My picks from ScienceDaily

Brain Tweak Lets Sleep-deprived Flies Stay Sharp:

Staying awake slows down our brains, scientists have long recognized. Mental performance is at its peak after sleep but inevitably trends downward throughout the day, and sleep deprivation only worsens these effects.

Aging Impairs The 'Replay' Of Memories During Sleep:

Aging impairs the consolidation of memories during sleep, a process important in converting new memories into long-term ones, according to new animal research in the July 30 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. The findings shed light on normal memory mechanisms and how they are disrupted by aging.

Biological Fathers Not Necessarily The Best, Social Dads Parent Well Too:

A large number of U.S. children live or will live with a "social father," a man who is married to or cohabiting with the child's mother, but is not the biological father.

More like this

I had no idea this many Americans were nocturnal: Twenty percent of American workers are night-shift workers, and the number is growing by about 3% per year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While the rest of society sleeps, police officers, security guards, truck drivers, office…
Here is the second post on the topic, from March 28, 2006. A couple of links are broken due to medieval understanding of permalinks by newspapers, but you will not miss too much, I hope.... Health Journal: Doctors probe why it's hard for many kids to get up (also Night Owls: Disorder may cause…
This cartoon was written before intranasal orexin was developed, but the same idea applies: href="http://www.researchblogging.org/"> alt="Blogging on Peer-Reviewed Research" src="http://www.researchblogging.org/public/citation_icons/rb2_large_gray.png" height="50" width="80" class="inset…
Feeling exhausted after a long day is an all too familiar part of modern life. We drag ourselves into bed, hoping to shut down our minds for a night, waking up recharged the next day. But contrary to popular belief, your brain does anything but shut down during sleep. Science is beginning…