The myth of the eight-hour sleep Image copyright Other We often worry about lying awake in the middle of the night - but it could be good for you. A growing body of evidence from both science and history suggests that the eight-hour sleep may be unnatural. In the early 1990s, psychiatrist Thomas Wehr conducted an experiment in which a group of people were plunged into darkness for 14 hours every day for a month. It took some time for their sleep to regulate but by the fourth week the subjects had settled into a very distinct sleeping pattern. They slept first for four hours, then woke for one or two hours before falling into a second four-hour sleep. Though sleep scientists were impressed by the study, among the general public the idea that we must sleep for eight consecutive hours persists. In 2001, historian Roger Ekirch of Virginia Tech published a seminal paper, drawn from 16 years of research, revealing a wealth of historical evidence that humans used to sleep in two distinct chunks. Image copyright bbc
Untold Stories of the First World War Photos, letters and other memorabilia It was the war that tore Europe apart – a struggle between the central powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria, against the allied powers of Britain, France, Belgium, Russia, Italy and the USA. No European nation was left untouched – even neutral states felt the impact of the war. But it was the ordinary men and women who were affected the most. Renowned historian and WW1 author Peter Englund said: “This important and imaginative project tells the other side of the story, from the point of view of a young soldier who signed up seeking adventure, to the family devastated by news that he was one of millions who would never return.
Making Goals Happen For Five Dollars I know this will sound stupid, but just force yourself to work on some of your goals, and it will become a habit. I know, it sounds doubtful, but there really isn't anyway to force yourself to enjoy working on your goals, you've just got to get rid of the attitude that they're like homework assignments. When switching from being a major procrastinator to being a workhorse, you always will have to start with pain. You're going to hate working when you feel like playing a game of Team Fortress 2 (or whatever you enjoy, lol), but it feels less like work once you get used to it. Once you've actually started working, and you have a feel where you're going with whatever your project is, it's wayyyyyyyy easier to periodically stop and return to working on it.
Flow | Online Task Management and Team Collaboration Software Prune bad brain wiring with magnetic pulses - health - 18 February 2012 By Wendy Zukerman ZAPPING the brain with a weak magnetic pulse can wipe out unwanted neural connections in mice at least. The discovery could be turned into a treatment for conditions associated with abnormal neural circuitry, such as schizophrenia. In transcranial magnetic stimulation a magnetic coil induces electric currents in the brain that can strengthen or suppress neural connections. Now, Jennifer Rodger from the University of Western Australia in Crawley and colleagues have found that stimulating the brain at intensities lower than would make a neuron fire can remove unwanted neural connections in mice. As children, our brains produce too many connections between cells. Rodger’s team used genetically modified mice with abnormal connections in an area of the brain called the superior colliculus (SC), which is involved in motion detection. Rodger used low-intensity, pulsed magnetic field stimulation (PMF) on the rodents’ SC for 10 minutes a day over two weeks. More on these topics:
Digitised Manuscripts Almost 900 Greek manuscripts and some of the most important papyri, ranging in date from the first to the 18th centuries, are now included in the Digitised Manuscripts site. The first two phases of the Greek Manuscripts Digitisation Project were generously funded by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and the third phase was funded by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, the A. G. Leventis Foundation, Sam Fogg, the Sylvia Ioannou Foundation, the Thriplow Charitable Trust, and the Friends of the British Library. Over fifty Thai manuscripts and the Chakrabongse Archive of Royal Letters have been digitised with the generous support of the Royal Thai Government, in celebration of the occasion of the eightieth birthday anniversary of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand on 5 December 2007. The Zweig Collection of music manuscripts was digitised with the support of the Derek Butler Trust.
Top 10 Essential DIY Skills That Aren't as Hard as You Think I think it depends on your definition of "maintenance." I wouldn't hesitate to change my own oil or something like that but I wouldn't dream of replacing a radiator myself. That isn't my idea of "maintenance." That's fixing something. Sorry you are afraid of doing that stuff, but even a complete engine rebuild is easy to do, and no you don't need "special tools" unless you call things beyond a hammer and screwdriver "special" I can do a front end alignment on a car in my driveway with a tape measure and a couple of carpenters squares along with the wrenches most people would have. Also if you do buy the cheap but special tools you can replace your own tires and balance them better than the "laser computerized" balance machine at the tire place. In fact the only expensive special tools I need are a Crane and engine run stand. Danger? This is why I don't take my cars to the dealer for any routine maintenance. Aside from that, dealers are inconvenient.
MIT discovers the location of memories: Individual neurons Update 12/2/15: We've now followed up on this story: The more we learn about memory, the weirder it gets. The original continues below. MIT researchers have shown, for the first time ever, that memories are stored in specific brain cells. As you can imagine, the trick here is activating individual neurons, which are incredibly small and not really the kind of thing you can attach electrodes to. Now, just to temper your excitement, we should note that MIT's subjects in this case are mice -- but it's very, very likely that the human brain functions in the same way. In the experiment, MIT gave mice an electric shock to create a fear memory in the hippocampus region of the brain (pictured above) -- and then later, using laser light, activated the neurons where the memory was stored. The main significance here is that we finally have proof that memories (engrams(Opens in a new window), in neuropsychology speak) are physical rather than conceptual.