My picks from ScienceDaily

Dolphins Maintain Round-the-clock Visual Vigilance:

Dolphins have a clever trick for overcoming sleep deprivation. Sam Ridgway from the US Navy Marine Mammal Program explains that they are able to send half of their brains to sleep while the other half remains conscious. What is more, the mammals seem to be able to remain continually vigilant for sounds for days on end. All of this made Ridgway and his colleagues from San Diego and Tel Aviv wonder whether the dolphins' unrelenting auditory vigilance tired them and took a toll on the animals' other senses?

Dietary Fats Trigger Long-term Memory Formation:

Having strong memories of that rich, delicious dessert you ate last night? If so, you shouldn't feel like a glutton. It's only natural. UC Irvine researchers have found that eating fat-rich foods triggers the formation of long-term memories of that activity. The study adds to their recent work linking dietary fats to appetite control and may herald new approaches for treating obesity and other eating disorders.

Oxytocin: Love Potion #1? Human Hormone Increases Positive Communication Between Couples:

Relationships are difficult and most of us probably think at some point that communicating positively with our partner when discussing stressful issues, like home finances, is an impossible task. What if there was a safe way to take the "edge" off these discussions? The biology of human social relationships is just beginning to emerge as groundbreaking research on social cognition conducted in animals is now informing research in humans.

Birds Raised In Complete Isolation Evolve 'Normal' Species Song Over Generations:

During infancy, each of us emerges from a delightful but largely incoherent babble of syllables and learns to speak - normally, in the language of those who care for us. But imagine what would happen if we were somehow raised in utter isolation from other people, not only our parents but also from surrogates such as nurses and nannies. What sort of culture might we evolve if reared in isolation? Would we learn to speak? Would such a language evolve over multiple generations? If so, would it eventually resemble existing ones?

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Most of us start to tire after about half a day without any sleep. Staying awake for five in a row would be extremely difficult and even if you could manage it, you'd be a physical and mental wreck by the end. But not all animals suffer from the same problem. A dolphin can stay awake and alert for…
I am not the only one on ScienceBlogs.com to write about circadian rhythms, sleep and (non-visual) photoreception. Over the years, my SciBlings have written about these and related topics as well. Here is a sampler - go and dig for more on their blogs. Stimulant Improves Sleep Locked-In Syndrome…
Daytime Nap Can Benefit A Person's Memory Performance: A brief bout of non-REM sleep (45 minutes) obtained during a daytime nap clearly benefits a person's declarative memory performance, according to a new study. People Had More Intense Dreams After Sept. 11, 2001, Sleep Research Shows: The…
Over the past decade, as Baby Boomers have begun flooding the ranks of the AARP, science has become increasingly focused on discovering the recipe for longevity. Every week, it seems, a new study is published touting the life extending powers of antioxidants, exercise, or sleep. By and large, the…

It's not so much the Dolphins that screw with my head. It's the fur seals who have that on-off switch for that half-a-brain-asleep-at-a-time facility.

By Nathaniel Marshall (not verified) on 05 May 2009 #permalink

Well, dolphins do as well, and so do birds. Totally cool.