A previously unknown gene that regulates body clocks in mammals may have a variant that makes a normal day up to 3 hours longer for the ones carrying it. Using mice, researchers discovered Fbxl3, and its variant Afh ("after hours") to be a body regulator.
Monitoring mice using a wheel, they discovered that some mice had a 27 hour day pattern. It is thought that this is governed on a cellular level by the genes that break down proteins. Afh-affected mice break them down slower, lengthening the body clock.
Lead researcher Dr. Patrick Nolan said "The internal body clocks of mice with the after hours gene run on a longer cycle than mice that have a normal copy of the gene, who like most of us live on a 24-hour-schedule."
this story interested me because Ive always had a bad sleeping pattern and for the past 6 years or so I havent worked because of health issues. Ive also been telling the doctors for half my life that I need about 30hrs in the day, they asked if I wasnt sleeping at night and while I did have a bout of insomnia I said no, my pattern just keeps slipping. Last night for example I got up at 21:30, night before 21:00, night before that 17:00, its not an exact pattern. I have since discovered this article:
Im actually betting when I bring this to their attention that they tell me Im psychic (again) since my major problem they put down to stress, stress that I did not incurr until I was already sick for 2 years. At least they didnt tell me I was dying then tell me I was fine ... I think thats a bonus.
Funny how its called Cry protein that it breaks down.
In the past, the Earth actually rotated faster so the period of a day was shorter than 24 hours. The rate is slowing because the planet is losing kinetic energy to friction over time (just like a spinning flywheel that eventually comes to a stop).
The earths rotation varies over time, it speeds up and slows down, only by small amounts, but enough for a couple of seconds of a year to be added or taken away from clocks.
cus of earthquakes, impacts and the fact we are in a solar system with varying gravitational forces the earths speed isnt constant. If the gene is common in all mammals its possible it isnt 'mutant' but rather the 'origianl' and some are reverting back to it. We have a ton of dormant crap in our bodies, no I dont mean via constipation or eating too much red meat ... just leftovers.
http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/... No, the Earth's rotation speed has always been steadily decreasing as Earth's angular momentum weakens from the external frictional forces acting on it.
"In the past, the Earth actually rotated faster so the period of a day was shorter than 24 hours. The rate is slowing because the planet is losing kinetic energy to friction over time (just like a spinning flywheel that eventually comes to a stop)."
hmmm... would the wobbling of earth's axis have anything to do with this perhaps?
That may be true. However the solar system isnt a closed system, nor is the galaxy, or the universe for that matter.
Theres no reason something couldnt have sped up the earth again and were still using that clock. Exactly what, who knows, I certainly dont know enough about the earths rotation to guess.
The Earth's motion is very complex, and yes, the wobbling does affect the rotation rate. The spin axis completes a full wobble every 25,000 years or so (the effect is known as precession), and it is caused by Solar and Lunar forces applying a torque on the equator. The reason this happens is because the Earth isn't really a sphere, but instead it has a 40km bulge, and the extra mass there helps generate those torques. How all of this relates to sleep? I dunno... :)
I think you're confusing angular momentum (torque) with directional/lateral momentum. In order to increase the angular momentum of Earth and get it spinning faster in a meaningful amount you'd have to have an extremely large asteroid hit at an angle that would be similar to you slapping a ball you're spinning on your finger to get it going faster.
the pull of the moon has an effect on the rotation of the earth. it use to be much closer and faster. the moon has been spinning farther out, making its path bigger and slower. this has caused a gravitational drag on the earth. days were not longer in the past, they were much shorter. the moon is also responsible for keeping the planet from wobbling.
Didnt we have a slight adjustment due to the tsunami a few years back? Also if we are drifting closer to the sun over a few errr ... years ... couldnt that make our days get shorter? Until Enterprise goes out there and surveys we wont know ... where meh tricorder?
"Didnt we have a slight adjustment due to the tsunami a few years back? Also if we are drifting closer to the sun over a few errr ... years ... couldnt that make our days get shorter? Until Enterprise goes out there and surveys we wont know ... where meh tricorder?"
actually no, i don't believe so, but it would make our year shorter... closer to the sun equals a shorter year, faster planetary rotation equals a shorter day.
the glode has indeed slowed its rotation significantly over its 4.5 billion year life span, due chiefly to the tidal forces the moon exerts on the Earth. The slowing is hardly noticable on anything by the geologic scale -- 0.0016 slowing per century. In all of human history the earth's rotation has not slowed any more than a fraction of a second.
But on the geologic scale the change becomes noticable -- looking at coral growth rings from 400 million years ago show more than 400 days per year, about a 22-hour day. Sedimentary rock from 900 million years ago show an 18 hour day.
Yes, the exact roration time per year ossolates to a degee, but behind that ossolation is a continuous, predicatble drag on the angular velocity due chiefly due to the moon & tides (and to a lesser extent due to the sun and other planets), but also to regular old friction.
