To discover the point of sleep, scientists breed flies that nod off on demand | Not Exactly Rocket Science

To discover the point of sleep, scientists breed flies that nod off on demand | Not Exactly Rocket Science: "

The good news for all new parents is that scientists have found a way of sending individuals straight to sleep by turning up the thermostat. The bad news is that it only works in flies. Alas, this technique is not going to solve anyone’s sleepless nights, but it could tell us something about why we sleep at all.

Every animal, or at least every one with a brain, needs to sleep, but it’s still not entirely clear why. William Dement, who has been studying sleep for six decades, once said, “As far as I know, the only reason we need to sleep that is really, really solid is because we get sleepy.” As Daniel Bushey from the University of Wisconsin writes, “Sleep is perhaps the only major behaviour still in search of a function.”

Traditionally, scientists have tried to deduce the role of sleep by looking at what happens when animals don’t get enough of it. But sleep deprivation wreaks wide-ranging havoc on the body and it’s a blunt instrument for understanding the function of sleep. Jeffrey Donlea from Washington University has taken a more refined approach. He has ...

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