http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19361-virus-link-with-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-resurfaces.html
please delete if already posted
please delete if already posted
New Scientist
- Thread starter helsbells
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In the same journal, anothe "odd" study. Maybe this might help give us insight into our odd sleep patterns? I have no clue...
Hair gives clues to circadian rhythms
20:00 23 August 2010 by Stephen Battersby
Worried that your lifestyle might be at odds with your body clock? A bit of hair is all you need to check.
Biochemical activity operates to the circadian rhythm, a cycle lasting roughly 24 hours. It coordinates sleep patterns, hormone production, immune responses and tissue repair, and is normally kept fine-tuned by doses of daylight.
A disturbed circadian rhythm can lead to sleep deprivation and has been linked to an increased risk of developing certain diseases, including cancer.
The rhythms are maintained by a set of genes whose activity can be monitored via their production of messenger RNA molecules.
Makoto Akashi of Yamaguchi University in Japan and colleagues found that five head hairs or three beard hairs provided enough cells to monitor mRNA levels and pin down an individual's circadian rhythm.Shift work
The team used this technique on workers who alternated between weeks of day and night shifts over three weeks. Although their sleep pattern shifted by 7 hours each week, the tests showed that their body clocks moved back and forth by 2 hours at most.
Akashi says that the hair test could provide a simple way to monitor these rhythms and so avoid diseases linked to a disturbed body clock.
Journal reference: Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1003878107
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19349-hair-gives-clues-to-circadian-rhythms.html
Hair gives clues to circadian rhythms
20:00 23 August 2010 by Stephen Battersby
Worried that your lifestyle might be at odds with your body clock? A bit of hair is all you need to check.
Biochemical activity operates to the circadian rhythm, a cycle lasting roughly 24 hours. It coordinates sleep patterns, hormone production, immune responses and tissue repair, and is normally kept fine-tuned by doses of daylight.
A disturbed circadian rhythm can lead to sleep deprivation and has been linked to an increased risk of developing certain diseases, including cancer.
The rhythms are maintained by a set of genes whose activity can be monitored via their production of messenger RNA molecules.
Makoto Akashi of Yamaguchi University in Japan and colleagues found that five head hairs or three beard hairs provided enough cells to monitor mRNA levels and pin down an individual's circadian rhythm.Shift work
The team used this technique on workers who alternated between weeks of day and night shifts over three weeks. Although their sleep pattern shifted by 7 hours each week, the tests showed that their body clocks moved back and forth by 2 hours at most.
Akashi says that the hair test could provide a simple way to monitor these rhythms and so avoid diseases linked to a disturbed body clock.
Journal reference: Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1003878107
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19349-hair-gives-clues-to-circadian-rhythms.html
OMG
"The origins and even the existence of chronic fatigue syndrome have been widely debated for many years. Some claim that its symptoms, including cramps, listlessness and lethargy, have psychological causes, but the search for an infectious agent has continued." NEW SCIENTIST
WTF!!! That must go down as the least accurate description of a disease EVER. Who did he check that with, his cat?
Only New Scientist subscribers can comment on the article - Please Please can anyone with a subscription make a comment.
OTH
Boy this has really got my goat.
"The origins and even the existence of chronic fatigue syndrome have been widely debated for many years. Some claim that its symptoms, including cramps, listlessness and lethargy, have psychological causes, but the search for an infectious agent has continued." NEW SCIENTIST
WTF!!! That must go down as the least accurate description of a disease EVER. Who did he check that with, his cat?
Only New Scientist subscribers can comment on the article - Please Please can anyone with a subscription make a comment.
OTH
Boy this has really got my goat.