I came across an interesting little article on how human languages might have evolved -- vocab, anyway; grammar's still a mystery. The study discussed involved a computer model which simulates how words evolve in the absence of some central decision-maker.

The Guardian recently published extracts from Robert Winston's new book "The Story of God", on how and why humans got religion. Always a fascinating topic.

The New York Times has an interesting article about the failed (well, delayed) promise of brain scanning in regards to mental disorders. It fairly expresses both the limits and the promise of this technology.

And apparently oxytocin -- recently implicated in OCD, and best-known for its role in mother-child bonding -- also has a role to play in more casual social meetings.

The constant interruptions of modern-day office life slow productivity but seem impossible to resist -- I talked about this problem once. The New York Times has an interesting magazine article about ways of dealing with it, some of them (the high-tech solutions some people are working on) quite intriguing.

And apparently those lucky people who sleep well and easily, unperturbed by such factors as caffeine, have a natural advantage -- a gene. It's all to do with an enzyme called adenosine, apparently -- suggesting a new approach to dealing with insomnia.