les nouvelles

Chimps May Have A 'Language-Ready' Brain

No-Entry Zones for AIDS Virus

Phthalate Exposure Linked to Less-Masculine Play by Boys

Because testosterone produces the masculine brain, researchers are concerned that fetal exposure to anti-androgens such as phthalates -- which are pervasive in the environment -- has the potential to alter masculine brain development, said lead author Shanna H. Swan, Ph.D., professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, director of the URMC Center for Reproductive Epidemiology, and an expert in phthalates.

The Indefinite Self-Renewal of Specialized Cells Without the Need for Stem Cell Intermediates

les nouvelles

Seattle team wins $900,000 in Space Elevator Games

Astronauts prep for not-so-close encounter with space debris

German researchers say babies begin to pick up the nuances of their parents' accents while still in the womb.

Researchers team up for stem cell work

les nouvelles

The first real images of the electrons of a single atom have been captured by researchers at the Kharkov Institute for Physics and Technology in Ukraine, using a field-emission electron microscope (FEEM).

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Teenglish: From Frape to Neek the words used by teenagers that baffle adults

I'm constantly concerned that I won't be able to understand anything those fucking kids say! I already have problems, and I'm someone who is very "in touch" with what's young and cool- only so I can stay relevant.

wiki "Darren"

A masculine given name of uncertain etymological origins.

Darren has several variant forms: Daren, Derren, Darin, Daron, Darran, Darrin, Darring, Darron, Darryn, Derrin and Derron.

-> Ironic, because I've heard before that it could be from Iranian, French, Irish, English, or possibly Nigerian origins...

My name, just like so many unknown things in the universe, is essentially a mystery. Ironically, I'm mixed, and have DNA from multiple endemic populations on several continents...

And sometimes I think I really should change my name to D'Airelle LaBonté- but I guess I'd have to move to France first. Ironically, I speak French fluently, and am part French...

neologisms

I hate days when I just don't get hungry! I'm not looking for thinspiration, there are just some days where it will be like 7:30 pm, and I will have eaten 150 calories or less. I think this makes my body hold onto fat more, the starvation/food binge cycle. I do think I might have tannorexia, cause I just can't get enough of the sun. I want to get laser resurfacing on my forehead. Modern day knifestyles of a weblebrity performing on cyberstage.

latin words 4 inflammation

rubor, tumor, calor, dolor, fluor

meme 4 the day

My favorite part of being a native English speaker is the malleability
of English- I get to do whatever I want! I'm not talking about free
speech, that's always been a non-existent joke to everyone. What I
mean to say is that in English, it's ok to make new, fun, and/or sexy
words every day of the week! Neologisms can be fun for everyone. Why
sit around using dated, stupid, antiquated terms from yesteryear or
1980 never, it's more fun to just make up (y)our own. Ready, go!

(Does this mean the generations to come will be constantly expressing
itsselves through crazy words, terms, idioms, and mouth clicks that an
antiquated human such as myself couldn't even begin to understand a
single thing? Probably. I mean, when our parents grew up in the 50s
people were saying inane shit that still sounds retarded.)

It's not like this everywhere, many languages don't make space for
neologisms and switching it up. For example, the French language has
L'Academie Francaise who has the ever pressing job of retaining the
purity of the French language. They don't want new words put into
their books, and they try hard to keep English ones out. However,
L'Academie Francaise doesn't prevent slang, and spoken French is just
as crazy as spoken English.

It seems like the sometimes stupid slang terms of today often become
the quintessential vocabulary of tomorrow. Get ready, everyone is
going to be speaking wtf in a hot minute. Outside of certain circles,
I see a smaller and smaller difference btwn spoken vs. written
English; hopefully someday I'll be able to write an essay with terms
such as omg, wtf, suck it, hellz no, and bitch ain't give a shit as
common terms interspersed in my txt.

Side note: it's time to use a gender neutral pronoun for humans, both
written and spoken starting 50 years ago. Gendered pronouns just seem
incorrect to ppl like me- not a man, not yet a woman. Transtastic!
Tranny 911.

I remember when I was a child, and the term cyberspace, hyper reality,
dark matter, dark nrg, and reality tv did not yet exist, now they're
all terms that everybody uses throughout the day. Now we even have
myspace, a place for me to put naked pixxx of my body in and or around
(my) space. I choose not to have a myspace and right now I see that as
a permanent thing, because the last time I had a myspace I did nothing
but talk shit on people, and that's not a very mature thing to do.
Besides, I can just talk shit on people irl if it's so gd pressing
that I can't wait. Sigh, it's getting harder and harder to tell what's
real and what's not.

However, I think my new thing is going to be "not talking shit." Not
talking shit in 2008! It's weird not talking shit, what am I supposed
to talk about the whole time? I guess I'll just have to talk more
about my life, my self, my friends, drugs, sex, fame, Paris Hilton,
science, linguistics, what I've done, what I did, what I will do, what
I plan on doing, what I like, what I don't like, and how good I look.
Jk.


3 words of my own that I love:
omgay

symbitchosis

sexcessories

characters or alphabet?

I've decided that alphabetical languages are more efficient than those that use characters. Since they are more efficient, they are superior and relevant (in my opinion). Damn that sounds racist, it's not meant to be. An alphabetical language is more variable. Characters have a huge limit on them- both functionally, as well in the memory (and usage) in the minds of said language speakers; it limits self expression to those who know the most characters. I appreciate that even though it's close to impossible to learn, people can express themselves with facility in English after learning the alphabet. Once one learns the actual system itself, all of a sudden one can apply to to any word in order to derive meaning. So be happy! Our language is infinitely variable, and we can even make up our own neologisms and people (usually) will understand our meaning. I love things that are infinitely variable.

Then again, opinions are like assholes, everybody seems to have one.

Linguistics

I've always been interested in linguistics. Communication is so fundamental to life, ever since I was a small child I've always been naturally curious about language, hence all languages, and everything about them. How can meaning be summed up and commonly interpreted? Moreover, all of my thoughts are composed of language? And what were my thoughts before I had a language (the first years of life)? It just seems to me that linguistics shapes the human experience more than anything else.

I need to make it a goal to learn about this at some point in my life, because I take it very seriously. I guess I forgot about it (because I hadn't really been thinking about it for years). It wasn't until I read my old zine and read the little blurb I wrote about Language Acquisition (and then remembered the subsequent 10 page research paper I wrote about it, I got a B+) that I remembered how interested I am in it. Now I'm typing about it on a computer, and uploading my thoughts to the communal digital consciousness that is the internet. I am now communicating thoughts to you? : cum-munication? ^communicate^ % meaning <> read? *change, replace! /understand\ | /demand\ $forulate | replie$ + meaning = "thought ; pro*cess" `ask # 9 @ 1, ~ respond 8

Every time I think about it, my mind springs into action developing questions overtime. I wish there was some all powerful secret I could learn that would make me automatically understand every human language (but I know there's different language families, etc). Why can we communicate? How do languages change over time? Universal language? What are you really trying to say (communicate)? *meaning?

I know some of the biological and psychological aspects to language (acquisition). I guess when it comes down to it, the only shit that really is important is that shit they put on that other shit, and shot into outer space (in case an alien reads that shit). It was just a bunch of equations? physics? I saw a picture of it in SEED Magazine (loves Seed Magazine).

I guess I like linguistics because I like to communicate. Meaning is important to me. My life is a search for knowledge, insight, and wisdom (hence relevance).

google's linguistic achievements

I'm so happy that my blog gets translated into almost every language in the world. Google has already basically invented the interplantary translators from star trek. I kid. Wait, I'm not kidding.

All of a sudden google has thrown ACCOUNTABILITY onto everyone. Thank you google, for leading people the right way. All of a sudden, everybody can communicate with everybody in real time, without loosing the meaning that is so often lost with programming codes. It seems to me like this is another huge catalyst for peace (what everybody wants question mark).