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Wish Fulfillment? No. But Dreams (and Sleep) Have Meaning

Dreams may not be the secret window into the frustrated desires of the unconscious that Sigmund Freud first posited in 1899, but growing evidence suggests that dreams — and, more so, sleep — are powerfully connected to the processing of human emotion. According to new research presented last week at the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Seattle, adequate sleep may underpin our ability to understand complex emotions properly in waking life. “Sleep essentially is resetting the magnetic north of your emotional compass,” says Matthew Walker, director of the Sleep and Neuroimaging Lab at the University of California, Berkeley.

Clashes in Iran reveal deep divide

A group of 20 to 30 men, carrying clubs and metal pipes, banged on the door of an apartment building in a Tehran neighborhood. The group was agitated. They chanted and shouted and kept banging on the building’s door.

Poll: Half of Israelis back bombing if needed to stop Iran nukes

Roughly half of Israelis support bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities if international efforts fail to stop the Islamic republic from developing nuclear weapons, according to a Hebrew University poll released Sunday. Some 52 percent of Israelis say the country should bomb Iran’s nuclear reactor, while 35 percent are against, the poll found

How Strong is the Evidence Against Amanda Knox?

An attractive American student on trial for murder can count on support 6,000 miles away in her native Seattle. There, one of Amanda Knox’s most vocal backers is attorney Anne Bremner, who has offered her counsel pro bono to the accused’s family and who is a spokesperson for Friends of Amanda.

U.S. student ‘not at home’ night roommate died

American student Amanda Knox was on the stand Saturday for a second day, this time facing questions from the public prosecutor in her trial on charges of murdering her housemate about two years ago. Knox, 21, is charged in the death of British student Meredith Kercher, who was her housemate in this university town north of Rome. Kercher, 20, died in what prosecutors say was a “drug-fueled sex game” after suffering a sexual assault

Advice for Coddling Parents: Put Baby to Bed Alone

Entire volumes have been written about the subject of infant sleep — getting babies to sleep, keeping them asleep, making sure their sleep environment is safe. One topic of continued debate among parents is co-sleeping, or bed-sharing, a common practice in countries outside the U.S. Fueled by increasing evidence, however, more pediatricians and sleep experts are dissuading parents from sharing a bed or a bedroom with their babies, recommending instead that babies be allowed to learn how to fall asleep and stay asleep on their own.

Hate groups riled up, researchers say

Hate groups have intensified their rhetoric in recent months, but this new energy hasn’t necessarily translated to an increase in the rate of hate crimes in the U.S., according to some researchers. They also say that many white supremacist groups have been energized by a sour economy and the election of a black U.S

Larks and Owls: How Sleep Habits Affect Grades

There are at least a few in every college dorm: students who seem to exist in their own time zone, in bed hours before everyone else and awake again at daybreak, rested and prepared for the morning’s first lecture. Sleep researchers refer to these early risers as larks , and new data presented this week at the annual Associated Professional Sleep Societies suggest that a student’s preferred sleeping schedule has a lot to do with his or her grade-point average in school. In one study, psychologists at Hendrix College in Arkansas found that college freshmen who kept night-owl hours had lower GPAs than early birds.

English gets millionth word on Wednesday, site says

English contains more words than any other language on the planet and added its millionth word early Wednesday, according to the Global Language Monitor, a Web site that uses a math formula to estimate how often words are created. The site estimates the millionth English word, “Web 2.0” was added to the language Wednesday at 5:22 a.m. ET

‘Unabomber’ fights plans to auction his possessions

Convicted "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski, who terrorized the country with a series of mail bombs over nearly two decades, is fighting to stop a public auction of his diaries and other personal possessions.