FED: New Sydney "hotel" to allow volunteers to escape the world
By Danny Rose, Medical Writer06 Feb 2009 3:01 PM
Subject: FED: New Sydney "hotel" to allow volunteers to escape the FED: New Sydney "hotel" to allow volunteers to escape the world
SYDNEY, Feb 6 AAP - A special "hotel" has been built in Sydney where people will be locked away from the world for days and monitored around the clock.
It's not the latest reality TV show - scientists are in charge and they'll be searching for new insights into how the body reacts to shift work, jet lag, sleep disorders, even space travel.
The nation's first large-scale Time Isolation Research Unit was built as part of the $10 million co-location of the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, and its test subjects will live totally shut off from external factors like sunlight and noise.
Professor Ron Grunstein says the multi-room facility is also insulated from the ground - not even an early morning garbage truck could alert those inside to the time of day.
"It's like a hotel for research ... (but) the rooms are completely sound-proofed to levels far greater than the best hotels," said Prof Grunstein, who is the institute's head of sleep and circadian research.
"If a garbage truck goes past they won't feel any vibration."
The scientists will have total control over light, air temperature and everything the test subject sees, eats and hears.
Every care is taken to prevent any clue that could indicate time of day - even down to the bathroom habits of the researchers.
"The male staff either don't shave or they shave at odd times and they don't wear watches ... if you really want to do this properly you have to have that attention to detail," Prof Grunstein says.
The facility, which was officially opened in Glebe on Friday, is one of only four in the world and it is the most advanced in the southern hemisphere.
Prof Grunstein said future work could include testing how a person's circadian rhythms would be affected by the "completely different lighting conditions than they would experience on earth".
The institute, which is part of the University of Sydney, will soon be advertising for volunteers to take part in its research.
Test subjects can't be claustrophobic, and they have to deal with almost total isolation for a week or even a month.
"A lot of the people who volunteer for these longer studies have a specific project they want to do," Prof Grunstein said.
"They are quite happy to be isolated - they are writing a book, or some report, or they want to read 10 novels."
The Woolcock Institute is a leading respiratory and sleep research organisation.
It received grants of $5 million each from the Australian and NSW governments to build the unit and also relocate several other research facilities to one site.
AAP dr/yr/apm =0A
FED: New Sydney "hotel" to allow volunteers to escape the world