A recent study has come closer to explaining how our biological clocks function. Although biological clocks are extremely important for our health, little is known about their workings. Now the University of Georgia research team has studied the actions of three genes in Neurospora (a genus of fungi) and discovered that the products of these three genes most probably constitute the building blocks of a biological clock. The findings should be translatable also to humans.
EurekAlert has more details.
An Indiana University study has concluded that “When groups of individuals are exposed to brands in the shopping environment, their memory for other brands within the same product category is impaired”. More information at EurekAlert.
A comprehensive six-year study in Greece has concluded that a half an hour afternoon nap at least three times a week lowers the risk of heart-related death by 37%. BBC News has the details.
Two recent studies have looked at the connection between sleep and memory.
A Princeton University study (see BBC) notes that with no sleep one’s brain stops producing new brain cells thanks to increased levels of the stress hormone corticosterone. It must, however, be noted that the test was done on rats, and the results may not be directly translatable to humans, and therefore more research needs to be conducted.
Meanwhile, a Harvard Medical School study (see New Scientist) demonstrated that without a good night’s rest before studying new information, a person remembers around 10% less of the presented information than when he or she has got the amount of rest that he or she needs.
Considering that it is often suggested that for best recall a person should study just before going to sleep and just after waking up, none of this is very surprising. It is nevertheless quite interesting.
New Scientist’s space edition has an article on a new model of our universe, which combines the two currently prevailing models, one suggesting that our universe undergoes an endless cycle of big bangs and big crunches, while the other being of the opinion that only one big bang has and will happen, and that the fate of our universe is to be ripped apart as it extends, leading it to cool down and “die”.
The new model more or less combines these two views, and suggests that rather than starting to fall back into one singularity at some point, the universe will indeed keep expanding. In doing so, it will become divided into billions of small pieces, each serving as a beginning for a new universe. The model comes with the added bonus of being able to shed light on the question why entropy functions as it does in our universe.
According to a new research conducted at the arctic, the navigation skills of the Viking explorers may have been thanks to sunstone crystals. Apparently, the crystals can be used in cloudy and foggy weather to locate the sun, and therefore help to calculate your position. BBC has the the story.
