Unlike us, honeybees don't have trouble rescheduling biological clocks

Washington, Oct 14 (ANI): A research carried out at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has shown that unlike humans, honeybees, when thrown into highly time-altered new societal roles, are able to alter their biological rhythms with alacrity, enabling them to make a successful "quick switch" in their daily routines.

With people, on the other hand, disturbances to their biological clocks by drastic changes in their daily schedules are known to cause problems -- for example for shift workers and for new parents of crying, fitful babies.

Disturbance of the biological clock - the circadian rhythm - can also contribute to mood disorders. On a less severe scale, international air travelers all know of the "jet lag" disturbance to their biological clocks caused by traveling across several time zones.

Bees, however, have now been shown to be highly resilient to such change.

When removed from their usual roles in the hive, the bees were seen to quickly and drastically change their biological rhythms, according to a study by Prof. Guy Bloch of the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior of the Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences at the Hebrew University.

The research has been published in the current edition of The Journal of Neuroscience. (ANI)