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That internal nagging feeling that drives you to seek sleep at night and wake in the morning to eat, work, and play, is, it turns out, genetic, and it's not just in people.
Shihoko Kojima poses, without a mask, outside Steger Hall's front entrance. Shihoko Kojima. Photo by Steven Mackay. That internal nagging feeling that drives you to seek sleep at night and wake in the morning to eat, work, and play, is, it turns out, genetic, and it’s not just in people. Nearly every living organism – from animals to plants as well as several microorganisms and fungi – has an internal body clock, or a circadian rhythm. Yet, scientists have been perplexed out how these genes operate. Now, Virginia Tech scientists have taken a step closer to an answer thanks to the DNA ...
Thirty years after scientists began mapping human genome, we’re all familiar with the idea that our genes account for many of our physical characteristics. Now, scientists at Virginia Tech have identified a new kind of gene, that plays a powerful role in when we sleep and when we don’t. The Kojima lab deciphers genetic codes of biological rhythms to understand how the molecular machinery controls circadian biochemistry, physiology and ultimately behavior. This research integrates neuroscience, molecular/cellular biology, genomics, bioinformatics and computational biology. It’s actually ...
E-Mail IMAGE: Frost on Arabidopsis thaliana - new discovery may help us grow crops in fluctuating climate view more Credit: John Innes Centre The first frost of autumn may be grim for gardeners but the latest evidence reveals it is a profound event in the life of plants. The discovery may affect how we grow crops in a fluctuating climate and help us better understand molecular mechanisms in animals and humans. Much of our understanding of how plants register temperature at a molecular level has been gained from the study of vernalization - the exposure to an extended period of ...
Date Time First frost is deepest The first frost of autumn may be grim for gardeners but the latest evidence reveals it is a profound event in the life of plants. The discovery may affect how we grow crops in a fluctuating climate and help us better understand molecular mechanisms in animals and humans. Much of our understanding of how plants register temperature at a molecular level has been gained from the study of vernalization – the exposure to an extended period of cold as a preparation for flowering in spring. Experiments using the model plant Arabidopsis have shown how this prolonged...