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: 13-May-2026 21:15 ET (14-May-2026 01:15 GMT/UTC)
Low-power memristor array for real-time edge computing in smart power grid inspections
Science China PressPeer-Reviewed Publication
Researchers developed an Ag/Sb2O3/Au memristor array that mimics brain-like computing, performing on-device image feature extraction with low power consumption, promising smarter and faster electric grid inspections.
- Journal
- Science Bulletin
A physics-constrained AI framework enables accurate thermal field inversion for chiplet-based packaging with sparse data
ELSPPeer-Reviewed Publication
Researchers at Shanghai University have developed a physics-constrained, data-efficient artificial intelligence framework that enables accurate thermal field inversion in chiplet-based packaging systems using only limited temperature measurements. The approach addresses a critical challenge in advanced heterogeneous integration, where increasing power density and material heterogeneity complicate thermal monitoring and reliability assessment.
Chiplet-based packaging integrates multiple heterogeneous chiplets into a single system, offering improved flexibility, yield, and cost efficiency compared to traditional system-on-chip designs. However, the resulting increase in power density and deterioration of heat dissipation conditions can lead to localized overheating, threatening system stability and long-term reliability. Accurately reconstructing the temperature field of such systems from sparse sensor data is therefore essential, yet remains a difficult inverse problem in practical engineering applications.
- Journal
- AI & Materials
HKUST researchers develop novel model to unveil deep-sea black coral symbiotic system
Hong Kong University of Science and TechnologyPeer-Reviewed Publication
- Journal
- Cell Host & Microbe
A simple tool is developed to estimate the heating demand of entire neighborhoods
University of the Basque CountryPeer-Reviewed Publication
One of the research lines of the group of the EHU-University of the Basque Country is seeking solutions to generate districts or neighbourhoods whose annual net energy consumption is close to zero. Using machine learning techniques, Dr Milagros Álvarez has achieved greater accuracy in energy demand estimates and in the assessment of retrofitting strategies to reduce thermal consumption on the neighbourhood level.
- Journal
- Energy Conversion and Management
Numbers in our sights affect how we perceive space
Tokyo Metropolitan UniversityPeer-Reviewed Publication
Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have studied the relationship between numerical information in our vision, and how it affects our perception of space. Volunteers were asked to identify the center of lines and squares filled with numbers; how far they were from the true center revealed unexpected biases. Crucially, their work with squares showed how our perception of space is a complex interplay between “object-based” processing and our processing of numerical information.
- Journal
- Scientific Reports
Development of an AI device using ion gel and graphene that dramatically streamlines machine learning computations
National Institute for Materials Science, JapanPeer-Reviewed Publication
A joint research team from NIMS, Tokyo University of Science, and Kobe University has developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) device that exploits ion behavior to perform information processing. The team succeeded in reducing the computational load to about 1/100 of that required for conventional deep learning. The technology is expected to contribute to enhancing the information processing performance of "edge AI" operating directly on terminal equipment (an edge device). This research was published in ACS Nano on October 14, 2025.
- Journal
- ACS Nano
- Funder
- Japan Science and Technology Agency