A bizarre experiment which saw scientists keep the brains of fruit flies alive in a dish for six days may hold the key to explaining - and eventually treating - jet lag.
After removing the brains of the flies, researchers at the University of California used a low-light camera to document how the circadian clock circuit is "reset" by light.
The study - published in the Current Biology and funded by the US government - marks the first time that scientists have seen in real time how specific neurons in intact brain systems react to light cues which are comparable to rapid travel across different time zones.
A single light pulse cues the biological clock of the fruit fly brain to shift two hours ahead of its original schedule and then effectively resets itself, researchers discovered.
"Broad features of this pattern of circadian circuit response to light" may be applied to humans and other mammals," it states.