Thatcher gene is awoken

[DoYouEverWonder]

April 29, 2005

A GENE that could explain why some people can get by on just a few hours' sleep each night has been discovered by US researchers.

A small mutation in a gene known as the Shaker - also nicknamed the "Thatcher gene" after the former British prime minister who famously needed little sleep - allows fruitflies to thrive on a fraction of the sleep they usually require, according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin Medical School.

The Shaker gene controls the flow of potassium into cells, which affects their electrical activity. Several other studies have shown that a similar process affects human sleep: in mammals, potassium channels in nerve cells are important to the generation of "slow waves" that occur in the brain during deep sleep.

"Humans have the same kind of genes and potassium channels and we know that slow waves must be generated by changes in the excitability of neuron cell membranes," said Chiara Cirelli, who led the research.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,15120275%255E601,00.html


I think 9-11 woke up my Thatcher (yuk) gene. I haven't slept for 6 hours at a time since. Or maybe it's my addiction to DU?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. what's the opposite?

If I got only 6 hours sleep I'd say I had insomnia-9-10 is my average.

[DoYouEverWonder]

2. The Dubya Gene?

For anyone that needs 10 - 12 hours sleep a day.

[Az]

3. That explains my sleep habits!

Great. Now I know I am a mutant. :evilgrin: