Life in the Fourth Dimension: The Role of Clocks in Regulating Behavior
Like all living things, plants or animals, humans are governed by time, specifically by idiosyncratic biological clocks. They measure both daily and yearly activities in essentially all living things. These clocks regulate sleep, eating, mating, and many other life-associated behaviors. But where are biological clocks to be found? How do they work? Clocks are at the heart of modern-day phenomena such as jet lag. How did the evolutionary history of clocks cause this? We now know that clocks are centered in the brain, and they are constantly being set and adjusted in response to external light. But even single-cell organisms without eyes or brains can measure time. An analysis of organisms as diverse as mold, fruit flies, mice, and humans has allowed us to dissect biological clocks in great detail, and to define the genes responsible for this important regulator of human behavior.
Keywords: biological clocks, jet lag, circadian rhythm, suprachiasmatic nucleus, per genes, melatonin
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