Discovery of circadian rhythm gene in mice could lead to breakthroughs in understanding those in humans augustafreepress.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from augustafreepress.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
That internal nagging feeling that drives you to seek sleep at night and wake in the morning to eat, work, and play, is, it turns out, genetic, and it's not just in people.
Shihoko Kojima poses, without a mask, outside Steger Hall s front entrance.
Shihoko Kojima. Photo by Steven Mackay.
That internal nagging feeling that drives you to seek sleep at night and wake in the morning to eat, work, and play, is, it turns out, genetic, and it’s not just in people. Nearly every living organism – from animals to plants as well as several microorganisms and fungi – has an internal body clock, or a circadian rhythm.
Yet, scientists have been perplexed out how these genes operate. Now, Virginia Tech scientists have taken a step closer to an answer thanks to the DNA of a mouse, a petri dish, and much patience. In a new study published in the journal Genes & Development, Shihoko Kojima, an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, part of the Virginia Tech College of Science, and a researcher with the Fralin Life Sciences Institute, and her team has identified a novel gene,