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Circadian rhythm

A circadian rhythm is a roughly 24 hour cycle in the physiological processes of living beings, including plants, animals, fungi and cyanobacteria.

In a strict sense, circadian rhythms are endogenously generated, although they can be modulated by external cues such as sunlight and temperature.

Circadian rhythms are important in determining the sleeping and feeding patterns of all animals, including human beings.

There are clear patterns of brain wave activity, hormone production, cell regeneration and other biological activities linked to this daily cycle.

Note: The above text is excerpted from the Wikipedia article "Circadian rhythm", which has been released under the GNU Free Documentation License.

For more information, see the following related content on ScienceDaily:

Our Circadian Clock Sets the Rhythm for Our Cells’ Powerhouses

Mar. 6, 2018 — Cellular energy metabolism also follows the rhythm of the circadian clock. A new study has now shown exactly how this works by revealing the relationship between the circadian rhythm and the ... read more

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Dec. 22, 2016 — A new study investigates circadian timekeeping with a novel approach to creating genetic knock-out rescue mice. The study shows how this technique was used to quickly create numerous mouse lines, ... read more

The Rhythm of Genes: How the Circadian Clock Regulates 3-D Chromatin Structure

Mar. 26, 2018 — Biologists and geneticists have uncovered how the circadian clock orchestrates the 24-hour cycle of gene expression by regulating the structure of chromatin, the tightly wound DNA-protein complex of ... read more

Technology Brings New Precision to Study of Circadian Rhythm in Individual Cells

Nov. 2, 2016 — A new technology may help scientists better understand how an individual cell synchronizes its biological clock with other ... read more

Jet Lag? Newly Synthesized Molecules Turn Back Biological Clock

May 29, 2016 — Scientists have designed new molecules that modify the circadian rhythm, opening the way to the possibility of managing jet lag and improving treatments for sleep ... read more

Red and Violet Light Reset the Circadian Clock in Algae Via Novel Pathway

Mar. 30, 2017 — A research team uncovered a pathway in the alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii that resets its circadian clock on exposure to red or violet light. This color-specific response implies multiple pathways, ... read more

Fat Tissue Shows a Robust Circadian Rhythm in a Dish

June 7, 2016 — Researchers have investigated whether human adipose (fat) tissue possesses its own circadian rhythm in insulin sensitivity that could contribute to this ... read more

Circadian Fluctuations in Glaucoma

May 19, 2017 — There is an increase of eye pressure throughout the morning, and that pressure comes and goes throughout the day, new research shows. This fluctuation is a known risk factor for the progression of ... read more

Why We Struggle to Get Good Night's Sleep as We Get Older

Mar. 27, 2018 — New research has identified the way age impairs the ability of the circadian clock in mammals to re-set itself when exposed to light, resulting in disruption to sleeping patterns and consequent ... read more

Powering Up the Circadian Rhythm

May 26, 2016 — An American research team is the first to discover a protein that controls the strength of body's circadian rhythms. In new work, the team analyzed levels and molecular characteristics of ... read more

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