This story is about the practical application of some research but the more surprising fact, at least to me, was that sleep deprivation leaves physical markers at all.
Oh.
From United Press International:
Scientists developing blood test for drowsy driving
Here's a welcome alert: Scientists say they're inching closer to a blood test for drowsy driving.I may have to start taking naps.
A computer algorithm effectively differentiated between sleep-deprived and well-rested people by picking up changes in expression of certain genes, British researchers report.
"Identifying these biomarkers is the first step to developing a test which can accurately calculate how much sleep an individual has had," said Simon Archer, a professor of molecular biology of sleep at the University of Surrey in England.
"The very existence of such biomarkers in the blood after only a period of 24-hour wakefulness shows the physiological impact a lack of sleep can have on our body," he added in a university news release...MUCH MORE
