Flat Press

More young men in California rise in pitch at the end of their sentences when talking, new research shows.

This process is known as "uptalk" or "valleygirl speak" and has in the past been associated with young females, typically from California or Australia.

But now a team says that this way of speaking is becoming more frequent among men.

The findings were presented at the Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in California.

"We found use of uptalk in all of our speakers, despite their diverse backgrounds in socioeconomic status, ethnicity, bilingualism and gender," said Amanda Ritchart, a linguist at the University of California who led the research.

"We believe that uptalk is becoming more prevalent and systematic in its use for the younger generations in Southern California," she added.

The team recorded and analysed the voices of 23 native Californians aged between 18 and 22. The researchers were therefore not able to infer similar language patters in older Californians.

Researchers say that some monkeys in South and Central America eat as many as 50 different species of fruit a day.

A team from the University of East Anglia said that primate size and diet are closely connected.

They found that mid-sized species including Saki monkeys were the biggest fruit consumers.

Larger primates including Woolly Spider monkeys were more likely to eat leaves and foliage, they said.

The research has been published in the journal Oikos.

It’s a tried and tested technique used by writers and poets, but can psychology explain why first moments after waking can be among our most imaginative?

It is 6.06am and I’m typing this in my pyjamas. I awoke at 6.04am, walked from the bedroom to the study, switched on my computer and got to work immediately. This is unusual behaviour for me. However, it’s a tried and tested technique for enhancing creativity, long used by writers, poets and others, including the inventor Benjamin Franklin. And psychology research appears to back this up, providing an explanation for why we might be at our most creative when our minds are still emerging from the realm of sleep.

The best evidence we have of our mental state when we're asleep is that strange phenomenon called dreaming. Much remains unknown about dreams, but one thing that is certain is that they are weird. Also listening to other people's dreams can be deadly boring. They go on and on about how they were on a train, but it wasn't a train, it was a dinner party, and their brother was there, as well as a girl they haven't spoken to since they were nine, and... yawn. To the dreamer this all seems very important and somehow connected. To the rest of us it sounds like nonsense, and tedious nonsense at that.

Researchers say they have found the first direct evidence that female sharks return home to breed.

In the study, scientists tracked lemon sharks in the Bahamas for 17 years to prove the case.

Even though this species is highly migratory, pregnant females prefer to give birth where they themselves were born.

The researchers say it strengthens the argument for restrictions on fishing at specific sites.

The idea of females returning to their own place of birth to reproduce has been observed in a number of marine species most notably in salmon but it has also been seen in sea turtles.

The Chancellor has announced £90m a year for five years for research collaboration with emerging nations.

There is also £10m for a "Higgs Centre" to support high technology business start-ups.

And George Osborne said there would be £270m to develop a network of quantum technology centres, as well.

But critics point out that science funding has been eroded over the past three years and is not keeping pace with that of competitors.

Ahead of the Autumn Statement, Mr Osborne said: "Science is a personal priority of mine. This government will continue to prioritise the long-term investments that are needed to compete in the global race."

Usually the Grand Canyon offers stunning views stretching for miles, deep into valleys etched by the Colorado River. But that vista has changed over the past few days, as a rare weather event has filled the canyon with fog, offering an even more stunning view than is typical.

The weather event is known as a temperature inversion, and it only happens every few years, according to the National Park Service, who wrote about the event and posted photos of it on its Facebook page.