Before their own central clocks develop, the brains of fetal rats detect their mother’s metabolic cycle to help regulate the expression of certain genes.
A reference sequence for this emerging model organism will facilitate research on type 2 diabetes and the health effects of circadian rhythm disruption.
The Scientist and Jerome Siegel | Mar 1, 2016 | 10+ min read
Once believed to be unique to birds and mammals, sleep is found across the metazoan kingdom. Some animals, it seems, can’t live without it, though no one knows exactly why.
New findings support a controversial hypothesis about the biological role of sleep: Snoozing may be a way for the brain to clear clutter accumulated after a hard day of synapse forming and strengthening. Two __Science__ studies published today suggest that the brains of sleeping __Drosophila__ undergo an overall depression in synaptic strength and number, eliminating some minor neuronal connections while merely weakening stronger ones.Expression of synaptic markers is low aftersleep (left) and h
SIDEBAR : Sleep Research Resources Some consider sleep an unavoidable nuisance; others, a sweet indulgence. For the most part, though, we take our slumber for granted, rarely considering why we spend a hefty chunk of our lives unconscious. But for sleep researchers, that question represents a supreme mystery. Exactly what purpose sleep serves, as well as how the body regulates sleeping and waking, remain largely unknown. Behavioral scientists and physiologists have pursued these questions for