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Victorian Era Names, A Writer's Guide circa 1840's-1890's Being a compilation drawn from old census and vital statistic records. A large part of creating a good set of characters in fiction writing is giving your imaginary populace good names. As we sleep, speedy brain waves boost our ability to learn Scientists have long puzzled over the many hours we spend in light, dreamless slumber. But a new study from the University of California, Berkeley, suggests we're busy recharging our brain's learning capacity during this traditionally undervalued phase of sleep, which can take up half the night. UC Berkeley researchers have found compelling evidence that bursts of brain waves known as "sleep spindles" may be networking between key regions of the brain to clear a path to learning.

7 Close Calls in the Nuclear Age Here's a formula for fun: Arm two superpowers to the teeth with thousands of nuclear warheads. Make sure they are deeply hostile and suspicious of each other. Now, cut off diplomatic communication, stir in about 50 smaller countries with their own agendas on each side, and you've got yourself a cold war! Architecture Imagine the renovation dilemmas. A huge penthouse of a converted 1930s office building in TriBeCa, New York, is to be turned into a functioning home for a family with three teenagers. In fact, we can not quite imagine the issues that faced Steven Harris Architects when the family showed up, literally, at the doorstep of the celebrated architect and asked if he’d like to work on their home.

How to Increase Dopamine Levels: Foods to Eat and What to Do Dopamine is the brain’s feel good chemical, sending feelings of well-being and pleasure into your body. In addition to simply making you feel good, dopamine helps control weight, energy levels, and supports brain and heart health. Without it, we would be more fat, unhappy, and tired. But if you know how to increase dopamine levels, you can take advantage of this feel good chemical on command.

Tenie Theodore Nash sees only a few dozen patients a year in his clinic at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. That’s pretty small as medical practices go, but what his patients lack in number they make up for in the intensity of their symptoms. Some fall into comas. Some are paralyzed down one side of their body. Others can’t walk a straight line. Still others come to Nash partially blind, or with so much fluid in their brain that they need shunts implanted to relieve the pressure. Ancient underwater cities being found that are 10,000 years old Lost city 'could rewrite history' By BBC News Online's Tom Housden The remains of what has been described as a huge lost city may force historians and archaeologists to radically reconsider their view of ancient human history. Marine scientists say archaeological remains discovered 36 meters (120 feet) underwater in the Gulf of Cambay off the western coast of India could be over 9,000 years old. The vast city - which is five miles long and two miles wide - is believed to predate the oldest known remains in the subcontinent by more than 5,000 years.

How Meditation Changes the Structure of Your Brain digg HJ: Meditation has long been known to be beneficial on a number of levels and science is now confirming this to be true, but perhaps what is even more interesting is the fact that science is also discovering things that were not previously perceptible such as the fact that meditation actually changes the structure of your brain. This is a fascinating and incredible discovery with many implications into the relationship between the body and mind. As mentioned in a recent post on the expression of genetics, it is now being shown that lifestyle habits (such as meditation) seem to have a far greater influence on our quality of life and potential than previously acknowledged. - Truth