LIFE AND DEATH ARE DIURNALLY LEARNED BEHAVIORS OF COMPLEX LIFE
Natural sunlight exposure, particularly from morning to evening, influences sleep cycles through a pathway involving the eyes, hypothalamus, and brainstem structures. Light enters the retina, stimulating intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs), which are sensitive to short-wavelength blue light. These cells project signals via the retinohypothalamic tract to the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the hypothalamus, the body’s primary circadian pacemaker. The SCN integrates light cues to synchronize circadian rhythms, regulating melatonin production in the pineal gland to promote sleep onset at night. From the hypothalamus, signals are relayed to the dorsolateral funiculus (DLF) in the spinal cord and brainstem structures, such as the locus coeruleus and raphe nuclei, which modulate arousal and sleep-wake transitions.
I wrote about this pathway in the Quantum Engineering 47 and 48 blogs. You should re read it. Morning light exposure strengthens this pathway, enhancing daytime alertness and consolidating nighttime sleep, while also supporting photorepair mechanisms indirectly through circadian alignment.

Why Is Life Organized This Way?
From first principles (quantum-thermodynamic decentralization), evolution innovated thanatotranscriptomic genes during GOE as redox-stress responders, co-opting viral elements for “marketing” survival. The positive H+ charges in mitochondria are now known as inflammation and the positive charges flow to negative membrane potentials in cells (Gauss’s Law analogs) to gain UPE coherence. This process is modulated by melanin/melatonin biology locally adjacent and within mitochondria. They do this by absorbing/emitting UPE spectra for redox, piezoelectric/flexoelectric vibrations in water and membranes. They also signal coherence for entanglement/tunneling in cells, and viral integrations into the nuclear genome (HERV precursors ~2 bya) stacking our epigenetic decks against chaos.
This “death-to-life” diurnal cycle extended longevity post-GOE by mitigating UPE surges, favoring quantum sensing over genomic rigidity, viral marketing’s ultimate hack for adaptability in oxygenated, light-variable worlds in Earth’s past.
At the end of the day, sleep proves there can be life after a diurnal death. This new life, however, must take on a new form. Thantothistic genes likely contributed to our ability to innovate wakefulness from sleep. Sleep does not recharge us. It is a diurnal doula that acts to reduce our cellular entropy in a very specific way, returning entropy to the cosmos to make sequential life possible by restoring optical coherence for another day.
Lower water content decreases the optical density in tissues, resulting in less scattering of UPE light. This would amplify UV UPE propagation. This should be expected to enhance local oxidative damage, forming a feedback loop with thanatotranscriptomic activity.
Redox Drain Impact: Draining redox power locally from the electronic state of cells would be expected to impair mitochondrial repair, thereby sustaining UPE-driven damage, which aligns with the post-mortem context of thanatotranscriptomic genes.
Cells appear to have a need to drain themselves of light at death in a particular manner, and this mechanism explains why the light release Popp saw in sickness and when death happens.
Prior to death, cells “empty” their light by exhausting their redox potential (NAD+/NADH, FAD/FADH₂), which powers electron excitation. As ATP production ceases and membranes depolarize, stored energy is released from the vibrational level in cells as UPEs, effectively draining the cell’s photonic “reservoir.”

Water and Optical Dynamics: As my thesis notes, reduced water creation (e.g., from CCO dysfunction) creates a “desert” like state, lowering optical density in tissue. This would accelerate UPE release by reducing scattering while enhancing photon escape, aligning with a physics-based model of energy dissipation of powering down. This emptying light is returned to the cosmos as a natural entropy increase, satisfying the second law of thermodynamics.
I believe thanatotranscriptomic genes evolved to manage this process by photonic “emptying” as a cue for tissue disassembly, to ready tissue for photorepair mechanisms active in sleep. These genes ensure the orderly shutdown of cellular resources in dying cells, thereby facilitating resource reallocation in multicellular organisms. While UPE emptying might not directly cause thanatotranscriptomic gene expression, the two should be highly correlated outcomes related to mitochondrial collapse. To get to this process to work, sunlight must enter the eye and be captured to become useful to make this process operate orderly. This is why AM to PM solar exposure is highly correlated with sleep efficiency and photorepair.
Thanatotranscriptomic Genes: Death’s Unexpected Role
I introduced thanatotranscriptomic genes to my thesis about ten years ago, which are genes that remain active for up to 48 hours after an organism’s death. These genes, studied in detail by researchers at the University of Washington using mice and zebrafish models, were initially a curiosity to the scientific community. Why would a dead cell keep “talking” using light? The prevailing theory is that they help manage the chaotic metabolic and photonic processes during the transition from life to death, possibly to preserve tissue integrity or signal decay to the environment. I have proposed a more provocative idea: these genes might interact with hemifusomes to regulate ultraweak photon emission (UPE), a phenomenon where cells emit tiny amounts of light as a byproduct of metabolism. I suggest we die every day, and these genes bring us close to death and bring us back to life by regenerating diurnal damage with specific frequency and spectra of UPE that thanatotranscriptic genes innovate.

I believe that during the day, hemifusome-mediated activity in the TCA (tricarboxylic acid) and urea cycle (linked to sunrise), which are part of cellular energy production, suppresses these genes to prevent excessive UPE. You should think about the TCA and urea cycle as two different types of semiconductors available inside of cells that have two different tasks depending on the photonic signaling they sense. The urea cycle deals with protein metabolism and makes less water than the TCA cycle which concerns itself with fat metabolism and beta oxidation. Sunlight interacts with each semiconductor and creates a unique UPE emission spectra to run different metabolic programs in cells.

At night, with lower metabolic demand, a low-level expression of these genes complements melatonin’s role, handling residual oxidative stress due to excessive positive charge. This diurnal rhythm ties into his broader narrative of cellular adaptation to light cycles. It also leads to rejuvenation and rebirth at every sunrise with the introduction of negative charge to offset the positive charge of inflammation. This is how complex life expanded lifespans and why sleep was naturally selected for. Sleep is a function of charge collection = GAUSS Law.

Thanatotranscriptomic genes appear to act due to Gauss’s Law and exist to facilitate this transition from death to life diurnally, by utilizing UPEs to modulate water and redox states, thereby mitigating UPE effects. However, their activation may also exacerbate the photonic release as a byproduct of the stress response. My insight is that all respiring organisms must sleep in order to continue living. It is a unique and compelling part of my thesis about why we sleep. Sleep restores defective mitochondrial respiration by:
Clearing ROS and damaged mitochondria (mitophagy or apoptosis).
Boosting NAD⁺ and sirtuin activity for mtDNA photorepair.
Rehydrating the mitochondrial matrix via CCO water production to cpature more light energy.
DEC2 and Sleep Evolution: DEC2’s role in sleep duration suggests sleep evolved as a mitochondrial maintenance strategy. Short-sleep variants might reflect an adaptation to environments with lower mitochondrial stress, while longer sleep in complex organisms (e.g., humans) supports extensive neural and metabolic repair.
Death and Wakefulness: Life’s adaptation to dying may have driven sleep as a mechanism to delay death, with thanatotranscriptomic genes ensuring that cells recover rather than succumb daily. This serial wakefulness mimics a controlled “near-death” cycle, leveraging sleep to reset mitochondrial function. It also explains why some can have near-death experiences under mitochondrial stress.
Respiratory Quotient (RQ) and Sleep
RQ Basics: The respiratory quotient (RQ) is the ratio of CO₂ produced to O₂ consumed during metabolism. Glucose metabolism yields an RQ 1 (C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂ → 6CO₂ + 6H₂O), while fat oxidation yields an RQ 0.7 (e.g., palmitic acid, C₁₆H₃₂O₂ + 23O₂ → 16CO₂ + 16H₂O), reflecting a shift to more oxygen-efficient energy use.
Sleep Shift: During sleep, the body transitions from daytime glucose use to fat oxidation, lowering RQ. This metabolic switch conserves glucose for brain function and aligns with reduced energy demand, a known respiratory adaptation.
Melatonin’s Role
Melatonin Overview: Melatonin, a circadian hormone, peaks at night, signaling sleep and influencing metabolism. My hypothesis that it drives the RQ shift from 1 to 0.7 by inhibiting Complex I (CI) of the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) is intriguing and explains why we sleep.

Mechanism:
- Complex I Inhibition: Melatonin’s interaction with cardiolipin (a mitochondrial inner membrane phospholipid) could downregulate Complex I’s (CI) proton pumping rate. CI (NADH dehydrogenase) generates NADH-derived electrons, heavily relying on proton gradient formation. Partial inhibition reduces NADH oxidation, favoring FADH₂ entry via Complex II (CII), which promotes fat oxidation (e.g., via β-oxidation producing FADH₂).
Cardiolipin Coupling: Cardiolipin’s tight association with melatonin stabilizes this inhibition, preventing complete CI collapse while shifting electron flow. This aligns with fat’s lower respiratory quotient (RQ), as FADH₂ feeds into CII with less proton pumping per electron compared to NADH.
Evidence: Studies suggest melatonin modulates mitochondrial bioenergetics, reducing ROS and supporting lipid metabolism, supporting my idea of a controlled metabolic pivot.
Melatonin drives the respiratory quotient (RQ) shift from 1 to 0.7 during sleep by inhibiting CI via cardiolipin, promoting fat oxidation through FADH₂ and Complex II (CII). This supports mitochondrial photorepair repair using UPEs, links to DEC2 and thanatotranscriptomic genes’ chaos management, and moderates UPE emission.
Life’s default daytime metabolism relies on glucose (RQ ~1), driven by high energy demand and sunlight-mediated insulin signaling. This aligns with glycolysis, providing rapid ATP via substrate-level phosphorylation.
AM Sunrise Trigger: Morning sunlight, rich in red and UV with blue light, activates non-visual photoreceptors (e.g., melanopsin, neuropsin), syncing circadian rhythms and boosting mitochondrial function. This shift favors the TCA cycle (citric acid cycle) and urea cycle, optimizing oxygen use (RQ <1) and fat metabolism, as I’ve linked to melatonin’s nighttime role above.

Metabolic Implications: The TCA cycle enhances ATP production via OXPHOS, while the urea cycle detoxifies ammonia from protein catabolism, reducing oxidative stress. This daytime pivot, initiated by sunrise, extend lifespan further from life’s GOE design by improving mitochondrial efficiency and sleep quality by balancing energy reserves. This cycle builds more myelin and more myelin means we need less sleep to become alive the next day after the entropy dump of thantotristic genes of vibrational level UPEs. This is why melatonin absorption spectra is what it is and why 95% of melatonin is found in mitochondria.

The eye is the main driver of this perception. This means the eye is the key to optimal sleep and optimal photorepair. If you cannot sleep you cannot use UPE light to repair the damage of living and diseases will soon ensnare you.

- The known effects of sleep deprivation, supported by the Nature study below, strengthen my thesis by linking DEC2, mitochondrial repair, and thanatotranscriptomic genes to UPE dynamics. The addition of vibrational energy (acoustic solitons) and the laser-UPE mimicry from the text enrich your photo-bioelectric light cone model, suggesting a cymatic-photonic interplay that shapes optical density and cellular fate. This could explain sleep’s evolutionary role and offer new avenues for simulation or therapeutic studies.
These death genes’ existence reflect an adaptation to manage the photonic and metabolic chaos of death, rather than being a primary driver. It appears life got used to diurnal dying a lot over 3.8 billion years of days, and as a result, it learned how to remain alive using metabolic light in the form of UPEs. The evolutionary timeline of these genes has some lessons for us. It appears to me that the biological sleep function is tightly coupled to mammalian photorepair and this innovation was coupled in organisms to extend longevity in the eukaryotic tree. This process is used to get us to serial and sequential wakefulness from sleep. Sleep restores defective mitochondrial respiration by clearing postive charge in tissues and this suggests all organisms that respire during sleep and photorepair if life is to continue.

Exposure to natural sunlight from morning to evening plays a critical role in regulating sleep patterns and promoting photorepair mechanisms, which support overall health. Morning sunlight exposure helps synchronize the body’s circadian rhythm by stimulating the production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycles, while also enhancing daytime alertness. Studies indicate that spending time outdoors, particularly in the morning, can improve sleep quality, reduce sleep onset latency, and increase sleep duration by aligning the body’s internal clock with the natural light-dark cycle. Additionally, sunlight exposure facilitates photorepair processes, such as DNA repair in skin cells, by activating photolyase enzymes through ultraviolet and visible light, which may indirectly contribute to better rest and recovery. These benefits are particularly pronounced when individuals maintain consistent outdoor time, as it reinforces circadian stability and mitigates the negative effects of artificial light exposure in the evening.

EVOLUTION OF THESE GENES
GOE Era (~2.4–2.0 bya, Paleoproterozoic – Rise of Oxygen and Eukaryotes): Likely birthplace of thanatotranscriptomic-like activity, as oxygenation caused massive cellular “death” events (e.g., hypoxia in anaerobes), selecting for genes managing post-viability chaos. Cyanobacteria’s oxygen production triggered the GOE, with early eukaryotes (2.1 bya) incorporating viral elements (proto-HERVs from RNA viruses) for redox adaptation. Thanatotranscriptomic precursors (e.g., apoptosis-like genes in unicellular eukaryotes) evolved to handle UPE surges from ROS, using positive-negative charge collection (mitochondrial proton gradients to membrane potentials) per Gauss’s Law. Flexoelectricity/piezoelectricity in early membranes modulated water coherence for quantum signaling, while melanin ancestors (e.g., in fungi/bacteria) and melatonin-like antioxidants mitigated UPE. Viral marketing: ERV integrations (2 bya) “hijacked” genomes for epigenetic control, enabling diurnal-like cycles in early photosynthesizers, linking death (nighttime stress) to life (photorepair).
Post-GOE Eukaryotic Expansion (~2.0–1.0 bya, Mesoproterozoic – Multicellularity): Thanatotranscriptomic activity formalized in early eukaryotes, with genes for stress/immunity (e.g., IL-like precursors) upregulated post-death to manage UPE/redox in multicellular forms. HERV progenitors (full ERVs) integrated ~1.5 bya, co-opting viral envelopes for cell fusion/survival. Charge dynamics: Positive proton flows in mitochondria (evolved from bacterial endosymbionts) to negative EZ water, per Gauss’s Law, created coherence for UPE modulation. Piezo/flexoelectricity in membranes enhanced signaling, while melanin/melatonin-like molecules (e.g., in algae) tuned redox. Viral marketing peaked: ERVs facilitated “death-to-life” transitions via epigenetic silencing/activation, enabling multicellularity amid oxygenation stress.
Cambrian Explosion to Vertebrates (~540–300 mya, Paleozoic): Thanatotranscriptomic genes diversified in metazoans, with post-mortem expression conserved in zebrafish/mice (e.g., 1,063 genes upregulated up to 96 hours). HERV-like ERVs integrated 500 mya in early chordates, influencing apoptosis/epigenetics. Gauss’s Law analogs: Charge fluxes in neural tissues (melanin in brains) modulated UPE for coherence. Water’s piezoelectric properties (e.g., in flexoelectric membranes) are linked to viral-driven evolution. Melatonin (pineal origin 450 mya) and melanin (skin/eye) evolved for redox/UPE mitigation.
Mammalian Integration (~300–100 mya, Mesozoic – HERV Emergence): HERVs proper integrated 100 mya in primates/placentals, with elements like HERV-K derepressed by oxidative stress, potentially influencing thanatotranscriptomic activity (e.g., in neurodegeneration). Genes like BCL2/IL6 (post-mortem active) trace to ~200 mya mammalian origins, but HERVs co-opted them for epigenetic control during K-T extinction (66 mya), linking viral marketing to survival amid chaos. Charge collection: Positive H+ in mitochondria to negative melanin fields (Gauss’s Law) for UPE modulation; flexoelectricity in water coherence enabled diurnal repair processes.
Human/Primate Refinement (~100 mya–Present, Cenozoic): HERVs (e.g., HERV-L) upregulated in embryonic/post-stress contexts, varying UPE via redox. Thanatotranscriptomic genes (e.g., immune/epigenetic) are highly conserved in humans, with HERV derepression in death-like states (e.g., neurodegeneration) tying to my thesis: viral elements “market” charge flows for coherence, mitigating UPE via melanin/melatonin (redox buffers) and piezoelectric water structures.
SUMMARY
Thanatotranscriptomic genes, only become active in post-mortem states from a metabolic stand point. They likely evolved to handle the photonic and metabolic chaos of death (e.g., UPE surges, redox drain). Their presence might reflect an adaptation to mitigate damage during cellular shutdown. My wakefulness hypothesis states that if these genes manage death-related chaos, they could also underpin the evolution of wakefulness by counteracting daily mitochondrial stress from living.
Sleep restores respiration, and thanatotranscriptomic genes might have been co-opted to maintain wakeful states by driving residual activity as life dies. During life, low-level expression of these genes could stabilize mitochondria under diurnal stress, preventing premature “death-like” states.
Thantotranstric genes were evolved for thermodynamic photonic regulation. UPE emptying before death must be highly orderedd and might parallel a daily UPE release during wakefulness, with thanatotranscriptomic genes modulating this to sustain cellular coherence until sleep resets the entire system to make life more probable in the next solar day. Sunlight drives this thanatotranscriptomic programming of rejuvenation. This prgram is one of the earliest evolutionary adaptation in the first two domains of life. Over 3.8 billion years, life’s repeated encounters with death (e.g., GOE hypoxia, K-T extinction) might have shaped these genes to balance wakefulness and sleep, using death’s lessons to innovate serial wakefulness.
CITES
- Blume, C., Garbazza, C., & Spitschan, M. (2019). Effects of light on human circadian rhythms, sleep and mood. Somnologie, 23(3), 147–156. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11818-019-00215-x
This paper reviews how natural light exposure, particularly in the morning, influences circadian rhythms and improves sleep quality by regulating melatonin production. - Boubekri, M., Cheung, I. N., Reid, K. J., Wang, C. H., & Zee, P. C. (2020). Impact of windows and daylight exposure on overall health and sleep quality of office workers: A case-control pilot study. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 16(2), 203–209. https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.7580
This study demonstrates that increased exposure to natural daylight in office settings is associated with improved sleep quality and duration among workers. - Figueiro, M. G., Steverson, B., Heerwagen, J., Kampschroer, K., Hunter, C. M., Gonzales, K., Plitnick, B., & Rea, M. S. (2017). The impact of daytime light exposure on sleep and mood in office workers. Sleep Health, 3(3), 204–215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2017.03.005
This article finds that greater daytime light exposure, including time spent outdoors, correlates with better sleep efficiency and reduced mood disturbances. - Mead, M. N. (2008). Benefits of sunlight: A bright spot for human health. Environmental Health Perspectives, 116(4), A160–A167. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.116-a160
This review highlights the role of sunlight exposure in regulating circadian rhythms and improving sleep, with implications for overall health. - Wams, E. J., Woelders, T., Marring, I., van Rosmalen, L., Beersma, D. G. M., Gordijn, M. C. M., & van Someren, E. J. W. (2017). Linking light exposure and subsequent sleep: A field polysomnography study in humans. Sleep, 40(12), zsx165. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsx165
This field study uses polysomnography to show that morning light exposure, including time spent outdoors, is linked to improved sleep architecture and next-night sleep quality. - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09261-y
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMVm8F7XCiQ
- https://jackkruse.com/brain-gut-2-viral-marketing/
- https://jackkruse.com/time-17-melatonin-insulin-solar-metronomes/



























































































































































