Time is of the essence
New findings in mice suggest that merely changing meal times could have a significant effect on the levels of triglycerides in the liver. The results of this Weizmann Institute of Science study,...
View ArticleThe circadian clock is like an orchestra with many conductors
You've switched to the night shift and your weight skyrockets, or you wake at 7 a.m. on weekdays but sleep until noon on weekends—a social jet lag that can fog your Saturday and Sunday.
View ArticleFor resetting circadian rhythms, neural cooperation is key
Fruit flies are pretty predictable when it comes to scheduling their days, with peaks of activity at dawn and dusk and rest times in between. Now, researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Cell...
View ArticleFruit fly research to provide new insight into our body clock and its...
New research at the University of Southampton into how animals keep time through their internal circadian rhythms could help us understand why we sleep and how we cope with jet lag.
View ArticleAtomic structure of essential circadian clock protein complex determined
Structural biologists have made important progress towards better understanding the functioning of the circadian clock. The circadian or inner clock coordinates the sleep-wake rhythm and many other...
View ArticleCell division discovery could optimise timing of chemotherapy and explain...
(Phys.org) —Research led by the University of Warwick's Systems Biology Centre and Medical School in collaboration with groups in Nice and Rotterdam has been able to demonstrate how the cycle of cell...
View ArticleLipoic acid helps restore, synchronize the 'biological clock'
Researchers have discovered a possible explanation for the surprisingly large range of biological effects that are linked to a micronutrient called lipoic acid: It appears to reset and synchronize...
View ArticleHow did evolution optimize circadian clocks?
(Phys.org) —From cyanobacteria to humans, many terrestrial species have acquired circadian rhythms that adapt to sunlight in order to increase survival rates. Studies have shown that the circadian...
View ArticleGenetic switch regulates a plant's internal clock based on temperature
Scientists have discovered a key molecular cog in a plant's biological clock – one that modulates the speed of circadian (daily) rhythms based on temperature.
View ArticleEyeless Mexican cavefish eliminate circadian rhythm to save energy
Eyeless Mexican cavefish show no metabolic circadian rhythm in either light and dark or constant dark conditions, according to a study published September 24, 2014 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE...
View ArticlePeripheral clocks don't need the brain's master clock to function correctly
Circadian clocks regulate functions ranging from alertness and reaction time to body temperature and blood pressure. New research published in the November 2014 issue of The FASEB Journal further adds...
View ArticleArctic ground squirrel sheds light on circadian rhythms
The Arctic ground squirrel has developed highly specialized adaptations to extreme environments, and it has a lot to teach us about circadian rhythms and biological clocks. This species maintains...
View ArticleBiologists explore link between memory, circadian rhythms
(Phys.org) —Anyone who has struggled with a foggy brain while adjusting to daylight saving time knows first-hand how an out-of-sync circadian clock can impair brain function.
View ArticleResearchers unwind the mysteries of the cellular clock
Human existence is basically circadian. Most of us wake in the morning, sleep in the evening, and eat in between. Body temperature, metabolism, and hormone levels all fluctuate throughout the day, and...
View ArticleStudy is decoding blue light's mysterious ability to alter body's natural clock
A study funded by the National Institutes of Health is unraveling the mystery of how blue light from residential and commercial lighting, electronic devices and outdoor lights can throw off-kilter the...
View ArticleResearchers determine key element in circadian clock speed
In a discovery that may lead to new treatments for sleep disorders, jet lag and other health problems tied to circadian rhythms, researchers at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine have identified a...
View ArticleThe fly's time: Biological clockwork of human beings and flies comparable
The Drosophila, the so-called fruit fly, attends all day long to its activities. It flutters, has naps, lays its eggs or emerges from the pupa, the stage of metamorphosis preceding maturity. At the...
View ArticleScientists discover a protein that silences the biological clock
A new study led by UC Santa Cruz researchers has found that a protein associated with cancer cells is a powerful suppressor of the biological clock that drives the daily ("circadian") rhythms of cells...
View ArticleEarth's daily rotation period encoded in an atomic-level protein structure
A collaborative group of Japanese researchers has demonstrated that the Earth's daily rotation period (24 hours) is encoded in the KaiC protein at the atomic level, a small, 10 nm-diameter biomolecule...
View ArticleChanging clocks and changing seasons: Scientists find role for neuronal...
A team of scientists has linked changes in the structure of a handful of central brain neurons to understanding how animals adjust to changing seasons. Its findings enhance our understanding of the...
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