What Makes Cells Tick Detailed by Dartmouth Researchers Dartmouth Medical School geneticists have clarified the picture of the way living things maintain robust and stable internal clocks to safeguard the timing of daily activities.
Internal clocks are ubiquitous.
In humans they cue circadian rhythms, the 24-hour cycle that paces life1s ebb and flow, from when we wake up to when we go to sleep. They are linked to jet lag, seasonal affective disorder and sleep disturbances. Research published in the July 7 issue of Science delineates the dual roles and interlocking connections of the molecular gears that drive biological clocks and prevent them from winding down. The striking parallels in a relatively simple model offer clues to what makes creatures tick, report the DMS authors Jay Dunlap, professor and chair of genetics, Jennifer Loros, professor of biochemistry, and Kwangwon Lee, a postdoctoral fellow. Just as the machinery behind clock faces of countless shapes and designs is built on a few basic principles, the genetic machinery behind all biological clocks from plants to people shares fundamental properties, in spite of the diverse functions governed.