News tagged with circadian rhythms

Body clocks of depressed people altered at cell level, researchers show

Every cell in our bodies runs on a 24-hour clock, tuned to the night-day, light-dark cycles that have ruled us since the dawn of humanity. The brain acts as timekeeper, keeping the cellular clock in sync ...

Medical research created May 13, 2013 | popularity 4 / 5 (19) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Researcher examines behavior of genes to understand breast cancer risks, other health issues

Most often, people associate circadian rhythms with the symptoms of jet lag that occur after crossing several time zones. Circadian rhythms, which get their cues from light and darkness, can change sleep-wake ...

Medical research created Apr 30, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Disruption of biological clocks causes neurodegeneration, early death

New research at Oregon State University provides evidence for the first time that disruption of circadian rhythms – the biological "clocks" found in many animals – can clearly cause accelerated neurodegeneration, ...

Neuroscience created Jan 10, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (7) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Research links circadian rhythms to sudden cardiac death

A fundamental discovery reported in the March 1st issue of the journal Nature, uncovers the first molecular evidence linking the body's natural circadian rhythms to sudden cardiac death (SCD). Ventricular arrhythmias, or abn ...

Cardiology created Feb 22, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Body clocks may hold key for treatment of bipolar disorder

Scientists have gained insight into why lithium salts are effective at treating bipolar disorder in what could lead to more targeted therapies with fewer side-effects.

Psychology & Psychiatry created Mar 13, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (6) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Body clock genes unravelled

International travellers, shift workers and even people suffering from obesity-related conditions stand to benefit from a key discovery about the functioning of the body's internal clock.

Genetics created May 03, 2012 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Circadian rhythms can be modified for potential treatment of disorders

(Medical Xpress)—UC Irvine-led studies have revealed the cellular mechanism by which circadian rhythms – also known as the body clock – modify energy metabolism and also have identified novel compounds that control ...

Cardiology created Jan 22, 2013 | popularity 2 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Circadian rhythms have profound influence on metabolic output, study reveals

By analyzing the hundreds of metabolic products present in the liver, researchers with the UC Irvine Center for Epigenetics & Metabolism have discovered that circadian rhythms – our own body clock – greatly control ...

Medical research created Mar 19, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Cell death in retina helps tune our internal clocks

(Medical Xpress)—With every sunrise and sunset, our eyes make note of the light as it waxes and wanes, a process that is critical to aligning our circadian rhythms to match the solar day so we are alert during the day and ...

Neuroscience created Mar 05, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

New paper examines shifting gears in the circadian clock of the heart

A new study conducted by a team of scientists led by Giles Duffield, assistant professor of biological sciences and a member of the Eck Institute for Global Health at the University of Notre Dame focuses on the circadian ...

Cardiology created Oct 23, 2012 | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers find that listening abilities depend on rhythms in the brain

(Medical Xpress)—Naturally, our brain activity waxes and wanes. When listening, this "oscillation" synchronizes to the sounds we are hearing. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute have found that this ...

Neuroscience created Nov 14, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 7 | with audio podcast

More than 3,000 epigenetic switches control daily liver cycles

(Medical Xpress)—When it's dark, and we start to fall asleep, most of us think we're tired because our bodies need rest. Yet circadian rhythms affect our bodies not just on a global scale, but at the level ...

Genetics created Dec 11, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Monday's medical myth: You need eight hours of continuous sleep each night

We're often told by the popular press and well-meaning family and friends that, for good health, we should fall asleep quickly and sleep solidly for about eight hours—otherwise we're at risk of physical ...

Health created Aug 28, 2012 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (7) | comments 0

Our internal clocks can become ticking time bombs for diabetes and obesity

If you're pulling and all-nighter to finish a term paper, a new parent up all night with a fussy baby, or simply can't sleep like you once could, then you may be snoozing on good health. That's because new research published ...

Medical research created Apr 01, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Zebrafish study explains why the circadian rhythm affects your health

Disruptions to the circadian rhythm can affect the growth of blood vessels in the body, thus causing illnesses such as diabetes, obesity, and cancer, according to a new study from Linköping University and ...

Medical research created Aug 28, 2012 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Circadian rhythm

A circadian rhythm is a roughly-24-hour cycle in the biochemical, physiological or behavioral processes of living entities, including plants, animals, fungi and cyanobacteria (see bacterial circadian rhythms). The term "circadian", coined by Franz Halberg, comes from the Latin circa, "around," and diem or dies, "day", meaning literally "approximately one day." The formal study of biological temporal rhythms such as daily, tidal, weekly, seasonal, and annual rhythms, is called chronobiology.

Circadian rhythms are endogenously generated, and can be entrained by external cues, called Zeitgebers, the primary one of which is daylight. These rhythms allow organisms to anticipate and prepare for precise and regular environmental changes.

For more information about Circadian rhythm, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Related topics: sleep