title: Circadian clocks - the fall and rise of physiology.
abstract: Circadian clocks control the daily life of most light-sensitive organisms - from cyanobacteria to humans. Molecular processes generate cellular rhythmicity, and cellular clocks in animals coordinate rhythms through interaction (known as coupling). This hierarchy of clocks generates a complex, approximately 24-hour temporal programme that is synchronized with the rotation of the Earth. The circadian system ensures anticipation and adaptation to daily environmental changes, and functions on different levels - from gene expression to behaviour. Circadian research is a remarkable example of interdisciplinarity, unravelling the complex mechanisms that underlie a ubiquitous biological programme. Insights from this research will help to optimize medical diagnostics and therapy, as well as adjust social and biological timing on the individual level.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Chronobiology, Institute of Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, University of Munich, Goethestrasse 31, D-80336 Munich, Germany. roenneberg@lmu.de
authors.forename: Till
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Roenneberg
authors.forename: Martha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Merrow
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D001683:Biological Clocks / Q000502:physiology*; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological