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circadian clock

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Psychology

·May 29, 2025·5 min read

Seasonal Sunlight Still Shapes Human Sleep

Despite modern lighting and lifestyle, human sleep patterns remain deeply influenced by seasonal changes in sunlight. New research reveals that our circadian rhythms track daylight shifts across seasons, impacting mood, sleep alignment, and overall health.

This shows the outline of a teen, a clock and a brain.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·February 18, 2025·5 min read

How the Body’s Clock Influences Eating and Weight Gain in Teens

A new study reveals that the body’s internal clock plays a key role in eating behavior, influencing when and how much adolescents eat. Researchers found that teens with overweight or obesity consumed significantly more calories later in the day compared to those with a healthy weight. By isolating circadian influences from environmental and behavioral factors, they confirmed that food intake peaks in the late afternoon and evening regardless of sleep duration or external time cues.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·December 18, 2024·4 min read

Circadian Clock Influences Inflammation and Disease

New research reveals how the body’s circadian clock regulates macrophage activity, influencing immune system inflammation throughout the day. Activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, a key component in the immune response, peaks during the morning when macrophages are most efficient.

Brain Cancer Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·December 12, 2024·8 min read

Glioblastoma Syncs With the Body’s Internal Clock

Glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, syncs its internal clock to the host’s circadian rhythms, leveraging daily hormone cycles for growth. Blocking these signals slowed tumor progression in mice and revealed that the timing of treatments like dexamethasone (DEX) critically influences outcomes.

Featured Neuroscience

·December 5, 2024·5 min read

Mapping the Brain’s 24-Hour Clock

Researchers have created the first complete map of the circadian clock in the Drosophila brain, revealing it consists of at least 240 neurons—far more than previously thought. This detailed map shows similarities between the clock mechanisms of insects and vertebrates, offering new insights into how rhythms like sleep, feeding, and hormone release are coordinated.

This shows a brain and a person sleeping.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 25, 2024·6 min read

Brain’s Locus Coeruleus Revealed as Key to Sleep Transitions

A new study uncovers the role of the brain's locus coeruleus (LC) in regulating sleep cycles, managing transitions between NREM and REM sleep. This brainstem region alternates between activity peaks and troughs during sleep, acting like a clock to control sleep-state shifts.

Featured Neuroscience

·February 22, 2023·4 min read

Human Body Can Predict Mealtimes

Our bodies can predict the timing of regular meals, a new study reports. Additionally, a person's daily blood-glucose rhythms may be driven by meal size in addition to meal time.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·January 19, 2023·5 min read

Study Deepens Understanding of the Regulation of Circadian Rhythms in the Mammalian Central Clock

Neural networks play a key role in regulating circadian rhythms through the mediation of cAMP. The findings may help with developing new strategies to manage circadian rhythm problems such as sleep disorders.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·September 19, 2022·3 min read

How the Circadian Clock Helps the Brain Recover After Injury

NG2-glia, a newly discovered type of brain cell that can renew itself is regulated by circadian rhythms. The findings shed new light on how the body's circadian clock can promote healing following a traumatic brain injury.

This is a diagram of how sunlight affects the SCN and helps control circadian rhythm

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·September 5, 2022·4 min read

How Changes in Length of Day Change the Brain and Subsequent Behavior

Neurons in the suprachiasmatic nucleus coordinate to adapt to different lengths of daylight, changing at cellular and network levels. The neurons changed in mix and expression of dopamine, altering brain activity and subsequently daily routine behaviors.