Tools like text reminders, apps, online groups, and virtual dieticians show promise early on for helping people manage their pre-diabetes. However, researchers reviewing recent evidence found those results tended to drop off in the long-term or had mixed outcomes in about a third of the studies they looked at. They say that connecting with other humans could be a key part of what makes the digital tools work early on, or it may be that having multiple ways to engage allows people to choose the one that suits them best ..read more

The discovery of how a critical enzyme 'hidden in nature's blueprint' works sheds new light on how cells control key processes in carbon fixation, a process fundamental for life on Earth. The discovery, made by scientists from The Australian National University (ANU) and the University of Newcastle (UoN), could help engineer climate-resilient crops capable of sucking carbon dioxide from the atmosphere more efficiently, helping to produce more food in the process ..read more

If an android tells you it dreams of electric sheep, it may be trying to pull the steel wool over your eyes, as international and Aussie researchers say artificial intelligence (AI) systems are already adept at deception. The team says AIs trained to be helpful and honest, such as Meta's, have learned to be masters of deception. Meta's AI was tasked with winning a game of Diplomacy, and did so dishonestly. The authors note that other AI systems have demonstrated the ability to bluff, or fake attacks in strategy games, or misrepresent their preferences to gain an advantage in economic negotiati ..read more

Australia's hydrogen energy-related discussion on Twitter (now X), ranked seventh globally, according to an analysis of 30.7 million tweets conducted by QUT researchers. Japan came in number one ..read more

A review of 77 studies found there are a wide variety of environmental "stewards" taking action to protect nature in Aotearoa. These groups include farmers, white-water rafters, Māori youth, and many others. However, the research authors found the variety of issues they tackle make it hard to create overarching plans that resonate with everyone ..read more

A new study released to mark this week's 70th anniversary of Sir Roger Bannister's sub-four-minute mile record has revealed the first 200 runners to follow in his footsteps also share another remarkable trait ..read more

Canadian scientists say women who have gestational diabetes during two pregnancies are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes after the second pregnancy. They looked at health records for 431,980 women who had given birth twice, 10,920 of whom had gestational diabetes during their first pregnancy, 16,145 of whom had it during their second pregnancy, and 8,255 of whom had it during both pregnancies. They found women who had gestational diabetes during their second pregnancy, but not their first, had a 76% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than women who had gestational diabetes duri ..read more

Elephants like to make full use of their impressive noses when greeting each other - even if their partner's choice of perfume is questionable. Researchers watching African elephants in a Zimbabwean reserve found most greetings involved one or both animals emptying their bowels, or leaking from a sweat gland on their face, suggesting that smell plays an important role in how they greet. The authors also noticed the clever creatures using more visual gestures like ear spreading and trunk swinging when their partner was looking at them, but were more likely to make sounds or physical contact if ..read more

Bilbies bred in a sanctuary in Dubbo have provided researchers with vital clues about how they would fare in temperate Australia where they once thrived ..read more

Australian researchers have discovered how changes in antibody levels over time can predict which children are likely to outgrow their peanut allergy ..read more