Ancient Body Clock Discovered That Helps Keep All Living Things on Time

[n2doc]

ScienceDaily (Jan. 26, 2011) — The mechanism that controls the internal 24-hour clock of all forms of life from human cells to algae has been identified by scientists.


Not only does the research provide important insight into health-related problems linked to individuals with disrupted clocks -- such as pilots and shift workers -- it also indicates that the 24-hour circadian clock found in human cells is the same as that found in algae and dates back millions of years to early life on Earth.
Two new studies in the journal Nature from the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh give insight into the circadian clock which controls patterns of daily and seasonal activity, from sleep cycles to butterfly migrations to flower opening.

One study, from the University of Cambridge's Institute of Metabolic Science, has for the first time identified 24-hour rhythms in red blood cells. This is significant because circadian rhythms have always been assumed to be linked to DNA and gene activity, but -- unlike most of the other cells in the body -- red blood cells do not have DNA.

Akhilesh Reddy, from the University of Cambridge and lead author of the study, said: "We know that clocks exist in all our cells; they're hard-wired into the cell. Imagine what we'd be like without a clock to guide us through our days. The cell would be in the same position if it didn't have a clock to coordinate its daily activities.

more
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110126131540.htm

[annabanana]

1. I guess I always assumed this was the case... Kind of like the

salt water in our systems...

[xchrom]

2. recommend

[eppur_se_muova]

3. Damn, too old for the warranty to be valid ... and mine needs replacing. nt

[HuckleB]

4. This is even more interesting considering a recent study about electric light and melatonin.

Light Exposure May Cut Production of Melatonin
http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/news/20110119/light-exposure-may-cut-production-of-melatonin

[jwirr]

5. There is order to the system.

[jeff47]

6. Oh god....so many errors.

Don't have access to Nature at home, so I can't read the relevant papers. But the Science Daily article is atrociously error-full. DNA is "off" in the dark? Um...no. And red blood cells have DNA, they lose it as they mature. Plus several studies have demonstrated humans naturally fall into a 26-hour cycle, not 24-hour.

[laconicsax]

7. I smell bad science reporting.

The article seems to be implying that this 24-hour cycle was started millions of years ago when the day was several hours shorter.

[silverweb]

8. One question.

How does this work in people who have an internal clock that makes them more active in the evening or at night?

I'm not fond of being told there's something "wrong" with me because I naturally rise in the late morning and am more productive in the late evening. The fact is, this is a family trait that affects about half of us.

[HuckleB]

9. There is a great deal of question about such "internal clocks."

They very well could be the result of habit via culture and environment over time, and not all that genetic in cause.

This is the piece of the puzzle that gets left out when such "internal clocks" are brought up.

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/news/20110119/light-exposure-may-cut-production-of-melatonin

[silverweb]

10. Back to the old "nature or nurture" question.

That keeps popping up on a variety of traits that we just don't understand well yet, doesn't it? Fortunately, I'm at a point in my life that I can do things pretty much when I feel like doing them, so I count myself lucky.

Others, who have to struggle through their mornings only to suddenly "wake up" when they should be getting ready to sleep have my empathy, though. Been there, done that, and it's no fun at all.