Researchers report that the protein TIMELESS, which plays a role in fruit fly circadian rhythms as well as an unknown role in mammalian circadian rhythms, is likely involved in regulating minor sleep phase changes, given that a mutation in the TIMELESS gene causes the protein to accumulate and bind to negative regulators of circadian rhythm; the mutation is associated with phase advances in mice and may also be tied to advanced sleep phase in humans, according to the authors.
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Article #18-19110: "TIMELESS mutation alters phase responsiveness and causes advanced sleep phase," by Philip Kurien et al.
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences