Alarm clock gene has been discovered

No, this doesn't belong in the lounge... although it sounds like it should.

http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=11712&Section=Aging

Discovery of the new gene and the mechanism by which it starts the clock every day may help explain the genetic underpinnings of sleeplessness, aging and chronic illnesses, an institute release said Thursday.

"The body is essentially a collection of clocks," Salk researcher Satchindananda Panda said. "We roughly knew what mechanism told the clock to wind down at night, but we didn't know what activated us again in the morning."

The Salk researchers and collaborators at McGill University and Albert Einstein College of Medicine describe how the gene KDM5A encodes a protein as an activation switch in the biochemical circuit that maintains circadian rhythm.

"Now that we've found it, we can explore more deeply how our biological clocks malfunction as we get older and develop chronic illness.

Now I know why!!!

I am very good at early morning, it's useless to go to bed before midnight. But 1-3pm I'm asleep!

Thankfully my boss understands and I accommodate it by working later.