Why are some of us able to pop up with no problem at sunrise while others grudgingly give in to the snooze button’s tinny tyranny? The answer may be as basic as two simple elements: potassium and sodium.
Researchers at Northwestern University have discovered that the biological clock that wakes up and puts us to sleep may resemble a light switch controlled by sodium and potassium channels within our neurons.
The research team found that “high sodium channel activity in these neurons during the day turn the cells on and ultimately awaken an animal, and high potassium channel activity at night turn them off, allowing the animal to sleep.”
The payoff?
Better understanding of this mechanism could lead to new drug targets to address sleep-wake trouble related to jet lag, shift work and other clock-induced problems. Eventually, it might be possible to reset a person’s internal clock to suit his or her situation.
Star Wars? Yup (and Han shot first!). Star Trek? Beam me up.
But Hollywood aside, my first entry into the sci-fi world came through the imaginations of The Grandmasters: Asimov, Heinlein and Clarke.
Among them, Arthur C. Clarke has always been my favorite. Not only did he weave amazing narratives but he also insisted on a hard sci-fi edge to his books — the plots were fantastical yet not improbable within the bounds of science.
Oxford researchers may have discovered a way to make flexible video displays thin enough to replace errant human retinas.
A team led by Harish Bhaskaran of Oxford University’s Department of Materials unearthed a method to “sandwich” a 7-nanometer layer alloy containing germanium, antimony and tellurium (GST) between “two layers of a transparent electrode.” By switching electric current on and off, the team could “draw” images on to the GST stack.
LiveScience’s Tanya Lewis reports what we all suspected to be true: Curious George is a mental giant.
When participants in [this study] were feeling curious, they were better at remembering information even about unrelated topics, and brain scans showed activity in areas linked to reward and memory.
Why are some of us able to pop up with no problem at sunrise while others grudgingly give in to the snooze button’s tinny tyranny? The answer may be as basic as two simple elements: potassium and sodium.
transhumaniac 