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: 29-Dec-2025 12:11 ET (29-Dec-2025 17:11 GMT/UTC)

Better together: Bigger fish shoals make smarter moves

Technische Universität Berlin – Science of Intelligence
Peer-Reviewed Publication

When predators strike, fish need to decide fast: dive or stay? It’s a life-or-death choice, and getting it wrong, whether by overreacting to harmless disturbances or missing a real threat, can be costly. Now, researchers from the Cluster of Excellence “Science of Intelligence” (SCIoI) with Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), have shown that wild fish shoals become not just faster, but better at making these decisions as they grow in size. The findings, published in Science Advances under the title “Better and faster decisions by larger fish shoals in the wild,” offer the first field-based evidence that large animal collectives can overcome two classic trade-offs: detecting real threats without reacting to every shadow, and making fast decisions without sacrificing accuracy.

Journal: Science Advances
Funder: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

Are you eligible for a clinical trial? ChatGPT can find out

IOP Publishing
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study in the academic journal Machine Learning: Health discovers that ChatGPT can accelerate patient screening for clinical trials, showing promise in reducing delays and improving trial success rates.

Recent work reveals a critical role of parvalbumin interneurons for auditory cortex tonotopy

Science China Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Xiaojing Tang et al. at Chongqing Institute for Brain and Intelligence recently published a study in Science Bulletin titled “Parvalbumin Interneurons Are Essential for Tonotopy Strength in the Auditory Cortex”. This work reveals the essential role of PV inhibitory neurons in the contribution to the tonotopic organization of the auditory cortex.

Journal: Science Bulletin

World-first audio research facilities coming to Surrey thanks to £2.2 million EPSRC funding

University of Surrey

A new national audio hub featuring world-first acoustic facilities is being built at the University of Surrey, thanks to £2.2 million in funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The facilities will allow researchers to simulate almost any listening environment on Earth, from a quiet living room or modern office to a vast concert hall, cathedral or bustling city street.

Reinforcement learning world models for catalyst surface reconstruction: state-of-the-art review

ELSP
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Reinforcement learning (RL) and latent world models are emerging as promising tools for modeling complex atomic level changes in catalyst surfaces under real reaction environments. This newly published review in AI Mater introduces a conceptual framework to reconstruct and optimize catalyst surfaces, such as AgPd nanoalloys, using AI-driven techniques. The work presents advancements in using Dreamer based architectures and multi-objective optimization strategies to address long standing challenges in catalytic surface modeling, offering new insights for computational catalysis and smart materials design.

Journal: AI & Materials

Design of a household robot with autonomous navigation for object detection and sorting

ELSP
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers have designed an intelligent household robot capable of autonomous navigation, object detection, and sorting. This robot, equipped with advanced technologies like depth cameras, YOLOv11 object recognition, and a flexible gripper, can perform various tasks, including retrieving objects and interactive entertainment. The study, published in Robot Learning, highlights the robot’s ability to navigate indoor spaces, recognize objects with high accuracy, and grasp items of different sizes and weights. This innovation could transform household robots into more efficient and interactive family assistants.

Journal: Robot Learning

Migrating zooplankton may help drive carbon transport

Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences

An interdisciplinary team led by Bigelow Laboratory researchers is working to better model how zooplankton transport carbon to the deep ocean, which could inform conversations around marine carbon dioxide removal strategies.

Journal: Annual Review of Marine Science
Funder: Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy