Whats the theory behind biological clocks?
ScienceDaily (Oct. 9, 2009) — University of Michigan mathematicians and their British colleagues say they have identified the signal that the brain sends to the rest of the body to control biological rhythms, a finding that overturns a long-held theory about our internal clock. Understanding how the human biological clock works is an essential step toward correcting sleep problems like insomnia and jet lag. New insights about the body’s central pacemaker might also, someday, advance efforts to treat diseases influenced by the internal clock, including cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and mood disorders, said University of Michigan mathematician Daniel Forger. “Knowing what the signal is will help us learn how to adjust it, in order to help people,” said Forger, an associate professor of mathematics and a member of the U-M’s Center for Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics. “We have cracked the code, and the information could have a tremendous impact on all sorts of diseases that are aff
I love a study that debunks an old theory long believed true. Scientists at the University of Michigan came out with a bold statement: everything we know about the human biological clock is wrong. According to these researchers, who hail from mathematics, the cells responsible for maintaining the clock in the part of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nuclei, or SCN, don’t fire all day and night like previously thought. The cells that control the clock are silent during the day. Though these cells sustain an electrically excited state, they don’t actually fire until a brief period around dusk, and then remain quiet throughout the night before releasing another burst of activity around dawn. Think of a clock that only chimes twice a day – because the time only needs to be announced at two particular times. The clock keeps ticking during the silent periods, to make sure the time is accurate when it is time for the chimes to sound. This may not sound like big news for you (or even mean
