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Viral Infections Take Advantage of Circadian Rhythms

posted by CoolHand on Tuesday August 16 2016, @12:57PM   
from the mornings-are-the-devils-work dept.

takyon writes:

Viral infections are more successful when the infection started in the morning, and disruptions to the circadian rhythm such as jet lag give viruses even better opportunities to propagate, according to a new study:

Viruses are more dangerous when they infect their victims in the morning, a University of Cambridge study suggests. The findings, published in PNAS [DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1601895113], showed viruses were 10 times more successful if the infection started in the morning. And the animal studies found that a disrupted body clock - caused by shift-work or jet lag - was always vulnerable to infection.

The researchers say the findings could lead to new ways of stopping pandemics. Viruses - unlike bacteria or parasites - are completely dependent on hijacking the machinery inside cells in order to replicate. But those cells change dramatically as part of a 24-hour pattern known as the body clock.

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Original Submission

• Finally! Finally! (Score: 3, Funny) by maxwell demon on Tuesday August 16 2016, @01:33PM

  by maxwell demon (1608) on Tuesday August 16 2016, @01:33PM (#388665) Journal

  Finally, an excellent excuse to being late:

  "Sorry I couldn't come earlier because of the infection risk."

  :-)

  --
  The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.

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• Like the rest of me ... (Score: 2) by bob_super on Tuesday August 16 2016, @05:11PM

  by bob_super (1357) on Tuesday August 16 2016, @05:11PM (#388733)

  My T-cells are like me: don't expect them to work before breakfast.

  Parent