Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Down for the Count

Down for the Count
Carl Zimmer (New York Times)
Other mammals also experience a mix of REM and non-REM sleep, as do birds. Sleep researchers would like to know whether this pattern existed in the common ancestors of birds and mammals, reptilian animals that lived 310 million years ago. It is also possible that birds and mammals independently evolved this sleep pattern, just as birds and bats independently evolved wings.

Related: Nature Supplement on Sleep

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