Monthly focus

Language lessons

03 January 2019

The European Union has 24 official languages and many more minority and unofficial ones. Image credit - Pxhere, licensed under CC0

The languages we speak and how we speak them are an integral part of our identity, shaping not only how we see the world but also how people see us. In January, Horizon puts language under the spotlight, kicking off the month with a look at Europe’s minority languages and how to preserve them. We also delve into the social and cognitive aspects of language use, finding out how accents arise and how they affect people’s perception of the speaker, and discovering how ageing affects linguistic capacity in bilingual people – and vice versa. We also speak to researchers looking into the language impairment dyslexia and potential options for early diagnosis.

For babies, the process of learning how to speak is a highly interactive one. Image Credit - Pixabay License

health

31 January 2019

Why are children so good at learning languages?

When it comes to learning languages small children beat machines hands down, even though they are exposed to only a fraction of the vocabulary fed into algorithms. So what exactly makes them so good?

Bilingualism was previously thought to confer an element of protection against age-related cognitive decline. Image credit - Pexels, licensed under CC0

health

16 January 2019

Claims that bilingualism keeps brains young could be ‘wishful thinking’

Speaking two languages is a highly valuable skill but is an unlikely defence against age-related cognitive decline as previously thought, according to new research on ageing and bilingualism.

Diagnosing dyslexia before children start to read would be the 'holy grail' for researchers. Image credit - Jay Inslee, CC BY-ND 2.0

health | frontier research

08 January 2019

Noise and motion links to dyslexia pave way for early diagnosis

Most children are able to learn language almost effortlessly. But for those with communication disorders such as dyslexia, mastering their native tongue can be a challenge. Researchers are exploring how links with noise, language and motion could help diagnose problems earlier and pave the way for better treatment.

Parents should not leave it up to kids to decide whether to learn a minority language, says Prof. Anneli Sarhimaa. Image credit - Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz

interview | social sciences

03 January 2019

The internet is helping to revive minority languages

Europe’s minority languages have been squeezed by nation-building, urbanisation and the ‘lingua francas’ of the internet, according to Professor Anneli Sarhimaa, specialist in Northern European and Baltic languages and cultures at the University of Mainz, Germany. But one lesson she has learned from researching the fate of the Finnic language Karelian, spoken in Finland and north-western Russia, is that digital media can also help revitalise them.

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Global warming has led to widespread shrinking of the frozen parts of Earth, known as the cryosphere, according to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Image credit - NordForsk, licensed under CC BY 2.0

Cryosphere change

In January, we examine how the cryosphere - ice sheets, glaciers, sea ice and other frozen parts of the planet - is changing and what this means for our planet. Earth’s cryosphere reflects the sun’s heat, regulating climate. But as the cryosphere melts, sea levels are rising and there are other impacts too – such as glacier collapse, which can generate massive avalanches. We speak to glacier expert Professor Andreas Kääb about the current state of the planet’s ice and snow and how better satellite measurements can help us understand the impacts of melting. We look at Earth’s so-called 'third pole’ of the Tibetan plateau and how ice melt will affect the millions who live in the mountains and those who depend on its run-off for water. We look at a project drilling in the Antarctic for what could be the world’s oldest ice (1.5 million years old) to see what it can reveal about climate history. And we speak to sea ice scientist Polona Itkin to get a glimpse into a day in her life aboard German icebreaker Polarstern, currently carrying out the largest Arctic expedition in history.

CRISPR-Cas9 is a versatile gene editing system that exploits the way that bacterial immune systems defend against viruses. Image credit - Flickr/ NIH Image Gallery, image is in the public domain

Catching up with CRISPR

Seven years after scientists successfully managed to adapt a gene editing system used by bacteria into one that can be easily used in labs to edit human genes, we take a look at some of the emerging applications and ethical issues of CRISPR-Cas9. We talk to the head of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies about whether the simplicity and low cost of CRISPR means that there is potential for misuse and what should be done about this. We find out how scientists have used CRISPR to create cows lacking two sugars that trigger the human immune system, leading to hopes of longer-lasting heart valves for transplant patients and healthier red meat. And we speak to researchers who are using CRISPR to improve other gene editing technologies.

Light-activated catalysts that can neutralise airborne pollutants are being embedded in paint with a view to cleaning up city air. Image credit - AM Technology

The paints that eat pollutants and heat homes

Applying a coat of paint on the walls of a house may soon help to heat it, saving energy and reducing CO2 emissions. It could also clean the air that we breathe, breaking down chemicals and pollutants, and eliminating harmful pathogens.

There could be a genetic explanation for why some people are more susceptible to ill health following traumatic life events such as a natural disaster. Image credit - Pfc. Nicholas T. Howes, USMC

Genetics could explain how traumatic events affect people's health

Facing the death of a loved one, being given a life-threatening diagnosis, or living through a natural disaster is difficult enough. But those who get through these traumatic life events often face further ill effects.

Language lessons

Republish this content

Why are children so good at learning languages?

Claims that bilingualism keeps brains young could be ‘wishful thinking’

Noise and motion links to dyslexia pave way for early diagnosis