EurekAlert! In the Spotlight

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: 7-Nov-2025 20:11 ET (8-Nov-2025 01:11 GMT/UTC)

10-Jun-2025

SwRI-led PUNCH mission images huge solar eruption

Southwest Research Institute
Reports and Proceedings

SAN ANTONIO — June 10, 2025 — Southwest Research Institute’s Dr. Craig DeForest discussed the latest accomplishments of NASA’s PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) mission during a media event at the 246th American Astronomical Society meeting in Anchorage, Alaska. As the spacecraft constellation completes commissioning, early PUNCH data showed coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, as they erupted from the Sun and traveled across the inner solar system.

10-Jun-2025

How youth teach environmental educators through intergenerational learning

Penn State
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Environmental educators can improve teaching and leadership skills by acquiring knowledge from their students through youth-to-adult intergenerational learning, according to a new study from researchers in the Penn State Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management.

Journal: Environmental Education Research

10-Jun-2025

New 'optical neural engine’ solves partial differential equations

University of Utah
Peer-Reviewed Publication

University of Utah engineers encode partial differential equations in light and feed them into newly designed optical neural engine, or ONE, to accelerate machine learning.

Journal: Nature Communications
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation

10-Jun-2025

Tradition meets AI as Leicester scientists help tackle Amazonian biodiversity crisis

University of Leicester
Grant and Award Announcement

- Scientists led by University of Leicester will support traditional communities to monitor biodiversity in the Amazon

- Working with universities in Brazil, they will develop an AI toolkit to catalogue local knowledge and understanding

- Funded with nearly £1 million from UK Research and Innovation

Funder: UK Research and Innovation

10-Jun-2025

This ‘claw machine’ can sort a large number of embryo models quickly and effectively

American Institute of Physics
Peer-Reviewed Publication

While studying embryos in vitro can have many ethical and technical complications, there is a model that serves as an excellent substitute. Two-dimensional “gastruloids” are made from colonies of human pluripotent stem cells that can replicate the third week of gestation in which the three germ layers of the body are established. In APL Bioengineering, researchers discuss a sorting system comprised of a microscope, a camera, a sorting stage, and devices for collecting and releasing the microrafts that the gastruloids are grown on. The system is controlled by custom software that automates the process.

Journal: APL Bioengineering

10-Jun-2025

Insilico Medicine launches Nach01 Foundation model on AWS Marketplace to help accelerate generative chemistry innovation

InSilico Medicine
Business Announcement

Insilico Medicine, a clinical-stage biotechnology company driven by generative artificial intelligence (AI), today announced the recent release of its Nach01 foundation model on Amazon Web Services (AWS), available via AWS Marketplace, a curated storefront helping companies of all sizes find, buy, and deploy solutions from AWS Partners. The launch represents a major step in the ongoing collaboration between AWS and Insilico Medicine’s Pharma.AI Platform, aimed at providing access to advanced AI tools for drug design. Nach01 leverages a large language model to process both structural and spatial data. Combining strengths from both predecessors, Nach01 is designed to solve hundreds of diverse tasks, providing a broad and comprehensive range of chemical knowledge.

10-Jun-2025

Lieber Institute for Brain Development goes all-in on AWS to develop new drug treatments for brain diseases

Lieber Institute for Brain Development
Grant and Award Announcement

The Lieber Institute for Brain Development (LIBD) is revolutionizing its drug discovery efforts by expanding its technology capabilities on Amazon Web Services (AWS); migrating its IT infrastructure to fully utilize AWS gen AI and compute services to advance research. The Lieber Institute, home to the world’s largest collection of donated brains used for mental illness research, and a recipient of the 2024 Amazon Web Services (AWS) IMAGINE Grant, plans to develop a new tool called GRAPE that combines generative and predictive AI to find new, more effective treatments for brain disorders such as schizophrenia.