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Linguist David Harrison has travelled to remote corners of the world seeking the last speakers of endangered languages. Now, he's using digital tools to to record and revitalize these dying languages. At the AAAS meeting this week, Harrison unveiled 'talking dictionaries' for eight languages.

Duke biologist Sarah Zylinski wants to better understand how cuttlefish see the world. Like their relatives octopus and squid, cuttlefish are master camouflagers--and Zylinski says you can learn something about how they process visual information by testing how they change their skin patterns in relation to different backgrounds.

Two studies in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggest short and long-term exposure to air pollution can increase the risk of stroke and cognitive declines. Study author Jennifer Weuve discusses the results, and why particulate matter and gases like ozone may harm the body.

NPR's Deborah Amos, who covers the Middle East, ponders the question, "Is a story worth dying for?"

The WHO upheld its guidelines on the safety of hormone injections for contraception yesterday, despite some data that users are at increased risk of HIV transmission. An expert panel says the evidence isn't solid yet, and at-risk couples should use a second method, like condoms, for HIV prevention.

Whether a Congress can be defined as do-something or do-nothing is really in the eye of the beholder. If you judge Congress by its ability to pass landmark legislation or bills that address the real needs of the U.S. population, then you likely won't be giving Congress over the next year high marks for accomplishing much.

It's natural for Leonard Cohen to think a lot about mortality near the end of his life, but Ron Sexsmith says Cohen has never sung about "frivolous things."

For 40 years, under the iron fist of Moammar Gadhafi, celebrations were tightly controlled. So, now that Libyans are free, they're just winging it.

Wedged between Russia, Turkey and Iran, the small Central Asian nation of Azerbaijan has long been a magnet for secret agents. Now, as tensions rise over Iran and its nuclear program, the former Soviet republic has been aligning itself with the West and Israel — despite traditional ties with Iran.

The men's basketball team at Jeremy Lin's alma mater, Harvard University, is making its mark on the national scene — and benefiting from powerful Ivy League recruiting tools: a stellar academic reputation and a big increase in financial aid.