HOME >> BIOLOGY >> NEWS
Scientists shed new light on the body's internal clock

As mammals, our internal (circadian) clock is regulated by the patterns of light and dark we experience. But how that information is transmitted from the eye to the biological clock in the brain has been a matter of scientific debate. Scientists had suspected that a molecule called melanopsin, which is found in the retina, plays an important role.

Now researchers at Stanford University and Deltagen Inc. have confirmed that melanopsin does indeed transmit light information from the eye to the part of the brain that controls the internal clock. According to the researchers, melanopsin may be one of several photosensitive receptors that work redundantly to regulate the circadian system.

"This study clarifies the role of melanopsin in setting and maintaining the circadian clock," said Bruce O'Hara, senior research scientist at Stanford and co-author of the study published in the Dec. 13 issue of the journal Science.

O'Hara noted that without a circadian clock many behavioral and physiological traits of mammals would be disturbed - including body temperature, activity levels and sleep.

"Instead of being able to sleep for extended periods of time, we would be at the mercy of unpredictable bursts of sleep and activity," added Stanford senior research scientist Norman Ruby, lead author of the study.

Photoreceptors

For a circadian clock to function, it must be able to detect and respond to light. In mammals, the only cells specialized to do this are in the eyes, which means that our eyes not only allow us to see the world but also synchronize our body's internal rhythms.

Photoreceptors are specialized cells that can detect light and send signals to the brain, which then processes and interprets the information - allowing us to see. Rods and cones, which are located in the retina, are the primary photoreceptors for vision. Researchers first thought that these molecules had dual roles in vision and setting t
'"/>

Contact: Mark Shwartz
mshwartz@stanford.edu
650-723-9296
Stanford University
12-Dec-2002


Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. Scientists to prototype cyberinfrastructure for research and education access to ocean observatories
2. Scientists sequence genome of kind of organism central to biospheres carbon cycle
3. Scientists find nanowires capable of detecting individual viruses
4. Scientists discover potential new way to control drug-resistant bacteria
5. Scientists explore genome of methane-breathing microbe
6. Scientists decipher genetic code of biothreat pathogen
7. Stuck on you: Scientists lay bare secrets of bacterial attachment proteins
8. Scientists discover proteins involved in spread of HIV-1 infection
9. Scientists fear new Ebola outbreak may explain sudden gorilla disappearance
10. Scientists reinvent DNA as template to produce organic molecules
11. Scientists visualise cellular handmaiden that restores shape to proteins

Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
TAG: Scientists shed new light the body internal clock

(Date:5/16/2013)... (Maximizing Access to Research Careers) Program has announced ... (ENDO) 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA ... to promote the entry of students, postdoctorates and ... the basic science community and to encourage the ... Annual Meeting. , Awards are given to poster/platform ...
(Date:5/16/2013)... the stability of today,s largest ice sheets in Greenland and ... ago, for example when Earth was going through a ... high sea level due to ice sheet collapse at that ... if the world,s largest ice sheets collapsed in the past, ... progressively warming world. , However, a new groundbreaking study ...
(Date:5/16/2013)... BOSTON The endothelium, the cellular layer lining ... just a few hundred nanometers in thickness, this ... stretch and tissue compression to create a unique ... necessary to partition tissues from the body,s circulatory ... when the barrier must be physically breached ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):World's biggest ice sheets likely more stable than previously believed 2Endothelium, heal thyself 2Endothelium, heal thyself 3Endothelium, heal thyself 4
(Date:5/21/2013)... PathoGenetix, Inc., a commercial-stage developer of ... today that it has successfully identified and strain typed ... from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ... findings are detailed in a poster presented ... Microbiology in Denver on Monday. , The 250 E. ...
(Date:5/20/2013)... Ras Al Khaimah, UAE (PRWEB) May 21, 2013 ... and private equity consultancy specializing in “game-changing” life science ... appointment of Ms. Dalia Dergham to its International Project ... certain to bring even greater multi-cultural depth to Grace ... more projects around the globe. , Ms. Dergham holds ...
(Date:5/20/2013)... , May 20, 2013  (PSHR) Pacific ... naturally based products across a broad range of ... has retained investor relations firm, BlueWater Advisory Group, ... return to trading process, and to direct the ... initiation. Matthew Mills ...
(Date:5/20/2013)... , Md. and BALTIMORE , May ... (BHI), a regional private-public partnership focusing on commercializing ... funding in Central Maryland , ... M.B.A., as the first Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) for BHI ... National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI). ...
Breaking Biology Technology:New Genotyping System Identifies Pathogenic E. coli Outbreak Strains 2New Genotyping System Identifies Pathogenic E. coli Outbreak Strains 3Dalia Dergham Joins Grace Century FZ LLC International Project Team 2Pacific Shore Holdings Retains Investor Relations Firm 2BioHealth Innovation, Inc. Names Ram Aiyar as Entrepreneur-in-Residence to NIH National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute 2BioHealth Innovation, Inc. Names Ram Aiyar as Entrepreneur-in-Residence to NIH National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute 3BioHealth Innovation, Inc. Names Ram Aiyar as Entrepreneur-in-Residence to NIH National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute 4
Cached News: