Washington, Apr 24 : Early birds may be chirpier in the morning, but it's the night owls that score over them when it comes to being alert after waking up from sleep, concludes a new brain-scan study.

In the study, researchers monitored the brain activity of self-described early birds and night owls in a sleep lab.

Led by Christina Schmidt of the University of Liege in Belgium, the researchers also took hourly saliva samples to measure the sleepers'' levels of melatonin-a hormone thought to help naturally regulate sleep cycles in mammals.

Washinton, Apr. 24 : The so called ‘peace deal’ between the government of Pakistan and the Taliban in the Swat Valley has brought Washington and Islamabad at loggerheads, with the United States considering that the accord would only provide an opportunity to the insurgents to build terror safe havens in Pakistan’s heart.

US diplomats see the peace accord of the Swat Valley, which is located just 60 miles away from Islamabad, as a threat to the region, and to the western world too.

Washington, Apr 24 : An international team of scientists has successfully sequenced cow's genome, thus paving the way for more sustainable food production.

A research team involving 300 researchers from 25 countries spent six years mapping and analysing the genetic make-up of a Hereford cow, named L1 Dominette.

The findings of this study provide the means to select animals with a smaller environmental footprint, particularly animals with less greenhouse gas emissions.

Washington, April 24 : Astronomers have learned that creating diamonds in space requires very special conditions.

Loads of tiny diamonds, each measuring one micrometer are located in the material that surrounds some stars - their circumstellar disks.

Few stars have been identified which show clear evidence of diamonds in their disks.

Now, astronomers, using the Subaru Telescope, have learned that creating diamonds in space requires very special conditions.

When scientists look for diamonds in space, they are like detectives using fingerprints to trace a missing person.

Washington - The US Defense Department next month will release 44 photographs of prisoner treatment at facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan, in response to a long-running lawsuit over detainee abuse.

In documents filed late Thursday, the government said that 44 photos would be issued by May 28.

The court documents were released by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a non-governmental organization that sued starting in 2004 for the release of photos and other documents pertaining to possible detainee mistreatment and abuse at numerous military facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Washington, Apr 24 : Living in another country can help expand minds, says a new study.

"Gaining experience in foreign cultures has long been a classic prescription for artists interested in stimulating their imaginations or honing their crafts. But does living abroad actually make people more creative?" asks the study''s lead author, William Maddux, PhD, an assistant professor of organizational behavior at INSEAD, a business school with campuses in France and Singapore.

"It''s a longstanding question that we feel we''ve been able to begin answering through this research," the expert added.