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Which ones will be lost in the future? – What are the oldest words in the English language? Also, which words are most likely to become extinct in the future? Linguists claim they can answer BOTH these questions!

BBC News quotes evolutionary biologist Mark Pagel as saying, “We have lists of words that linguists have produced for us that tell us if two words in related languages actually derive from a common ancestral word?We use a computer to fit a range of models that tell us how rapidly these words evolve.”
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ESPECIALLY if you’re a woman! – Sodas have been blamed for the obesity epidemic?now there’s ANOTHER reason why you shouldn?t drink them (especially if you?re a woman). Women who drink two or more cans of regular soda (not diet soda) per day are nearly twice as likely to show early signs of kidney disease.

This is not a risk for men, which is just another example of sexism, when it comes to our bodies. Yes, the ways in which men and women are alike?and different?are fascinating. One of these is pain: some painkilling drugs are less effective in women compared with men.
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…sometimes – Something most of us want to know: Are the homeless people we see on our streets and in our parks violent? Most of them are mentally ill and many of them are also addicted to either alcohol or drugs.

Violence appears to be more common among those with mental illness ONLY when they ALSO report substance abuse or dependence. Researchers Eric B. Elbogen and Sally C. Johnson say, “The highest risk…[is for] subjects with a history of violence, who showed nearly 10 times higher risk of violence compared with subjects with severe mental illness only.”
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People are still trying to figure how dictators like Hitler are able to control masses of ordinary citizens.

Neurologists are studying this puzzling phenomenon. They think that organized marching and shows of military strength (the kind of thing done regularly in North Korea, for example) are an important part of this, because activities performed in unison increase loyalty to the group. Netherlands neurologist Vasily Klucharev found that the brain releases more dopamine when we act in concert with a group.

In New Scientist, David Robson quotes researcher Scott Wiltermuth as saying, “It makes us feel as though we’re part of a larger entity, so we see the group’s welfare as being as important as our own.”

Art credit: freeimages.co.uk
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