What is a hyperpolyglot?
An article in The New Yorker considers people whose linguistic mastery encompasses dozens of languages. To be a hyperpolyglot – defined as someone who can speak 11 or more languages – requires a lot of effort. And there may be a genetic predisposition, since there is evidence (which still requires confirmation) that “an extreme language learner has a more-than-random chance of being a gay, left-handed male on the autism spectrum, with an autoimmune disorder, such as asthma or allergies,” writes Judith Thurman.
A brain that is more apt to process the information needed to learn a new language may also be part of the picture.
Coffee and cancer warning
On Aug. 29, the Food and Drug Administration released a statement from Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, that supports a proposal to exempt coffee from California’s cancer warning law. The action was prompted by a recent ruling by a California court that the state’s Proposition 65 could require labeling of coffee with a cancer warning, because of the presence of a chemical called acrylamide, which can form in many foods during frying, roasting, and baking.
Lynda Banzi/IMNG Medical Media
“In coffee, acrylamide forms during the roasting of coffee beans. Although acrylamide at high doses has been linked to cancer in animals, and coffee contains acrylamide, current science indicates that consuming coffee poses no significant risk of cancer,” the statement reads in part.