Sleepyhead

Doctors often prescribe 'plenty of rest' to help us recover from infections, but even for workaholics, sleep may be unavoidable. Here researchers peering inside a fruit fly (Drosophila) find signs of chemical signals (highlighted in pink) sent between the gut (middle) and brain (left). Chemical cytokines travel through its circulatory system, activating glial cells around the brain. This gut-brain communication can keep the fly awake, but, in times of stress, increasing cytokine signals promotes sleep. While the fly (with its internal structures highlighted in green and blue) takes a long-overdue nap, researchers are looking for similar communication in a genetically similar organism: humans. So, the next time you have a stomach infection, don’t ignore the doctor’s advice to rest – they’re just going with your gut.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Image from work by Alina Malita and colleagues
• Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in eLife, September 2025