Using Science to Minimize Sleep Deprivation that may reduce Train Accidents

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Recently, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Bill to Avert a Rail Strike. The House voted to force rail companies and workers to accept a pending agreement and to add seven days of paid leave, a key demand of the employees.  This need for rest and sleep is evidenced in the National Transportation Safety Board reported Tuesday that engineers falling asleep at the controls led to two recent New York City-area commuter train crashes that killed one person and injured more than 200 others. As we look to sleep and neuroscience for answers we can study flies specifically the Drosophila melanogaster we highlight in our research.