OFC 2026 plenary speakers address AI, advances in optical technologies and satellite communications
Meeting Announcement
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.
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 13-May-2026 05:16 ET (13-May-2026 09:16 GMT/UTC)
Abnormal rhythmic electrical signals in the retina are a hallmark of several vision disorders, but their origins have remained unclear. Researchers have discovered how the loss of the TRPM1 ion channel disrupts communication between retinal cells, triggering oscillations that distort visual signaling. Oscillations observed in Trpm1 knockout mice are strikingly similar to those found in retinitis pigmentosa–model mice, revealing a common generative mechanism for these abnormal rhythmic signals in retinal diseases.
ARC Innovation at Sheba Medical Center and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (part of the Mount Sinai Health System in New York City) today announced a landmark three-year collaboration with NVIDIA to harness the power of artificial intelligence for genomic discovery through the application of large language model (LLM) technology. The initiative aims to pioneer the decoding of the majority of the human genome that remains poorly understood in order to unlock new pathways for disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Over the three-year period, the project will be supported by significant investment from the participating organizations, with the goal of accelerating research that can ultimately benefit patients worldwide.
The University of Liverpool has unveiled an ambitious plan for a new £100 million AI Materials Hub for Innovation (AIM-HI) dedicated to accelerating the application of artificial intelligence in materials chemistry.
Deep brain stimulation – implants in the brain that act as a kind of ‘pacemaker’ – has led to clinical improvements in half of the participants with treatment-resistant severe depression in an ‘open label’ trial. Significantly, the study, led by researchers in the UK and China, identified a telltale signature of brain activity that predicted how well individual patients responded to the treatment. This could be used in future to target the treatment at those patients most likely to benefit.
Summary
The antimicrobial resistance (AMR) portal is a central hub for accessing AMR genotype and phenotype data.
Built on EMBL-EBI infrastructure in collaboration with researchers from Imperial College London, the AMR portal connects many EMBL-EBI open data resources and includes newly annotated bacterial genomes.
The portal enables researchers to browse, analyse and download AMR data to support research, as well as the development of machine-learning tools.
A research team has tested how well three large language models can detect overlaps and redundancies in clinical questionnaires on mental illness / publication in ‘Nature Mental Health’