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Photo: Multicolored mascots have been unveiled for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Inspiration for the figures, which have still to be named, was drawn from sources that included video games and Brazil's fauna and flora, officials said. One of the mascots is best described as bright yellow and feline, while the other resembles a blue tree with hands. The mascots will be named through an online poll, which opened this week.

Bilingual news: Shopping can improve elderly people's brainpower, scientists at Duke University in the United States have found. Older adults appear to need extra brainpower to make shopping decisions - especially ones that rely on memory, the study found. These shoppers use an additional area of the brain to remember competing consumer products and choose the best one, so that they don't miss a bargain. The research was led by Nichole Lighthall, and appeared on Nov 19 in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Buzzword: "Tit-for-tat giving" refers to sending a gift to someone who has already bought you one.