My picks from ScienceDaily

One-third Of Americans Lose Sleep Over Economy:

One-third of Americans are losing sleep over the state of the U.S. economy and other personal financial concerns, according to a new poll released today by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF). The poll suggests that inadequate sleep is associated with unhealthy lifestyles and negatively impacts health and safety.

Genes Important To Sleep Discovered:

For many animals, sleep is a risk: foraging for food, mingling with mates and guarding against predators just aren't possible while snoozing. How, then, has this seemingly life-threatening behavior remained constant among various species of animals? A new study by scientists at North Carolina State University shows that the fruit fly is genetically wired to sleep, although the sleep comes in widely variable amounts and patterns. Learning more about the genetics of sleep in model animals could lead to advances in understanding human sleep and how sleep loss affects the human condition.

Dog Bites A Particular Threat To Young Children, Especially As Temperatures Rise:

Young children are especially vulnerable to severe dog bites in the head and neck areas, and there is a correlation between cases of dog bites and rising temperatures, according to new research published in the March 2009 issue of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

Decline Of Shorebird Linked To Bait Use Of Horseshoe Crabs:

Declining numbers of a shorebird called the red knot have been linked to bait use of horseshoe crabs. Long-term surveys of red knots showed that the average weight of red knots when they leave Delaware Bay has declined significantly since their primary food source, eggs of horseshoe crabs, has been reduced. The study also revealed that red knot survivorship is related to departure weight, and that the population size of red knots has declined by more than 75 percent.

Invasive Species Threaten Salmon In Pacific Northwest:

Many native fishes in the Pacific Northwest are threatened or endangered, notably salmonids, and hundreds of millions of dollars are expended annually on researching their populations and on amelioration efforts.

Public Schools Outperform Private Schools in Math Instruction:

In another "Freakonomics"-style study that turns conventional wisdom about public- versus private-school education on its head, a team of University of Illinois education professors has found that public-school students outperform their private-school classmates on standardized math tests, thanks to two key factors: certified math teachers, and a modern, reform-oriented math curriculum.

Psychologists Shed Light On Origins Of Morality:

In everyday language, people sometimes say that immoral behaviours "leave a bad taste in your mouth". But this may be more than a metaphor according to new scientific evidence from the University of Toronto that shows a link between moral disgust and more primitive forms of disgust related to poison and disease.