Gut bacteria can hack into body clock to make you fat

In a study that may someday lead to new strategies to fight obesity, scientists have found that gut bacteria, or microbiome, regulates fat uptake and storage by hacking into and changing the function of the circadian clocks in the cells that line the gut. “Our work provides a deeper understanding of how the gut microbiota interacts with the circadian clock, and how this interaction impacts metabolism,” said Lora Hooper, Professor at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in the US. “It could also help to explain why people who work…

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Turning Back the Clock 1 Hour Takes a Serious Toll on Your Mental Health

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Daylight saving time should be a permanent, year-round phenomenon. Rather than turning back our clocks this weekend to extend our pre-election suffering by yet another hour, we should simply leave the hour hand where it is and pledge to never fiddle with it again. The social and public health benefits would be enormous. The fall transition to standard time is linked to an increase in crime that costs the country billions of dollars annually. Transitions into and out of daylight saving…

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