Circadian Rhythm News and Research

Latest Circadian Rhythm News and Research

Chronic jet lag alters brain's intricate role in memory processing

Chronic jet lag alters the brain in ways that cause memory and learning problems long after one's return to a regular 24-hour schedule, according to research by University of California, Berkeley, psychologists.

25 Nov 2010

Mother’s high-fat diet alters fetal genes that regulate circadian rhythm: Study

The link between sleeping and obesity is drawn tighter as a new research published online in the FASEB Journal study shows that what your mother ate when she was pregnant may make you obese or overweight by altering the function of genes (epigenetic changes) that regulate circadian rhythm.

23 Nov 2010

Novel mechanism regulating circadian rhythm identified

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified for the first time a novel mechanism that regulates circadian rhythm, the master clock that controls the body's natural 24-hour physiological cycle. These new findings could provide a new target not only for jet lag, shift work, and sleep disturbances, but also for disorders that result from circadian rhythm disruption, including diabetes and obesity as well as some types of cancer.

11 Nov 2010

Depression associated with molecular-level disturbance in body's 24-hour clock

Depression appears to be associated with a molecular-level disturbance in the body's 24-hour clock, new research suggests.

11 Nov 2010

Nurses in health care facilities may perform better through harm reduction strategies: Researchers

University of Maryland School of Nursing researchers say nurses in hospitals and other health care facilities may perform better by following the lead of airlines, trucking, and nuclear plants, by limiting hours of service, ensuring prompt and definite breaks during shifts, and other scheduling strategies.

22 Oct 2010

Fluctuations in internal body temperature regulate body's circadian rhythm: Research

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that fluctuations in internal body temperature regulate the body's circadian rhythm, the 24-hour cycle that controls metabolism, sleep and other bodily functions.

15 Oct 2010

Research shows honey bees change their circadian rhythms

Unlike humans, honey bees, when thrown into highly time-altered new societal roles, are able to alter their biological rhythms with alacrity, enabling them to make a successful "quick switch" in their daily routines, according to research carried out at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

13 Oct 2010

Researchers discover rhythmic changes in synapse numbers regulate sleep cycles

With the help of tiny, see-through fish, Stanford University School of Medicine researchers are homing in on what happens in the brain while you sleep. In a new study, they show how the circadian clock and sleep affect the scope of neuron-to-neuron connections in a particular region of the brain, and they identified a gene that appears to regulate the number of these connections, called synapses.

8 Oct 2010

Two-day symposium marks an extraordinary decade for Brown Institute for Brain Science

Just as intense concentration allows a sharp mind to perform at its peak, a research institute that concentrates pre-eminent scientists from 11 academic departments can push back the frontiers of knowledge in a complex research area: the human brain.

8 Oct 2010

Improper biological clocks tend to develop diabetes, obesity: Research

Biologists have found that a key protein that regulates the biological clocks of mammals also regulates glucose production in the liver and that altering the levels of this protein can improve the health of diabetic mice.

20 Sep 2010

BAP releases new guidelines on treatments for sleep disorders

Insomnia and other sleep disorders are very common, yet are not generally well understood by doctors and other health care professionals. Now the British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP) has released up-to-the-minute guidelines in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, published by SAGE, to guide psychiatrists and physicians caring for those with sleep problems.

3 Sep 2010

23rd ECNP Press conference on impact of circadian rhythms on human brain

All humans are synchronised to the rhythmic light-dark changes that occur on a daily basis. Rhythms in physiological and biochemical processes and behavioural patterns persist in the absence of all external 24-hour signals from the physical environment, with a period that is close to 24 hours

30 Aug 2010

Light signaling pathways, circadian rhythms affect biological functions: Research

A new study of the genetic basis of circadian rhythms - the biological responses related to daily light exposure - has found that a few minutes of light exposure in a fungus directly affects a huge range of its biological functions, everything from reproduction to coloring and DNA repair.

27 Aug 2010

Researchers find new drug to treat circadian rhythm disorders

Researchers funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) have successfully used a drug to reset and restart the natural 24 hour body clock of mice in the lab. The ability to do this in a mammal opens up the possibility of dealing with a range of human difficulties including some psychiatric disorders, jet lag and the health impacts of shift work.

24 Aug 2010

Reduced quality or quantity of sleep leads to school performance difficulties, behavior problems

Getting a good night's sleep often comes down to technique. Avoiding late-night technology use and keeping a regular sleep schedule are two important techniques to heed as kids head back to school.Recent studies found that adolescents used multiple forms of technology late into the night, including gaming systems, cell phones, and computers. As a result, they demonstrated difficulty staying awake and alert throughout the day.

12 Aug 2010

Research findings show normal rise and fall in triglycerides

When the circadian rhythm gets thrown off, it could come with an unexpected side effect: high triglycerides. The discovery, based on studies in mice with a "broken clock," helps to explain the normal rise and fall in triglycerides, which happens at about the same time each day, according to researchers who report their findings in the August issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication.

4 Aug 2010

Scientist examines relationship between stress of human isolation, immune system

A remote Canadian island is being used to simulate isolated space flight conditions for a NASA-funded medical research study that could produce important information to assist astronauts in potential long duration flights to Mars or an asteroid.

30 Jul 2010

Later sunset, extended daylight exposure delays bedtimes in teenagers

In the spring, later sunset and extended daylight exposure delay bedtimes in teenagers, according to researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Lighting Research Center (LRC).Biologically, this increased exposure to early evening light in the spring delays the onset of nocturnal melatonin, a hormone that indicates to the body when it's nighttime, explains Mariana Figueiro, Ph.D., associate professor. This extended exposure adds to the difficulties teens have falling asleep at a reasonable hour.

27 Jul 2010

Study: Disruption of genes that control circadian rhythms may lead to diabetes

Disruption of two genes that control circadian rhythms can lead to diabetes, a researcher at UT Southwestern Medical Center has found in an animal study. Mice with defective copies of the genes, called CLOCK and BMAL1, develop abnormalities in pancreatic cells that eventually render the cells unable to release sufficient amounts of insulin.

14 Jul 2010

Study: Delay in school start time significantly improves adolescent sleep, mood and behavior

A pilot study conducted in a small private high school confirms what many have been touting for years: the benefits of a delayed school start time. Judy Owens, MD, a sleep expert with Hasbro Children's Hospital, reports that a modest delay in school start time of only 30 minutes was associated with significant improvements in adolescent alertness, mood and health. Her findings are published in the July issue of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

7 Jul 2010