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: 13-May-2026 18:15 ET (13-May-2026 22:15 GMT/UTC)

A smarter way for large language models to think about hard problems

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Reports and Proceedings

MIT researchers developed a smarter way for an LLM to allocate computation while it reasons about a problem. Their method lets the model dynamically adjust its computational budget based on the difficulty of the question and the likelihood that each partial solution will lead to the correct answer.

Funder: MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab, MIT-Amazon Science Hub, MIT-Google Program for Computing Innovation, MathWorks

MIT engineers design an aerial microrobot that can fly as fast as a bumblebee

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

MIT researchers developed an aerial microrobot that can fly with speed and agility comparable to real insects. The research opens the door to future bug-sized robots that could aid in search-and-rescue missions.

Journal: Science Advances
Funder: National Science Foundation, Office of Naval Research, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, MathWorks, Zakhartchenko Fellowship

Researchers find promising adaptations to climate change in tropical forests

Colorado State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

As tropical forests experience chronic drying and more extreme droughts due to climate change, some plants are adapting by growing longer root systems to reach water deep within soils, according to a study published in November in New Phytologist.

Journal: New Phytologist

MD Anderson shares latest research breakthroughs

University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Peer-Reviewed Publication

HER2-targeted therapy showed durable and clinically meaningful results for patients with rare bile duct cancers

Researchers identified promising therapeutic targets for KRAS-mutant cancers and kidney cancers

Study provides insights into AI models for genomic analysis and clinical decision-making

Researchers uncovered how DNA shape and rigidity affects gene expression

University of Utah launches nation’s first Prison Education Research Center

University of Utah
Grant and Award Announcement

University of Utah education researchers have been awarded $8 million by the Ascendium Education Group to launch the first national center dedicated to prison education research and leadership. A team led by Erin Castro, an associate professor of educational leadership and policy, will use the grant to establish the Prison Education Action Research Lab, or PEARL, to advance educational justice for people and communities impacted by incarceration.

Funder: Ascendium Education Group

With reservations: the spread of AI in UK journalism

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Reports and Proceedings

LMU researchers conduct representative survey on the perception and use of AI in journalism.

SABCS: Advances in emerging blood-based surveillance tools, new approaches to predicting treatment response and tailoring therapies across the disease spectrum for patients with breast cancer

University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences
Reports and Proceedings

Investigators from the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center will present a wide range of new breast cancer research at the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), highlighting advances in early detection, precision medicine, artificial intelligence, treatment-related side-effect management and insights into high-risk subgroups.

Meeting: San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS)