What are circadian rhythm disruptions?
Almost all life on earth has adapted to alternating light and darkness, night and day. This circadian rhythm turns out to have an impact on almost every single biological pathway. Research has now identified genes that regulate circadian clocks within cells. So far, 9 human circadian genes have been identified. In the modern industrialized world, with electric light, we’re able to disrupt natural circadian rhythms–by staying up late at night and sleeping in the morning, for example. Shift work and traveling to distant time zones also disrupt circadian rhythm. The hypothesis is that these disruptions may affect cell functions and promote certain forms of cancer. Q. What’s the evidence so far? Several epidemiological studies have shown an association between shift work and higher risk of certain cancers, such as hormone-related breast and prostate cancer. Pilots, flight attendants, and nurses appear to be at higher risk. Our work is molecular epidemiology, which looks at genetic patterns
