What is Chronobiology?

Chronobiology is the biology of time, or the study of internal biological clocks. Biological clocks are found at all levels in living organisms. They range from oscillations found in nerve cells on the millisecond scale to oscillations in minutes, hours, days, and years in a variety of organisms and tissues. Although the commonly used phrase "your biological clock is ticking" relates to the window of years for becoming parents, many clocks are found in humans, such as the time to puberty, to menopause, and aging "clocks." Our research unit is focused on just one of these chronobiological phenomena: the daily or circadian clock.

The name circadian comes from the Latin circa, meaning "approximately," and diem or dies, "day;" thus, the word means "about one day." Examples of human health issues related to circadian rhythms—biological oscillations in activity that recur with a period of “about one day”—are the problems associated with jet lag and shift work, the depression of Seasonal Affective Disorder, and time-of-day differences in response to medications and treatments.

Affiliations

Many thanks to our generous sponsors of the 2013 Symposium

Upcoming Events

• The International Chronobiology Summer School (CBS 2013)
  Date: July 21-26, 2013
  Location: Vanderbilt University
• Fall workshop on Biological Timing
  Save the date: Nov 8, 2013
  Location: 15th Floor, Village West, UCSD
• CCB Symposium: From Cells to Clinic
  Save the date: Feb 5-7, 2014
  Location: Sanford Consortium Auditorium
• Clockwatchers Journal Club

CCB News

• Timing of cancer radiation therapy may minimize hair loss. Discovery of circadian clock in mice hair reveals period of time when damage from radiotherapy can be quickly repaired, keeping hair intact.
• Scientists at Chronobiology Center in La Jolla study circadian rhythms to fight diseases, By Lynne Friedmann
• CCB postdoctoral researcher Susan Cohen was awarded a Fellowship from the American Cancer Society in support of her research project "Regulation of Polyploidy during the Cell and Circadian Cycles". Susan is a member of Susan Golden's Lab.
• Characterizing a Transcription Factor with Circadian Output, By Kellen Na an undergraduate senior studying Biochemistry and Cell Biology at UCSD
• Modeling Transcriptome Dynamics in a Complex World
• Yong-Ick Kim of Golden Lab and Susan Golden's Inaugural Article: Oxidized quinones signal onset of darkness directly to the cyanobacterial circadian oscillator
• Colleen Doherty of Kay Lab: exploring, genome-wide, the transcriptional and non-transcriptional regulation of the mammalian circadian clock
• The Wall Street Journal: The Peak Time for Everything
• Kay lab: Complexity in the Wiring and Regulation of Plant Circadian Networks
• LiWang lab: Rhythmic ring-ring stacking drives the circadian oscillator clockwise
• Panda lab: Circadian clock protein cryptochrome regulates the expression of proinflammatory cytokines
• Kay lab: Identification of Small Molecule Activators of Cryptochrome
• Carrie Partch: Crystal Structure of the Heterodimeric CLOCK:BMAL1 Transcriptional Activator Complex
• Steve Kay Named Dornsife Dean at USC
• Panda lab: Time-Restricted Feeding without Reducing Caloric Intake Prevents Metabolic Diseases in Mice Fed a High-Fat Diet
• Video: Salk study may offer drug-free intervention to prevent obesity
• Ancoli-Israel: Videocast of "Getting Older and Good Sleep: Do They Go Hand in Hand?"
• CCB announces distinguished external advisory board
• Tsimring & Hasty labs develop biopixel clock sensor
• Lamia and Evans Labs: Crys regulate glucocorticoid receptor
• Brody: Genetics of Circadian Rhythms, Elsevier title released
• Salk finds gene that helps wake people up