ALL our breathing, from the deep sighs of a sleeping baby to our last
desperate dying gasp, is controlled by a little pacemaker at the base of the
brain, say scientists in Chicago. The finding may help doctors understand the
cause of lethal sleep disorders such as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Babies who go on to die of SIDS tend to sigh less often while they sleep,
says Jan Marino Ramirez of the University of Chicago. The strong inhalation of a
sigh increases heart rate and blood pressure, and rouses us when we are short of
oxygen. The…
