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: 3-Nov-2026 17:16 ET (3-Nov-2026 22:16 GMT/UTC)

How to equip girls for an increasingly AI-driven world

Taylor & Francis Group
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Schools must do more to help girls master AI. That’s the conclusion of a new study, which found that boys, more confident at working with AI, performed better in some classes compared to their female counterparts.

Journal: Cogent Education
Funder: Qatar Research, Development, and Innovation Council

Q&A: How are teachers reckoning with AI in schools?

University of Washington
Reports and Proceedings

A University of Washington-led team of researchers interviewed 22 teachers in Aurora Public Schools in Colorado — a district that’s investing heavily in AI through systems like Google’s Gemini and MagicSchool, an AI tool that helps teachers plan. Overall, teachers were ambivalent about the technology. They liked that it could reduce workload, especially for rote tasks, but worried that it could erode the social aspects of teaching.

Qualcomm co-founder Andrew Viterbi gives $5 million to Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute to advance AI-powered research

Sanford Burnham Prebys
Grant and Award Announcement

Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute today announced that Andrew Viterbi, a visionary communications pioneer and co-founder of Qualcomm Inc., has made a $5 million gift to endow the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Distinguished Chair in the Center for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at Sanford Burnham Prebys.

AI speeds chemists' search for better disinfectants

Emory University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Chemists and computer scientists tapped AI to find new disinfectants to combat the growing problem of dangerous “superbugs.”

Journal: Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling

Hidden muscle fat poses danger to heart, metabolism

Radiological Society of North America
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Using a deep learning model to analyze the composition of large muscles on MRI, German researchers found that the proportions of intermuscular fat and lean muscle mass were associated with high blood pressure and unhealthy lipid and blood sugar levels.

Journal: Radiology

AI model analyses body composition to predict health risks

Radiological Society of North America
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers used AI to analyze whole-body MRI scans from more than 66,000 participants to create the most detailed reference map to date of how fat and muscle are distributed in the human body across age, sex and height. Results of the study show that the quality and amount of skeletal muscle, not just visceral fat, are strong predictors of diabetes, major cardiovascular events and mortality.

Journal: Radiology

How Big Tech’s new health AI assistants are redefining care

JMIR Publications
Peer-Reviewed Publication

JMIR Publications today released a timely new feature in its News and Perspectives section, providing one of the first comprehensive overviews of the rapidly expanding consumer health AI landscape

Journal: Journal of Medical Internet Research