UT Southwestern biochemist honored with NIH Director's Pioneer Award
...iscovery of genes that control the body's internal clock and regulate such processes as sleep, wakefulness and hunger signals. Research in the McKnight lab has recently shown mutations in a class of genes related to these "clock" functions have a broad range of outcomes, from abnormal eating and sleeping p...News tips from the Journal of Neuroscience
...n, Gui Lan Yao, and Bruce P. Bean The biological clock depends on spontaneously firing neurons of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Several ion channels, including L-type calcium channels, Ih, and subthreshold TTX-sensitive sodium channels, have been nominated for the spontaneous interspike "pacemaker" ...Serotonin metabolites in mollusks suggest pathways for human therapies
... similar to melatonin, which resests the circadian clock in humans, Stuart and colleagues suggested in the Journal of Neurochemistry. "This is the first quantitative measure of how serotonin metabolites are related to a behavioral state in marine mollusks," Sweedler said. "What we do not know is whether ...Analysis of biological clock may lead to greater understanding of human disease
...adian rhythm of fruit flies show that the internal clock is robust, that is, not easily perturbed. These st... Science. The mechanism controlling the biological clock generates a complicated dynamic behavior, oscillating back and forth and making it difficult to stud...Circadian clock genes reign in duration of fruit fly copulation
...genes representing key components of the circadian clock somehow also influence sexual behavior in the frui...ork reveals that, in fact, at least some circadian clock genes can also control the duration of behaviors over a much shorter time scale--in this case, the l...Length of sex act in flies dictated by genetics
...le for these clock-related genes. Mutations in the clock genes "period" and "timeless" caused male flies to...e significantly longer than usual. This shows that clock genes affect not only behaviors on the time scale of 24 hours, but also behavioral timing on the ord...Testing the fitness of biological clocks
...veler experiences jet lag when his or her internal clock becomes out-of-synch with the environment. Seasona...rs were careful to employ "point" mutations in the clock genes that didn't stunt the growth of the microscopic plants. They then mixed the algae with disrupt...Enzyme activation appears key in helping internal clock tell night from day
...self and won't move on? It could be your internal clock is backpedaling because your PKG-II is out of whac... where, like in all mammals, the primary circadian clock is located. The clock is a dynamic biological process with a near-24-hour cycle. PKG-II is an enzy......revealed a "new genetic component of the mammalian clock -- a protein known as "Rora." This discovery may...ave provided evidence of the existence of internal clock mechanisms by placing organisms like rodents in chambers isolated from day/night cycles. In spite of......s serves as a stimulus for resetting the circadian clock (such stimuli are referred to as Zeitgeber mechani...n be applied to any organism exhibiting biological clock activity, a range that spans the living world from bacteria to plants to humans. And indeed a test o...Coordinating power of circadian rhythms keeps estrus and pregnancy on track
...atterns are controlled in the brain by a molecular clock that has a period of approximately 24 hours. By studying the Clock mutant mouse, which has a mutation in a gene that regulates the internal clock, researchers have shown that normal female reproductive function depends on an intact biological clock. ...Study suggests humans can speed evolution
...ests that humans may have sped up the evolutionary clock for one species of fish. Cichlid fish are well known to biologists for their rapid rate of evolution. While it takes many animals thousands of years to form new species, the cichlids of Africa's Lake Malawi are estimated to have formed 1,000 new spe...Malignant cancer cells generate mice through cloning
Nature can reset the clock in certain types of cancer and reverse many of the elements responsible for causing malignancy, reports a research team led by Whitehead Institute Member Rudolf Jaenisch, in collaboration with Lynda Chin from Dana Farber Cancer Institute. The team de...Bone, enamel, dentine, milk & saliva share gene family
...Most estimates of the timing are done by molecular clock calculations. The appearance of these mineral tissue genes after the split can shed light on the murky period when creatures developed backbones for internal support, sharp teeth for eating and protection, hard shells to protect developing young an...Researchers show 'clot-busting' at stroke site is viable option
...ists and neurologists must be available around the clock and be ready for that rapid response," Slivka said. "When blood flow to the brain is compromised, the brain won't tolerate it for very long. Time is critical. The faster we can dissolve the clot to re-establish blood flow to that part of the brain, ...UK researchers develop way of predicting a woman's 'reproductive' age
...to be able to tell a woman how fast her biological clock is ticking and how much time she has before it will run down," said lead author Dr. Hamish Wallace, consultant paediatric oncologist at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh, Scotland and a senior lecturer at the University of Edinburgh. ...Fat cells could provide the key to a longer life
.... All we have to do is crack the code to reset the clock and our research takes this a step closer." The possibility of extending life span has preoccupied scientists for many years. Leading theories include the idea that eating less slows down the progressive damage caused by free radicals that are releas...New research shows that the seasons may be involved in onset of menopause
...y a role in the circadian rhythm (the 24 hour time clock that governs different physiological processes), could be involved. Melatonin binding is found in the ovaries and it also influences ovarian steroid hormone production. Other research has shown that the harmony of these links becomes disrupted in par...Loss of circadian genes results in epilepsy
...tion: In tissues with high amplitudes of circadian clock gene expression (like the liver), PAR bZip protein...d throughout the day. However, in the brain, where clock gene expression varies little, PAR bZip protein levels barely change. To explore the functio...Beware cancer, insomnia and liver disease UH students are taking aim
...th the lab's focus on understanding the biological clock so that it may eventually lead to therapeutic agents that can treat sleeping/waking disorders, such as advanced sleep phase syndrome, jet lag and insomnia. The results of Figueroa's research show that pupillary light response studies could provide ...