Sleep in man is divided in two main phases : non-REM sleep, which occupies most of our early sleep night, and REM sleep, during which our dreams prevail. Non-REM sleep is usually considered as a compensatory ‘resting’ state for the brain, following the intense waking brain activity. Indeed, previous brain imaging studies showed that the brain was less active during periods of non-REM sleep as compared to periods of wakefulness.

Although not rejecting this concept, researchers from the Cyclotron Research Centre of the University of Liège in Belgium and from the Department of Neurology of Liege University Hospital demonstrate that, even during its deepest stages (also called ‘slow-wave-sleep’), non-REM sleep should not be viewed as a stage of constant and continuous brain activity decrease, but is also characterized by transient and recurrent activity increases in specific brain areas.

Do females intrinsically have less ability than males to excel in mathematics at the very highest level? That used to be the conventional wisdom. But that has changed in the last few years and more gender equality in math has been the result - but we are still losing too many potential mathematicians, according to "Cross-Cultural Analysis of Students with Exceptional Talent in Mathematical Problem Solving," appearing in the November 2008 issue of the Notices of the American Mathematical Society.

The study brings together decades of data from several extremely high-level mathematics competitions for young people. These data show that there exist many females with profound intrinsic ability in mathematics. What is more, whether this ability is identified and nurtured is highly dependent on socio-cultural, educational, or other environmental factors. In the United States, these factors keep many boys as well as most girls from developing their mathematical talents to the fullest.

Pregnancy and motherhood may make us all go a little gooey, but it's not turning mums' brains into mush, according to mental health researchers at The Australian National University.

The study – conducted by the Centre for Mental Health Research (CMHR) at ANU – suggests that despite fears mothers may have that pregnancy affects their cognitive functions, there is no evidence to suggest that is true. The findings have been released as part of Mental Health Week.

MILWAUKEE, October 9 /PRNewswire/ --

- Company Honored with 2008 Diagnostic Cardiovascular Monitoring Equipment Product Line Strategy Award

PARIS and LONDON, October 9 /PRNewswire/ --

- New Paris Datacentre to Provide Mission Critical IT Infrastructure to IBM

Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: DLR), the leading owner and manager of corporate and Internet gateway datacentres, has completed a Turn-Key Datacentre(TM) lease agreement with IBM. Under this agreement, IBM will establish a new hosting datacentre in Digital Realty Trust's property located in suburban Paris.

LITTLETON, Colorado, October 9 /PRNewswire/ --

CPI Card Group (CPI), a global leader in financial and commercial card manufacturing and services, announces its certification for a full range of Dual Interface MasterCard solutions using the MULTOS Operating System and PayPass.

CPI developed a unique method that allows superb reading distance and the greatest durability in the market for third and fourth line embossing card requirements. Its suite of solutions for Dual Interface includes the 8K Step One, the 36K MULTOS I4F and the 80K MULTOS I4F.

OTTAWA, October 9 /PRNewswire/ -- WorldReach Software, the worldwide leader in consular software solutions, today announces that it has been awarded a multiyear contract by the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to supply them with a global consular IT solution and provide ongoing support and maintenance.

The implementation that will be based on the AssistReach(R) consular case management and the CrisisReach(R) crisis management product lines will be accessible worldwide and support the operations of headquarters and over 60 missions abroad.

SLOUGH, England, October 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Servier is disappointed by the decision of the English High Court (Mr Justice Norris) to award damages to Apotex of GBP17.5 million in the case of Les Laboratoires Servier vs Apotex Inc. Servier is currently considering whether to appeal the Judgment. However, Servier acknowledges that Mr Justice Norris's Judgment rejected Apotex's original claim for GBP27 million and awarded it a substantially reduced amount (GBP17.5 million).

NEWARK, New Jersey, October 9 /PRNewswire/ --

PIERS Global Intelligence Solutions, a Commonwealth Business Media company and the leading provider of U.S. ocean-going trade information, announced the strategic expansion of its international trade database assets to include coverage of water- and airborne cross-border commerce to and from Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

"This is a significant expansion of our Asian Subcontinent coverage," says Richard E. Hanft, Director, Asia/Pacific Region, for PIERS.

LUDWIGSHAFEN, Germany, October 9 /PRNewswire/ --

Abbott (NYSE: ABT) today announced the opening of new development laboratories and a pilot plant facility that will research groundbreaking technologies and test large-scale production of newly developed drug formulations. The expansion is part of Abbott's global drug delivery business, SOLIQS, which is based in Ludwigshafen.

"Abbott is committed to advancing scientific innovation and bringing new medicines to patients," said John M. Leonard, M.D., senior vice president, Pharmaceuticals, Research and Development, Abbott. "Innovative drug formulation is critical to the development of effective new treatments that make a difference for patients."