A new study warns that more than a fifth of all reptile (爬行动物) species are threatened with extinction, which may have a bad impact on the planet.

The largest ever analysis of the state of the world’s reptiles, published in Nature, has showed that 21% of the reptile species are facing extinction. The study says from lizards to snakes, such a loss could have disastrous impacts on ecosystems around the world.

Although many reptiles live in dry environments such as deserts, most species occur in forests, where they suffer from threats such as logging of land for agriculture.30% of the forest-dwelling reptiles are at risk of extinction, compared with 14% in dry habitats. Hunting is also a major threat to reptiles, especially turtles and crocodiles, many of which are at risk of extinction. Another major contributing factor is the introduction of invasive species.

“If we removed reptiles, it could change ecosystems fundamentally, with unfortunate knock-on effects, such as increases in pest insects,” said Neil Cox, co-leader of the study. “Biodiversity, including reptiles, supports the ecosystem services that provide a healthy environment for people.”

Our hope is that this first-ever assessment of the world’s 10,000-plus reptiles helps put them in the spotlight and goes some way to highlighting this diversity, and just how much we have to lose. As well as controlling rats, mosquitoes and other pests, reptiles deliver many other benefits. “They help spread seeds, especially in island environments,” said researcher Hoffmann. “We’ve also achieved many medical advances from studies of reptiles.”

The results of the study are not all doom and gloom. Scientists have found, surprisingly, that if they set out to protect places where threatened birds, mammals and amphibians (两栖动物) live together, they’ll meanwhile protect many more threatened reptiles.

What do a student in China, an office worker in the UK and an astronaut in space all have in common? They all eat instant noodles. And they’re not alone—over 100 billion servings of instant noodles are consumed globally each year, making them one of the world’s most successful industrial foods. But how did this happen?

Put simply, they’re cheap to produce and cheap to buy, which was exactly what their creator intended to achieve. Momofuku Ando, an entrepreneur, spent a year perfecting the recipe just after the Second World War. He wanted to make something similar to traditional noodles. His creation was instantly popular, playing a part in the post-war economic rise. Even in the year 2000—according to a poll by the Fuji Research Institute—instant noodles were voted the most successful invention, ahead of high-speed trains, laptops and karaoke.

According to the World’s Instant Noodles Association, China, Indonesia, Vietnam and India—in that order—all consumed more instant noodles than before in 2021. Instant noodles’ popularity abroad is in part due to how easy they are to adapt to local tastes. In Thailand, for example, you can get green curry flavour, while in Mexico the noodles are garnished (加饰菜) with lime and salsa. And it seems that consumers have grown to expect innovation. Nissin, the food company founded by Ando, launches over 300 products yearly, according to employee Kasura Suzuki.

Instant noodles have their critics, too. Their rise in popularity has come at an environmental cost—they’re made with palm oil, contributing to deforestation, and their packaging is plastic. And while they are a hot, tasty and filling meal, instant noodles don’t have much nutritional value, and include high levels of salt and fat. Nevertheless, instant noodles are undoubtedly lifesavers in emergency or extreme situations.

More than 60 years after their invention, instant noodles have become the default food for anyone short on money, time, or even a kitchen.

Speaking, writing and reading are necessary to everyday life, where language is the major tool for expression and communication. Studying how people use language — what words they unconsciously choose and combine — can help us better understand ourselves and why we behave the way we do.

Linguists try to decide what is unique and universal about the language we use, how it is learned and the ways it changes over time. They consider language as a cultural, social and psychological phenomenon.

“Understanding why and how languages differ tells us about the range of what is human,” said Dan Jurafsky, chair of the Department of Linguistics at Stanford.

Standford linguists and psychologists study how language is interpreted by people. Even the slightest differences in language use may show the biased beliefs of the speakers, according to research.

For example, a relatively harmless sentence, such as “girls are as good as boys at math,” because of the statement’s grammatical structure, suggests that being good at math is more common or natural for boys than girls, the researchers said. Language can play a big role in how we and others see the world, and linguists work to discover how words and phrases can influence us, unknowingly.

People speak about 7,000 languages worldwide. Although there is a lot in common among languages, each one is unique. Jurafsky said it’s important to study languages besides our own and how they develop over time because it can help linguists understand what lies at the foundation of humans’ unique way of communicating with one another.

Linguists analyze how certain speech patterns influence particular behaviors, including how language can influence people’s buying decisions. Jurafsky said. “Understanding what different groups of people say and why is the first step in determining how we can help bring people together.”