The result Dr Rablen and Dr Oswald have come up with, though, suggests a positive effect associated with high status, rather than the absence of a negative effect, since unsuccessful nominees never know that they have been nominated.

ECONOMIST: Is two years extra life

Moreover, a paradox has emerged in our networked world where knowledge is ubiquitous and change is rapid, but the absence of a common vision and agenda ensures that the status quo will be maintained with respect to major global challenges.

FORBES: World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2008

The country has been unable to benefit fully from its gas and oil deposits because of an absence of export routes and a dispute between the Caspian Sea littoral states over the legal status of offshore oil.

BBC: Turkmenistan profile

The absence of a credible alternative to the dollar means that, despite its declining value, its status as the world's reserve currency is not seriously under threat.

ECONOMIST: Why the dollar is falling

They are also going to look at whether the presence or absence of amyloid plaques, a marker of Alzheimer's in the brain, predicts participants' cognitive status over the next five years.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS