Disrupting Body Clock Could Keep Triglycerides High, Raising Risk Of Heart Disease

From studies on mice, researchers in the US have discovered that disrupting the body clock or circadian rhythm could interfere with a normal 24 hour cycle of high and low triglycerides in a way that leaves them at a high level all the time, potentially raising the risk of atherosclerosis and heart disease. You can read how Dr M... Tags: Insomnia Sleeping problems Insomnia information Sleepin

The Same Kind Of Circadian Rhythms That Govern Human Sleep Control Cell Division In Cyanobacteria

A team of researchers at MIT and the University of California at San Diego has shown how cell division in a type of bacteria known as cyanobacteria is controlled by the same kind of circadian rhythms that govern human sleep patterns... Tags: Insomnia Sleeping problems Insomnia information Sleepin

Dangers Of The Graveyard Shift…Nightshift Workers Suffer More Than Lack Of Sleep

Chronobiology International - Informa Healthcare's journal on how biological rhythms affect the systems of living things - has published a 14-year study of more than 7000 subjects which concludes that shift-work constitutes an independent risk factor for impaired glucose metabolism. Modern industrialization, consumer expectations and globalization have led to the widespread adoption of round-the-clock operations in many industries throughout the world. Tags: Insomnia Sleeping problems Insomnia information Sleepin

New Mechanism For Circadian Rhythm Discovered By Texas A&M Researchers

Molecules that may hold the key to new ways to fight cancer and other diseases have been found to play an important role in regulating circadian rhythm, says Liheng Shi, a researcher in Texas A&M's Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences. Circadian rhythm is the roughly 24-hour cycle of physiological activities of humans, animals and even bacteria, Shi explains. Tags: Insomnia Sleeping problems Insomnia information Sleepin

WUSTL Research Finds Individual Cells Isolated From The Biological Clock Can Keep Daily Time, But Are Unreliable

Alexis Webb enters a small room at Washington University in St. Louis with walls, floor and ceiling painted dark green, shuts the door, turns off the lights and bends over a microscope in a black box draped with black cloth. Through the microscope, she can see a single nerve cell on a glass cover slip glowing dimly. The glow tells her the isolated nerve cell is busy keeping time. Webb, a graduate fellow in the Neuroscience Ph.D. Program, working with Erik Herzog, Ph.D. Tags: Insomnia Sleeping problems Insomnia information Sleepin

A Link Between The Circadian Rhythm And Salt Balance

New research, conducted by Charles Wingo and his colleagues, at the University of Florida, Gainsville, suggests a link between the circadian rhythm and control of sodium (salt) levels in mice. The hormone aldosterone regulates levels of sodium in the blood and thereby helps control blood pressure. Tags: Insomnia Sleeping problems Insomnia information Sleepin

Mysteries Of Circadian Rhythms Revealed By Fungus

The fuzzy pale mold that lines the glass tubes in Dr. Yi Liu's lab doesn't look much like a clock. But this fungus has an internal, cell-based timekeeper nearly as sophisticated as a human's, allowing UT Southwestern Medical Center physiologists to study easily the biochemistry and genetics of body clocks, or circadian rhythms. In a new study appearing online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Tags: Insomnia Sleeping problems Insomnia information Sleepin

PER:PER Protein Pair Required For Circadian Clock Function

Scientists from Queen Mary, University of London have discovered a new protein complex operating in fruit fly circadian clocks, which may also help to regulate our own biological clocks. Circadian clocks are thought to have evolved to enable organisms to match their behaviour to specific time slots during the 24 hour day. They are synchronised with our surrounding environment via natural light or temperature cycles. Tags: Insomnia Sleeping problems Insomnia information Sleepin

Understanding The Complexities Of The Human Sleep/Wake Cycle With The Help Of A Flowering Plant

In an Early Edition issue of The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on April 9, 2009, the researchers report that they have been able to determine the molecular structure of a plant photolyase protein that is surprisingly similar to two cryptochrome proteins that control the "master clock" in humans and other mammals. They have also been able to test how structural changes affect the function of these proteins. Tags: Insomnia Sleeping problems Insomnia information Sleepin

Shedding New ‘Light’ On Fascinating Rhythms Of The Circadian Clock

Scientists have long known that interrupting the 24-hour circadian rhythm plays havoc with the lives and health of medical, military and airline personnel, factory employees and travelers. Tags: Insomnia Sleeping problems Insomnia information Sleepin