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April 27, 2005
Gene mutation slashes need for sleep
My father always complained, that the reason women live longer than men is because you only have a certain number of waking hours to live and women sleep so much longer they don't use them up as fast as men. I personally always thought it was the fact that women didn't spend a lot of time worrying about how long some else was sleeping that gave them the edge. ;) Well it turns out that he may have been more right than I realized. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin have discovered a gene in fruit flies that allows them to go only 30% less sleep, but also leads to them living 30% shorter lives. Which fits in with my father's theory of the world. Either way the discovery of the gene and a homologue in mammals could lead to new treatments that will allow people to avoid sleep deprivation issues. I guess it begs the issue, live a short and energetic life, or a long and drawn out life. Decisions, decisions.
Read more here.
Posted by ManDrake at April 27, 2005 8:43 PM
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