Mathematics meets biology to uncover unexpected biorhythms

A novel mathematical approach has uncovered that some animal cells have robust 12-hour cycles of genetic activity, in addition to circadian or 24-hour cycles. The method, published in the journal PLOS ONE, assessed the periodicity ...

The chemical that tells plants when it's time to sleep

Each of us goes through a daily cycle. We wake up, spend the day eating, working and playing, and then we sleep. Messing with this cycle by not sleeping, doing shift work, travelling to a different time zone or living where ...

Newly synthesised molecules turn back biological clock

Scientists in Japan have designed new molecules that modify the circadian rhythm, opening the way to the possibility of managing jet lag and improving treatments for sleep disorders.

Peak production of rhythmic proteins occurs at two times of day

Sleep disorders are reported to affect 50 to 70 million Americans, and have been linked to obesity and diabetes, as well as depression and other psychiatric disorders. Circadian cycles are driven by biological clocks that ...

Second body clock discovered in the speckled sea louse

The diminutive speckled sea louse (Eurydice pulchra) boasts two body clocks, one for night and day and another for the ebb and flow of the tide, according to research published today.

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