random_skeins (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} random_skeins) wrote,@ 2006-12-23 02:19:00 |
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To sleep perchance to... umm... remember?
I heard about a couple neat science experiments recently.
The first one has to do with the bacterium in our stomachs. Evidently obese rats and people have different bacteria than non-obese people. This potentially makes sense, as while two people ingest the same number of calories, if one person can convert more of those calories to a useable state (read: fat), then that person will be likely to gain more weight than another. Even more interesting was that in rats, the level of obesity of a rat could be changed by introducing their guts to different bacteria. I heard about this on NPR, but more information can be found here and here.
The second study I also heard about on NPR. Little has been known about sleep until recently. It wasn't until 1953 that scientists even realized there were two major phases to sleep -- REM and non-REM sleep. Many people have hypothesized that sleep is linked to learning long term memories, but little evidence has been found... till now.
Rather than trying to explain the study, just read this link from the NY Times (registration required) or this link if you object to the NY Times for some reason.
I heard about a couple neat science experiments recently.
The first one has to do with the bacterium in our stomachs. Evidently obese rats and people have different bacteria than non-obese people. This potentially makes sense, as while two people ingest the same number of calories, if one person can convert more of those calories to a useable state (read: fat), then that person will be likely to gain more weight than another. Even more interesting was that in rats, the level of obesity of a rat could be changed by introducing their guts to different bacteria. I heard about this on NPR, but more information can be found here and here.
The second study I also heard about on NPR. Little has been known about sleep until recently. It wasn't until 1953 that scientists even realized there were two major phases to sleep -- REM and non-REM sleep. Many people have hypothesized that sleep is linked to learning long term memories, but little evidence has been found... till now.
Rather than trying to explain the study, just read this link from the NY Times (registration required) or this link if you object to the NY Times for some reason.
