventive treatment and help reduce hospitalizations, morbidity, and mortality. The study was led by Prof. Joachim Behar and Ph.D. student Eran Zvuloni from the Technion's Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, in collaboration with researchers and physicians from Rambam Health Care Campus, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Leumit Health Services, and Hadassah Medical Center.
- Journal
- npj Digital Medicine
15-Jul-2026
Can brain-computer interface training improve your ability to catch mistakes?
WileyPeer-Reviewed Publication
A new study, published by Wiley in Advanced Science, showed that training with feedback from brain electrical activity improves detection of subtle visuo-motor errors.
- Journal
- Advanced Science
15-Jul-2026
Leading ADHD medications found to be equally effective in children, with one key difference
University of SydneyPeer-Reviewed Publication
Dexamphetamine and methylphenidate have been found to be equally effective in the treatment of ADHD in children, but greater weight loss was observed in children taking dexamphetamine, according to an Australian study published in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health.
- Journal
- Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health
15-Jul-2026
Microplastics reach even 2,000 meters below the ocean surface, study finds first cross-ocean study reveals how microplastics accumulate in deep-sea hydrothermal vent animals
National Research Council of Science & TechnologyPeer-Reviewed Publication
A research team led by Dr. Se-Joo Kim and Dr. Jinyoung Jeong at the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), in collaboration with researchers from the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST), has conducted the world's first comparative study revealing how microplastics accumulate in animals inhabiting hydrothermal vents in two different oceans.
- Journal
- Water Research
- Funder
- Ministry of Science and ICT
15-Jul-2026
Daydreaming helps AI remember what matters
Sissa MedialabPeer-Reviewed Publication
During the day, our brain acquires new memories; at night, during sleep, it consolidates the important ones and eliminates the useless ones. A similar principle has been applied to Hopfield networks, one of the classic models of artificial intelligence inspired by the workings of the brain. In 2025, Federico Ricci-Tersenghi and colleagues developed Daydreaming, an algorithm that combines the learning of new memories with the elimination of spurious ones, drastically improving the network’s capacity. One limitation remained, however. These networks lose effectiveness when they work with real-world data, which are rarely perfectly balanced — for example, very bright or very dark images, in which white or black pixels overwhelmingly dominate. In a new study published in the Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment (JSTAT), Ricci-Tersenghi, together with Japanese colleagues, now presents a new version of the algorithm, capable of effectively handling realistic, strongly biased data.
- Journal
- Journal of Statistical Mechanics Theory and Experiment