Scientist are on the trail of creating a drug that will be able to combat or lessen jet lag that air travellers experience. This new drug would make it easier for people to adjust to time differences by tinkering with the master sleep cycle gene.

The gene that acts as the master clock is called Lhx1. It controls sleeping and waking patterns and could help control dementia and sleep disorders, and greatly help workers with various shifts.

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It also regulates the body's cyclic circadian rhythm and controls brain receptors that respond to light. Researchers say that normally brain cells controlled by Lhx1 act in synchrony, which makes them resistant to light.

That is why the sudden change from day to night causes jet lag.

Scientists tried to disrupt the light-dark cycles in mice by creating an eight-hour shift. They found that the mice that have less Lhx1 readjusted more quickly to shifts in pattern.

This was because their neurons were less in sync. The lack in synchronicity made it easier for the mice to adjust to the new schedules.

Therefore, finding a drug that could decrease Lhx1 could be a great feat for drug makers. They posit that it could help treat sleep disorders, which play a role in obesity, mental illnesses, and other diseases.

While drugs that act like "stay-awake" pills have been manufactured and proved to be more effective than caffeine, the new drug was shown to be more addictive and potentially fatal.

Researchers have also found that mice with less Lhx1 also exhibit reduced activity of certain genes, including those that produce vasoactive intestinal peptide (Vip).

This molecule has important roles in development and as a hormone in the intestines and blood.

Vip affects communication between cells and is regulated by Lhx1. It restores cell synchrony in the master clock responsible for establishing rhythms and keeping all the body's cells in sync.

Professor Satchidananda Panda said the finding is an important one because if they find a drug that could block the Vip receptor or break it down, then the master clock could be reset much faster.

TagsLhx1, sleep disorders, new drug, biochemistry, sleep cycle gene