Discovered gene insomnia

The results will be published on Friday in the journal will be "Science". The authors note that the dream - a critical process that virtually all living organisms, from fruit flies to humans requires. For many organisms regular sleep is necessary for survival. Prolonged lack of sleep in humans leads to disorders of attention and memory, and then to a condition similar to severe mental disorders. "We have a gene, sleepless (insomnia), identified the need for sleep in Drosophila" - the scientists say. They discovered gene encodes one of the proteins of the brain, whose absence leads to a drastic reduction of idle time - up to 20%. In this case, a moderate reduction of the protein had no significant effect, although it reduces the time of recovery sleep needed after sleep deprivation. "Inadequate or poor sleep is a growing problem in the developed world. Chronic insomnia affect the quality of life, reduce productivity and are one of the causes of accidents and disasters. Understanding the mechanisms that control sleep can to new tools for improving the lead quality of sleep "- scientists say.