Military Super Soldier Objective: Less Sleep, More Fight

Driven by the U.S. military's quest for a super soldier who is stronger, faster and can fight for days, researchers across the nation are seeking to challenge the notion of a good night's sleep. One of those is Lexicon Genetics. The Woodlands-based company recently received a grant from the Department of Defense, which has funded studies looking for ways to allow humans to sleep less and perform better far longer. Lexicon's scientists have used genetic engineering techniques to create mice that are more alert and active than normal mice. These test mice outperformed standard mice, which needed time to wake up in the morning and got tired when their energy dipped during afternoon. "The ultimate goal of the research is to find targets for drugs that can improve sleep quality," said Brian Zambrowicz, Lexicon's executive vice president of research. "Insomnia is a huge problem, and it's crucial to find new ways to treat it." Lexicon's scientists say they are studying whether genetically modified mice are getting a different, more restorative, kind of sleep, which boosts their energy. These studies might lead to treatments that could, for example, prolong wakefulness or promote restorative sleep. The military has long been interested in performance-enhancing drugs that would enable soldiers to carry out 48 to 72 hours of continuous operations without jeopardizing their physical and mental health. By supporting long-term research projects, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, hopes to unshackle sleep from the limits imposed by nature. "The goal of the DARPA Preventing Sleep Deprivation Program is to research and develop technologies that will assist in maintaining the cognitive performance of war fighters despite short-term sleep deprivation."