It’s that time of year. The granting of the MacArthur awards and the Nobel Prizes. Which included 3 guys who were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for advancing the state of the art when it comes to circadian rhythms. And, the awardees didn’t devote their work solely to humans, but animals and plants, as well. (Amazingly, circadian rhythms affect disease susceptibility, growth rates- even the size of fruits that are grown.)
I’ve already written about circadian rhythms (here’s but one, which included my involvement in such studies), those cycles that govern our lives. And, despite how we normally consider the cycle, it’s closer to 24.8 than 24 hours. And, no, I’m not advocating we change the definition of a day.
Back in the 1930’s, Dr. Erwin Bunning (Strasburg, Cologne, and Tubingen were his three German university affiliations) came to his findings while traveling in what is now Indonesia. He determined that plants open and close their leaves in a rhythmic pattern.
So, he created artificial photoperiods. And, those periods could be inherited by the next generation of plants. His work showed that circadian clocks could be inherited. Wait, that didn’t come out right. We all have circadian rhythms. But, an oblique version of the clock could be inherited. Which meant it had to be governed by genes, of some sort.
His hypothesis (the Bunning Hypothesis) was reformed as the External Coincidence model, which explained that light was the “zeitgeber” (the external cue) that synchronized biological rhythms and, further, that light triggers responses during the circadian cycles.
To be honest, his findings were pretty much passed over by the scientific establishment until he chaired the Cold Spring Harbor Symposium on Biological Clocks (1960). And, then, the research building on his studies began in earnest.
Drs. Jeffrey Hall and Michael Rosbach began their studies while they were at Brandeis University (just outside of Boston, MA)- and they linked up with Dr. Michael Young (from Rockefeller University in Manhattan), back some 30 years ago (1984). Their efforts built upon the findings of Drs. Seymour Benzer and Ronald Konopka (CalTech) who identified mutant fruit flies that had altered circadian rhythms. So Hall and Rosbach continued working with fruit flies- and isolated the ‘period gene’ that ensures a protein accumulates at night- and degrades during the day.
Ten years later (yes, research takes a l-o-n-g time, even with the fast-growing fruit flies), they discerned a second gene, one they called ‘timeless’. When the protein encoded by this gene connected to the protein from the period gene, both proteins were able to enter the nucleus of the cell (where the control would be effected). But how that transcription was activated was unknown, until they found a third gene (gotta love their senses of humor- they called it ‘doubletime’) which regulated the oscillations over the 24 hour or so cycle.
When the three researchers began, circadian rhythm researchers would have been situated in the neuroscience or neurophysiology departments. Because back then, we expected the circadian drive to be within the brain, via a single controller than ran our bodily functions. Oops. Nope- there are multitudes of clocks (basically, these are all oscillating systems), all throughout our bodies (which is why living things that lack brains can have circadian clocks, too.) Now, the science is called “chronobiology”.
Researchers have been using the Hall-Rosbach-Young findings to discern what happens when the clock is out of whack, when the oscillations occur too quickly or too slowly. And, others have found that if we maintain a regular schedule of eating, sleeping, etc., lives can be extended. (This research has been done using animals, not on humans.)
The Nobel Institute has a short circular that describes the Hall-Rosbach-Young research- and its ramifications. And, if you search on this link, you can see the plethora of articles that have defined these three esteemed Nobel Laureates’ efforts.
Hi,
His finding were pretty much passed over by the scientific establishment until the chaired the cold spring harbord symposium on Biological Clock 1960. I with agree your post. Thanks for sharing your post…….
Glad you found the post useful, Linda. Thanks for the comment and the visit.
I have removed your URL since it is an attack site. Shame on you!
Definitely going to go to your other links. I have had seasonal affective disorder for decades & have come to understand the ways it affects circadian rhythm. I didn’t know it explained what happens to bedtime & waking up time during the winter, or when it feels like it’s “time to eat,” etc. Thanks for sharing this helpful post!
I’m so sad you’ve been afflicted with SAD. Of course, you know there are all sorts of lighting systems that can help you circumvent the disorder. In essence, you provide your own Zeitgeit!
Hope this helped a lot, Jeanine!
Yes, I have tried several that have not worked but am still looking! I did have a dawn simulator once that was amazing & probably will get one of those again. Thx for the encouragement!
Go for it, Jeanine. You may want to augment it with music (which seems to amplify [pun intended- NOT] the effects- to your benefit)
That’s a thoroughly interesting topic.The Nobel Prize gives prominence to that research. As for me, I find that, if I don’t use alarm clocks, I will fall asleep at 2 a.m. and wake up happy and refreshed at 9 a.m. Society doesn’t seem to be in favor of that.
I don’t know why not, Alice. Unless your employment expects you to be AT work at 9, not UP at 9.
I go to sleep between 2 and 4 and arise between 5 and 7. (It’s the 3 hours or so of sleep that I get a night. Now, society finds that horrific!)
Alice, I used to do about 2-11 when I was younger and now, sometimes can do 3-11 and wake up feeling good. And since I work at home, that works out okay.
I’m glad that institutions like the Nobel Prize can shine a light on research like this and in doing so, continue to advance their cause. Interesting that the research started with plants first, and then animals. It must be so disheartening to have your research passed over when you know you have something life changing.
Believe it or not, Megan, that sort of “lack of recognition” is far too typical.
Consider Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac Newton (who was denigrated often by Robert Hooke, leading to Newton’s nervous breakdown), Mary Anderson (who invented the windshield wiper about 115 years ago), etc.
Very interesting Roy. I’m like you, don’t need a lot of sleep. I usually hit my pillow around midnight, wake up about 3 and do some computer work for an hour. Nap again and get up and off to work by 6.
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Oh, that’s pretty interesting, Martha.
I’m sure that nap provides extra energy for you all day long.
Thanks for the visit AND the comment.
Roy, how fascinating. I was taught long ago that the body likes homeostasis, doing the same thing at the same time every day. That dovetails with your next-to-last paragraph, which says maintaining a regular schedule may extend life. Wow! Thanks for a great piece I will widely share.
I am thrilled that you liked it, Kebba.
It’s amazing how these oscillatory systems provide all kinds of stability.
I don’t seem to fit those rhythms. My best sleeping time is 2 am to 10 am. I am most productive after dark.
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Actually, that is exactly what circadian rhythms provide. It doesn’t mean we work better during the daylight hours- it’s how we reset our clocks. Some of us perform best within seconds of a clock reset, others take 12, 14 hours.
Great information, I really need to work on my circadian rhythm. I think it is all messed up. I spent 25 years getting up every morning at 2:30 a.m. and now 10 years later, I am awake no later than 4:30 a.m. This means I will need a nap later in the morning 30 minutes around noon. My average hours sleeping at night is about 5 and 1/2 hours. Almost any unusual sound at night, no matter how light (small) will wake me up. humm……
I have a lot of friends who are sensitive to sound, too, Chef William. But, that sound sensitivity is often more acute at the end of a natural sleep cycle.
You may want to try some white noise, which may help your brain not seize on the extraneous sound(s) to rouse you from sleep.