The reason, it turns out, is that arrestin helps melanopsin regenerate in the retinal cells. The researchers used molecular tools to turn on a production of melanopsin in retinal cells in mice..Researchers OEM Tunnel Lights manufacturers at Salk Institute in the US found that certain cells in the eye process ambient light and reset our internal clocks, the daily cycles of physiological processes known as the circadian rhythm.Scientists have uncovered how artificial light from smartphones and computers can disrupt sleep, a finding which may lead to new treatments for migraines, insomnia, jet lag and circadian rhythm disorders."One arrestin does its conventional job of arresting the response, and the other helps the melanopsin protein reload its retinal light-sensing co-factor."When these two steps are done in quick succession, the cell appears to respond continuously to light," he said.

These disorders have been tied to cognitive dysfunction, cancer, obesity, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome and more, researchers said. The results, published in the journal Cell Reports, may lead to new treatments for migraines, insomnia, jet lag and circadian rhythm disorders.The backs of our eyes contain a sensory membrane called the retina, whose innermost layer contains a tiny subpopulation of light-sensitive cells that operate like pixels in a digital camera."This lifestyle causes disruptions to our circadian rhythms and has deleterious consequences on health," Panda said."That's critical because our circadian clocks are designed to respond only to prolonged illumination," Mure said."We are continuously exposed to artificial light, whether from screen time, spending the day indoors or staying awake late at night," said Professor Satchin Panda from Salk Institute.

Melanopsin plays a pivotal role in synchronising our internal clock after 10 minutes of illumination and, under bright light, suppresses the hormone melatonin, responsible for regulating sleep. Conventional wisdom has held that proteins called arrestins, which stop the activity of certain receptors, should halt cells' photosensitive response within seconds of lights coming on.When these cells are exposed to artificial light late into the night, our internal clocks can get confused, resulting in a host of health issues.They discovered that some of these cells have the ability to sustain light responses when exposed to repeated long pulses of light, while others become desensitised.

When these cells are exposed to ongoing light, a protein called melanopsin continually regenerates within them, signalling levels of ambient light directly to the brain to regulate consciousness, sleep and alertness.The researchers were surprised to find that arrestins are in fact necessary for melanopsin to continue responding to prolonged illumination. "Our study suggests the two arrestins accomplish regeneration of melanopsin in a peculiar way," Panda said. In mice lacking either version of the arrestin protein (beta-arrestin 1 and beta-arrestin 2), the melanopsin-producing retinal cells failed to sustain their sensitivity to light under prolonged illumination."Compared to other light-sensing cells in the eye, melanopsin cells respond as long as the light lasts, or even a few seconds longer," said staff scientist Ludovic Mure.

Here, the scientists installed an eight-meter-high pole near the shoreline. Our study indicates that the use of red light signals could have fatal consequences for them as this appears to attract them to operating wind turbines"Oliver also suggested that existing light signals could easily be replaced by bat-friendly alternatives or context-dependent illumination could be deployed which is only activated if planes or helicopters are approaching a wind power plant.The LED lights illuminating the board switched between red or white LED light. By using ultrasonic microphones the scientists recorded the echolocation calls of bats coming close in order to identify both the species and the number of bats passing by the unlit or lit experimental site.

Oliver Lindecke, co-author of the study explained, "Bats are at a higher collision risk at wind power stations during their autumn migration.During late summer, thousands of bats migrate along the coastline of the Baltic Sea in Latvia, through Pape Nature Reserve. Light is an important cue for orientation used by many animals and also influences their diurnal rhythms and behaviour. A plastic board fixed to the pole was lit-up in 10-minute intervals alternating with darkness.Soprano pipistrelles and Nathusius OEM led grow light manufacturers pipistrelles were recorded more frequently at the experimental site during the red light phase than during darkness.Warning lights such as these lure migrating bats precisely towards the danger which the lights help people to avoid.The wavelength of the experimental red LED lights was similar to that of red safety lights used for indicating the presence of wind turbines or tall buildings to aircraft pilots. Light pollution is likely to increase pressure on them even further," explained Christian Voigt, one of the researchers.

While focusing on conventional forms of pollution, we tend to pay less attention to the night time light pollution and how that affects nature. Scientists suggest that deploying on-demand lighting, which only turns on if an aeroplane approaches, would most likely reduce the problem. According to the researchers, bats have excellent eyesight and can even detect wavelengths invisible to us.In the latest study, scientists tested the response of European bats to red and white light sources during their seasonal migration and according to the research, Soprano pipistrelles and Nathusius' pipistrelles (types of bats) were recorded more frequently near red LED light, indicating that the animals might be attracted to red light during their migration.Each year, light pollution increases by around six per cent worldwide. "Many bat species already struggle in our current anthropogenic landscapes characterised by intensive agriculture and high densities of wind turbines.

Exactly why bats are attracted to red light sources is unclear. It is well established that bats are sensitive to light while hunting at night. Turns out, this kind of pollution affects bats during their seasonal migration. In particular, energy efficient and cheap LEDs are used more and more.The full findings are present in the journal- Ecology and Evolution. Nights are starlit and largely devoid of light pollution as there are only a few human settlements in the area. Some red light sources might potentially blind and disorient them. In contrast, the scientists did not observe such behaviour near-white LED lights.Warning lights such as these lure migrating bats precisely towards the danger which the lights help people to avoid, leading to bat collisions and casualties.