Melatonin in mice: there's more to this hormone than sleep

(RIKEN) Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Brain Science and the RIKEN BioResource Research Center in Japan, along with collaborators at the State University of New York at Buffalo, have created a mouse model that allows the study of naturally occurring melatonin. Experiments using the new mice showed that natural melatonin was linked to a pre-hibernation state that allows mice to slow down their metabolism and survive when food is scarce.
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - Category: Biology Source Type: news