Phylogenomics

Ancient conserved genes reveal sleep evolved as a cellular survival mechanism. Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], July 27: A landmark phylogenomic study published in Sleep and Vigilance provides compelling evidence that sleep is far older than the brain itself. By tracing the evolutionary history of hundreds of sleep-related genes across the Tree of Life, researchers conclude that the molecular machinery underlying sleep originated in Earth’s earliest cells, long before the evolution of nervous systems or consciousness. The study, “Phylogenomics Traces the Primordial Function of Sleep to an Ancient Conserved Enzyme Network,” by Seithikurippu R. Pandi-Perumal, David Warren Spence, and Konda Mani Saravanan, identifies an ancient…