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From: werner@aecom.yu.edu (Craig Werner)
Newsgroups: sci.bio,sci.misc
Subject: Re: 25 hr day
Message-ID: <2917@aecom.yu.edu>
Date: 14 Jul 90 21:32:26 GMT
References: <33843@ut-emx.UUCP> <4982@milton.u.washington.edu>
Followup-To: sci.bio
Organization: Albert Einstein Coll. of Med., NY
Lines: 15

In article <4982@milton.u.washington.edu>, wcalvin@milton.u.washington.edu (William Calvin) writes:
> The free-wheeling sleep-wakefulness pattern for many humans deprived
> of "zeitgeibers" (sync signals) is indeed about 25 hours.  See
	
	Most species active during the day have internal cycles that are
greater than 24 hours.  On the other hand, most nocturnal animals have
cycles that are less than 24 hours.  Since the molecular basis of any
circadian rhythm is not yet known (although taking a clue from
electromagnetic radiation, it probably involves two components in a
mutual feedback loop) why this should be is currently unanswerable.
-- 
	        Craig Werner   (future MD/PhD, 5.5 years down, 2.5 to go)
	     werner@aecom.YU.EDU -- Albert Einstein College of Medicine
              (1935-14E Eastchester Rd., Bronx NY 10461, 212-931-2517)
                   "Viruses do to cells what Groucho did to Freedonia."