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[Article] Gene determines sleep demands

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  • 08-03-2007 10:07pm
    #1
    Ruu_Old
    Closed Accounts Posts: 36,634 ✭✭✭✭


    Heard this on the radio today and decided to drag up the story. Interesting stuff, from the Beeb website. Link here for more, some quoted below.
    How well a person can get by with just a few hours sleep is down to their genes, scientists say.

    A team from the University of Surrey said the "clock gene" called Period 3 is responsible. The same gene dictates if someone is an "owl" or a "lark".

    Most people need around eight hours sleep a night - but famous exceptions such as former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher have survived on much less.

    The research is published in the journal Current Biology.

    There are two variants of the Period 3 gene found in the human population, with either long or short versions of the corresponding protein.

    Everyone has two copies of the gene, either of which might be the long or short form.


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