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Sleep Tight! Researchers Identify the Beneficial Role of Sleep

Simultaneous imaging of chromosome dynamics (red) and neuronal activity (green) in live zebrafish.
Credit: David Zada

Sleep increases chromosome dynamics that clear out DNA damage accumulated during waking hours. Why do animals sleep? Why do humans “waste” a third time of their lives sleeping? Throughout evolution sleep has remained universal and essential to all organisms with a nervous system, including invertebrates such as flies, worms, and even jellyfish. But the reason why animals sleep – despite the continuous threat of predators – still remains a mystery, and is considered among the biggest unanswered questions in life sciences.

In a new study, published today in the journal Nature Communications, researchers at Bar-Ilan University in Israel reveal a novel and unexpected fu...

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