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David J. Demko, PhD, Editor-in-Chief AgeVenture News Service, Boca Raton, Florida 06-23-07 |
Your circadian rhythm. One of many biological clocks silently ticking away inside your body. Regulating the millions of life-sustaining processes of human life.
This "circadian clock" is set daily by the rising and setting of the sun. Deprive a human being of their daily dose of sunshine, and sleeplessness, depression, and illness result. Up until now, scientists thought nature's clock affected no more than 15 percent of our genes. Now, researchers at Colorado State University (CSU) have discovered the clock's role is much greater, dominating all life functions. Circadian rhythms, say CSU researchers, are biological rhythms that cycle over a period of about 24 hours and regulate timing for most physiological functions and behaviors such as sleeping, eating and activity. This new discovery is like a key unlocking the door to understanding how genes interact with and regulate health and disease. The CSU study identifies the process of oscillation, as a basic property of all genes in humans. And, nature's clock regulates gene oscillation in all our physiological processes. "Anyone who diets, for example, knows you shouldn't eat late, and now we are getting closer to understanding why exactly," said Ptitsyn, a researcher in the Bioinformatics Center at CSU. "We discovered that all genes have a significant change in pattern of activity, or expression, throughout the day. Every pathway of gene expression is affected by circadian rhythms, and the timing of the rhythms from each group of genes that are synchronized is important." Ptitsyn explains the role of genes in our "leptin signaling system." The system responsible for creating the sensation of satiety after eating. Gene oscillation may provide researchers with clues for developing ways to treat people who overeat because of impaired leptin signaling. Ptitsyn discovered that gene activity oscillates in a "finely orchestrated" system and gene expression can be impacted by daylight and darkness. Disrupt this constant state of dim light or darkness and the groups of genes that typically oscillate together, such as genes responsible for the function of an organ or a specific tissue, are chaotic under this state and don't function as a group. "It's like a conductor walking away from an orchestra during a performance; each musician continues to play, gradually going out of key with the others," said Ptitsyn. That is one likely reason why researchers previously missed the impact of circadian rhythm on all genes. Now you know a little more about promoting successful aging. So, take a little walk, out in the sunshine. And contemplate the possibilities for longer life created by this breakthrough in genetics, thanks to Colorado State University. |
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