Part one of term paper
Set deep in our brains is a tiny gland called the pineal gland. This tiny gland is in charge of the endocrine system, the glandular system that controls most of our bodily functions. The pineal runs our Œbody clocks', and it produces melatonin; the hormone that may prove to be the biggest medical discovery since penicilin, and the key to ...

Part two of term paper
... to fatten up for hibernation, and when to wake up from hibernation in the spring. Melatonin is the hormone that controls not only when we feel sleepy, but the rate at which we age, when we go through puberty, and how well our immune systems fend off diseases. Being set in the middle of our brains, the pineal gland has no direct access to sunlight. Our eyes send it a message of how much sunlight they see, and when it's dark. The sunlight prohibits the gland from producing melatonin, so at ...