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We've relocated our office to Sequim, but we're not gone! We welcome you to register with us to access our updated contact information. Also, as a registered user, you'll be able to learn more about our newly-implemented LogMeIn Rescue service, which enables us to solve many computer problems within minutes of your call! Register today!| Early risers have special genes |
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| Written by ABC Science Online | |||
| Thursday, 31 March 2005 08:17 | |||
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A mutant gene may make people go to sleep and wake up unsociably early, scientists say.
They made their discovery after studying three generations of a family with five members who had the so-called earlybird ailment officially known as familial advanced sleep phase syndrome. "These results show that the gene is a central component of the mammalian circadian clock," the US researchers write today in the journal Nature. 
The research led by Dr Ying Xu from the University of California, San Francisco, identifies the mutant gene as CKIdelta. People with the rare earlybird syndrome sleep for the same length of time as other people. But their 'fast' metabolism typically means they are wide awake and raring to go long before everyone else is up and about. For many, it is a bonus rather than a millstone as they can use the time to get things done without daylight distractions. But for others living a life out of synch with their neighbours is a heavy anti-social burden. "Some of them would never come to a doctor because they aren't troubled by it," says co-author Professor Louis Ptacek of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. "Often they have adjusted and accommodated their jobs to match their ability. "But others are bothered by being out of phase with the rest of the world." The researchers say transferring the mutant gene to mice replicates the human experience but, oddly, inserting it into fruit flies made them sleep longer. They say further research into the role of the gene in regulating the human body clock could have major implications for the development of novel compounds to treat sleep disorders.
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