ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on September 30, 2025.
How safe is your face? The pros and cons of having facial recognition everywhere
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanne Orlando, Researcher, Digital Wellbeing, Western Sydney University Maria Korneeva / Getty Images Walk into a shop, board a plane, log into your bank, or scroll through your social media feed, and chances are you might be asked to scan your face. Facial recognition and other kinds
Does ‘fasted’ cardio help you lose weight? Here’s the science
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mandy Hagstrom, Senior Lecturer, Exercise Physiology. School of Health Sciences, UNSW Sydney Photo by Leandro Boogalu/Pexels Every few years, the concept of fasted exercise training pops up all over social media. Fasted training refers to exercising in the morning, before eating breakfast. Fans will claim it’s the
AI in the classroom is hard to detect – time to bring back oral tests
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shahper Richter, Senior Lecturer in Digital Marketing, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images News that several New Zealand universities have given up using detection software to expose student use of artificial intelligence (AI) underlines the challenge higher education is facing. With AI tools such as
House or apartment? City or country? The big things to consider when buying a first home
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Xin Janet Ge, Associate Professor, School of Built Environment, University of Technology Sydney Buying a first home is one of the biggest financial decisions a person can make. There are so many questions to consider it can be hard to know where to begin. Where should I
Hindi, Greek and English all come from a single ancient language – here’s how we know
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark W. Post, Senior Lecturer in Linguistics, University of Sydney Cast of a Neo-Hittite relief, dating to the 10thC BC. © The Trustees of the British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA If you have studied almost any European language, you will have noticed words that felt oddly familiar. French
The Palestinian Authority is facing a legitimacy crisis. Can it be reformed to govern a Palestinian state?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Martin Kear, Sessional Lecturer, Department of Government and International Relations, University of Sydney When Australia, France, Britain, Canada and a handful of other Western countries recognised a Palestinian state at the United Nations last week, one of their key stipulations was the wholesale reform of the Palestinian
A new treatment for Huntington’s disease is genuinely promising – but here’s why we still need caution
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bryce Vissel, Cojoint Professor, School of Clinical Medicine, UNSW Sydney Krisada tepkulmanont/Getty Imagine knowing in your 20s or 30s that you carry a gene which will cause your mind and body to slowly unravel. Huntington’s disease is inherited, relentless and fatal, and there is no cure. Families
74 countries have now ratified a landmark treaty to protect the high seas. Why hasn’t NZ?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Macpherson, Professor of Law and Rutherford Discovery Fellow, University of Canterbury Getty Images The ratification by more than 60 states, the minimum required to turn the Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (better known as the High Seas Treaty) into law, means it will enter into
Air temperatures over Antarctica have soared 35ºC above average. What does this unusual event mean for Australia?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Martin Jucker, Senior Lecturer in Atmospheric Science, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney Jeremy Stewardson/Getty Right now, cold air high above Antarctica is up to 35ºC warmer than normal. Normally, strong winds and the lack of sun would keep the temperature at around –55°C. But it’s risen
Private tutoring for school kids is ‘booming’. But this poses risks for students
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Zunica, Lecturer in Mathematics Education, University of Sydney BrianAJackson/Getty Images Private tutoring for Australian school students is reported to be a “booming”, billion-dollar industry. It’s estimated one in six students get private tutoring at some point in their schooling. In some pockets – such as Sydney
Loot boxes are still rife in kids’ mobile games, despite ban on ‘gambling-like’ features
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Taylor Hardwick, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Sydney Games and Play Lab, University of Sydney klyaksun / Getty Images In September 2024, Australia introduced a new classification approach for games with gambling-like content. Under this scheme, videogames containing in-game purchases linked to chance-based features such as “loot
Netflix’s 1670 satirises the absurd ruling class of 17th century Poland-Lithuania – with lessons for today
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Darius von Guttner Sporzynski, Historian, Australian Catholic University Jarosław Sosiński/Netflix Netflix’s 1670 is one of the sharpest period comedies of recent years. Shot in a mockumentary style, it follows Jan Paweł Adamczewski (Bartlomiej Topa), a vain provincial nobleman, and his family, in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth of the
Trump’s approval ratings slide, with Americans angry over inflation and Jimmy Kimmel
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne US President Donald Trump’s net approval in analyst Nate Silver’s aggregate of US national polls slid two points in the last week to -9.4, after his ratings
Mormon leader Russell Nelson has died aged 101. What’s next for the church?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brenton Griffin, Academic Status in the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, Flinders University Russell Marion Nelson Sr, prophet and leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has died aged 101. Nelson was married to Dantzel White from 1945 until her passing in
What is lecanemab, the newly approved Alzheimer’s drug? Can it really slow down dementia?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steve Macfarlane, Head of Clinical Services, Dementia Support Australia, & Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Monash University Maskot/Getty Images Dementia is a condition that results in progressive memory or thinking problems. It’s now the most common cause of death in Australia. There are many different causes of dementia,
Are business schools priming students for a world that no longer exists?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carla Liuzzo, Lecturer, Graduate School of Business, Queensland University of Technology Endless economic expansion isn’t sustainable. Scientists are telling us our planet is already beyond its limits, with the risks to communities and the economy made clear in the federal government’s recent climate risk assessment. Sustainability is
7 ways Brisbane 2032 can avoid repeating past Olympic planning disasters
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tan Yigitcanlar, Professor of Urban Studies and Planning, Queensland University of Technology ROMAIN TERPREAU/Unsplash Ahead of the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games, Queensland stands at an historic crossroads. An A$7.1 billion plan for Olympic venues is in place, with funding split 50:50 between the federal and
