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: 21-Dec-2025 17:11 ET (21-Dec-2025 22:11 GMT/UTC)
New multi-modal AI framework brings human-like reasoning to self-driving vehicles
Tsinghua University PressPeer-Reviewed Publication
Autonomous driving systems increasingly rely on data-driven approaches, yet many still struggle with reasoning, handling rare scenarios, and transparently explaining their actions. A new study introduces DriveMLM, a multi-modal large language model framework that aligns language-based reasoning with structured behavioral planning states, enabling full closed-loop driving in realistic simulators. By integrating multi-view images, LiDAR inputs, traffic rules, and natural-language instructions, DriveMLM generates both driving decisions and human-readable explanations that map directly to vehicle control. The system significantly improves safety, adaptability, and interpretability, demonstrating how large language models (LLMs) can advance the next generation of autonomous driving technology.
- Journal
- Visual Intelligence
Computational breakthroughs poised to accelerate the fight against antimicrobial resistance
FAR Publishing LimitedPeer-Reviewed Publication
- Journal
- Current Molecular Pharmacology
UAE launches new AI ecosystem for global agricultural development
CGIARBusiness Announcement
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – The United Arab Emirates has launched Abu Dhabi’s AI Ecosystem for Global Agricultural Development, a platform designed to bring AI solutions to climate-exposed agricultural regions and support the communities most affected by shifting weather patterns.
- Funder
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Fast-tracking a natural climate solution by compressing millennia of carbon capture into hours
The Hebrew University of JerusalemPeer-Reviewed Publication
Researchers have managed to speed up a natural process that normally takes thousands of years, creating a lab “machine” to capture carbon dioxide. A new study shows how limestone, dolomite, and seawater can be used as a natural carbon absorption system and could help reduce emissions from power plants in the future. By running CO₂ and seawater through columns filled with these common rocks, the team demonstrated a controllable way to lock carbon safely in dissolved form, rather than letting it escape into the air. The system already works but currently captures only part of the CO₂, leaving clear room – and a clear roadmap – for engineering improvements toward a practical, nature-based carbon capture technology.
- Journal
- Environmental Science & Technology
Smarter than your average dog
Texas A&M UniversityMeet the robotic dog with a memory like an elephant and the instincts of a seasoned first responder. Developed by Texas A&M University engineering students, this AI-powered robotic dog doesn’t just follow commands — it sees, remembers and thinks. Designed to navigate chaos with precision, the robot could revolutionize search-and-rescue missions, disaster response and many other emergency operations. With cutting-edge memory and voice-command capabilities, it’s not just a machine. It’s a game-changing partner — and the smartest dog around — in emergencies.
Korea University researchers develop ultrasensitive method to detect low-frequency cancer mutations
Korea University College of MedicinePeer-Reviewed Publication
MUTE-Seq is a new liquid-biopsy method powered by an engineered ultra-precise CRISPR enzyme, FnCas9-AF2, which can distinguish single-base mismatches across all sgRNA positions with near-zero off-target activity. By selectively removing wild-type DNA before sequencing, it boosts true mutant signals up to tens of times and enables detection as low as ~0.005% VAF. The technique improves MRD monitoring and early-stage cancer detection while avoiding the need for costly ultra-deep sequencing.
- Journal
- Advanced Materials