Icelandic language planning native roots borrowing

Icelandic favors words built from native roots

Icelandic has changed less than other Nordic languages and remains unusually close to Old Norse. Language planning has also deliberately shaped its vocabulary: it favors making words from native roots rather than borrowing them from other languages.

COVID-19 was linked to extra loss in smell-related brain tissue

0.2%–2% more tissue

A study found that people infected with COVID-19 had more tissue loss in brain regions connected to smell than uninfected people; most infections were mild. The average overall brain effect was equivalent to at least one extra year of normal aging. Researchers do not know whether the changes are temporary or permanent.

An octopus can flash a warning without changing color

Under ⅓ Second

A blue-ringed octopus can reveal its brilliant blue warning rings in less than a third of a second. But it does not need to create new pigment. Tiny muscles uncover reflective structures that were hidden beneath its skin. The rings were there all along—the octopus simply switches them into view.

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Icelandic language planning native roots borrowing

Icelandic favors words built from native roots

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