THISDAY

The Simplicity and Complexity of Human Blood

- In particular Importance of Biological clock

Time from the beginning of cr eation, has always played an important r ole in the functions and activities of man. This has led to the r eason why all human beings have an involuntar­y response to the forces and gravitatio­nal pull created by the movements of the earth. This in turn makes man respond to the resulting light-darkness , [ day-night] phenomenon. This brings about the activity of the BIOLOGICAL CLOCK. The biological clock is a part of our body , which generates a number of biological responses regulated by cycles. Its control center is located in the hypothalam­us, a gland located in the brain. Also referred to as the circadian clock when talking about cyclic phenomena which are governed by the clock over a period of 24 hours. Biological clocks produce circadian rhythms and regulate their timing.

waking occurring in the morning and the need for sleep at night. such as cortisol. biological clock takes several days to readjust to changing light and schedules. Biological clocks are an organism’s innate timing device. It is also an innate mechanism that controls the physiologi­cal activities of an organism which change on a daily, seasonal, yearly, or other regular cycle. A few hours ago, three American men , Jeffrey C Hall, to explain in detail the importance of the biological clock in man, and how they are linked to other molecular mechanisms and physiologi­cal functions , were awarded on the molecular mechanisms controllin­g circadian rhythms – in other words, the 24-hour body clock. The team were able to say “how plants, animals and humans adapt their biological rhythm so that it is synchronis­ed with the Earth’s revolution­s.” The team identified a gene within fruit flies that controls the creatures’ daily rhythm, known as the “period” gene. This gene encodes a protein within the cell during the night which then degrades during the “clock” and the external surroundin­gs, it can affect the organism’s wellbeing – for example, in humans, when we experience jet lag. Hall and Rosbash then went on to unpick how the body clock actually works, revealing that the levels of protein encoded by the period gene rise and fall meanwhile, discovered a second gene involved in the system, dubbed “timeless”, that was critical to this process. Only when the proteins produced from the period gene combined with those from the timeless gene could they enter the cell’s nucleus and halt further gene that controlled the frequency of this cycle. The team’s discoverie­s also helped to explain the mechanism by which light can synchronis­e the clock. “Every living organism on this planet responds to the sun,” he said. “All plant and animal behaviour is are slaves to the sun. The cir cadian clock is embedded in our mechanisms of working, our metabolism, it’s embedded everywhere, it’s a real core feature for aware that there are implicatio­ns for human disease,” Nurse added. “There is some evidence that treatment of disease can be influenced by circadian rhythms too. People have reported that when you have surgery or when you have a drug can actually influence things. It’s still not clear, but there will almost certainly be some implicatio­ns for the treatment of disease too.”[ courtesy The Guardian London]. Our biological clock helps to regulate sleep patterns, feeding behavior, hormone release and blood pressure.

rhythms that shape our days. The most basic dailyrhyth­m we live by is the sleep-wake cycle, which (for most) is related to the cycle of the sun. It makes us feel sleepy as the evening hours wear on, and wakeful as the day begins. Sleep-wake and other daily patterns are part of our circadian rhythms, (circum means “around” and dies, “day”) which are governed by the body’s internal or biological clock, housed deep within the brain. Circadian rhythms can influence sleep-wake cycles, hormone release, eating habits and digestion, body temperatur­e, and other important bodily functions. Biological clocks that run fast or slow can r esult in disrupted or abnormal circadian rhythms. Irregular rhythms have been linked to various chronic health conditions, such as sleep disorders, obesity, diabetes, depression, bipolar disorder, and seasonal affective disorder.

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