GENES LINKED TO THE BIOLOGICAL CLOCK MAY PLAY ROLE IN ADDICTION

Genes normally associated with an animal's internal clock also may affect
its ability to become addicted to cocaine, researchers said Thursday.

Similar genes may play a role in human addiction, the researchers reported
in the journal Science, adding that the finding casts surprising new light
on the role of biological clocks.

"This opens up the field of drug studies to thinking about how a totally
unexpected set of genes function in response to drugs," Jay Hirsh, a
molecular geneticist at the University of Virginia who led the study, said
in a statement.