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

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

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

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

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

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

Re-Timer ready to reset sleep

(Medical Xpress)—Today saw the launch of Re-Timer, a wearable green light device invented by Flinders University sleep researchers to reset the body's internal clock.

Psychology & Psychiatry created Nov 21, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 4 | 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

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

The role of dopamine in sleep regulation

A group of Spanish researchers has discovered a new function of the neurotransmitter dopamine in controlling sleep regulation. Dopamine acts in the pineal gland, which is central to dictating the 'circadian rhythm' in humans—the ...

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

Women trying to have babies face different clock problem

A new Northwestern University study shows that the biological clock is not the only clock women trying to conceive should consider. The circadian clock needs attention, too.

Obstetrics & gynaecology created May 23, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Alteration of gene may disrupt our bodies internal rhythm, causing sleep disorder

(Medical Xpress) -- Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University have found that a gene known as RAI1 controls one of the most important genes in circadian rhythm, CLOCK.

Pediatrics created May 16, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | 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

Coordinating the circadian clock: Researchers find that molecular pair controls time-keeping and fat metabolism

(PhysOrg.com) -- The 24-hour internal clock controls many aspects of human behavior and physiology, including sleep, blood pressure, and metabolism. Disruption in circadian rhythms leads to increased incidence of many diseases, ...

Genetics created Apr 04, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | 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

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