Circadian Rhythm News and Research

Latest Circadian Rhythm News and Research

Genetic oscillator captures changes in gut microbiome growth patterns

For all the attention the human microbiome has been getting over the last few years, one aspect of such research rarely makes headlines: the difficulty of observing how it changes over time in response to various stimuli.

11 Oct 2019

Researchers identify an immune cell that helps keep time in the gut

As people go through their daily and nightly routines, their digestive tracts follow a routine, too: digesting food and absorbing nutrients during waking hours, and replenishing worn-out cells during sleep. Shift work and jet lag can knock sleep schedules and digestive rhythms out of whack.

4 Oct 2019

Duration and timing of sleep differ by age, geographical region and gender

In an exceptionally extensive worldwide study on sleep, nearly a quarter of a million nights of sleep were measured among sleepers ranging between 16 and 30 years of age.

27 Sep 2019

The biological clock modulates immune response efficiency, study shows

According to a recent study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, the biological clock influences immune response efficacy. Indeed, CD8 T cells, which are essential to fight infections and cancers, function very differently according to the time of day.

24 Sep 2019

Human sleep rhythm is much older than previously believed, Javan slow loris study reveals

People typically sleep seven to eight hours in one stretch and stay awake for the rest of the day. Evolutionary scientists have assumed that this rhythm of sleep arose when our early ancestors went from being nocturnal to diurnal, but a new study of the Javan slow loris indicates that the human way of sleeping is much older.

18 Sep 2019

GABA neurons affect the circadian clock

Researchers from Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya University, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine and Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine have collaborated to uncover the role of GABA-ergic neurons or the inhibitory neurons in the functioning of the central circadian clock of the body.

9 Sep 2019

Melatonin promises to help reduce bone loss in space flight

New research suggests that the problem of bone loss caused by microgravity conditions in space flight may be successfully treated using the time-tested drug melatonin. Melatonin increases the level of calcitonin in bone, which suppresses the bone-destroying activity of osteoclastic cells and helps maintain bone density.

4 Sep 2019

DNA methylation closely linked to telomere length

Aging is associated with multiple disease conditions. Recently it has been found that many of these illnesses are linked to the length of the telomeres at the ends of every chromosome. Telomere length (TL) is affected by both genetic and epigenetic contributions.

2 Sep 2019

UGA study provides first evidence of biological clocks in individual cells

One of nature's most familiar phenomena is collective behavior- fish swimming in schools, locusts marching together, birds flocking.

21 Aug 2019

Rhythms in gene expression are highly disrupted in the brains of people with schizophrenia

Rhythms in gene expression in the brain are highly disrupted in people with schizophrenia, according to a new University of Pittsburgh-led study.

10 Aug 2019

Advanced sleep phase may affect at least 1 in 300 adults, study reveals

A quirk of the body clock that lures some people to sleep at 8 p.m., enabling them to greet the new day as early as 4 a.m., may be significantly more common than previously believed.

6 Aug 2019

Children who spend more time outdoors have less nearsightedness

At night Lisa Ostrin's lab at the University of Houston College of Optometry often looks like the setting of a disco slumber party, a place where a child, aged 7 to 14, accompanied by a guardian, sleeps over and is periodically exposed to blue or red lights.

6 Aug 2019

Checking your phone at night does not affect your body clock in the long run

A new study has found that checking your phone at night does not affect circadian rhythm, also known as the body clock.

23 Jul 2019

Exercise performed in the morning and evening may have different effects

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have learned that the effect of exercise may differ depending on the time of day it is performed.

13 Jun 2019

New research identifies cellular adaptive mechanisms during hypoxic conditions

Circadian rhythms are 24 hour cycles that are guided by exposure to alternating periods of day and night. These cycles affect biological activities in a variety of living organisms which are attuned to the circadian clock.

12 Jun 2019

Why sleeping with the TV on could cause weight gain

Exposure to artificial light at night while sleeping may be a risk factor for weight gain and the development of obesity, say researchers.

11 Jun 2019

Research shows possibility to shift the circadian rhythm of 'night owls'

A simple tweak to the sleeping patterns of 'night owls' - people with extreme late sleeping and waking habits - could lead to significant improvements in sleep/wake timings, improved performance in the mornings, better eating habits and a decrease in depression and stress.

10 Jun 2019