Two new studies suggest that smiling and other positive interactions with caregivers help shape infants’ emotional development.

As more and more people turn to LLMs for advice on interpersonal matters, the ethical foundations behind the tools’ replies increasingly have the power to shape individual lives and, at scale, the social fabric itself. Alexandre S. Pires and colleagues explored the social norms of 21 LLMs by asking them to judge fictional people as “good” or “bad” after learning how the people made a range of interpersonal decisions.

As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the workplace, new research shows that human capabilities such as creativity, analytical thinking and systems thinking remain critical and are expected to remain important in the future world of work.

Researchers at the University of Liverpool have conducted the longest and most comprehensive randomised controlled trial on non-nutritive sweetened (NNS) soft drinks. The major new study, published in the British Journal of Nutrition provides long-term clinical evidence that NNS beverages—specifically those containing aspartame, acesulfame potassium (acesulfame‑K), and sucralose—are equivalent to water in supporting weight loss and long‑term weight maintenance.

A core assumption in any democracy is that citizens with access to information will make reasoned decisions on political candidates and policy issues. But a new study by UC Berkeley social scientists finds that Americans usually don’t consider the full scope of difficult issues, instead basing their opinions on mental shortcuts that sidestep complexity. The paper offers striking insight into the differences in cognitive reasoning patterns among Americans. While some people in the study did closely analyze a range of issues before coming to an opinion, others did a quick back-of-the-napkin tally of plusses and minuses, or even more commonly based their opinions on just one factor, the authors found.

Social media can spark powerful responses when activists post a call to action, but people are searching for authenticity when they scrutinise an organiser’s underlying motives.

The area in which someone lives strongly influences their risk of developing type 2 diabetes, new research from Canada being presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Milan, Italy (Sept 28 – Oct 2) suggests.