Are Our Circadian Clocks The Future of Medicine, Anti-Aging & Longevity

Our bodies keep time for us subconsciously via an ancient mechanism known as the circadian clock. A new article led by the University of California, Irvine examines how the clock regulates various aspects of homeostasis and how organs coordinate their function throughout the day.

“What’s fascinating is that nearly every cell in our organs has its own clock, making timing a critical aspect of biology,” said Kevin B. Koronowski, Ph.D., the study’s lead author and a postdoctoral fellow in Biological Chemistry at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. “Understanding how daily timing is integrated with organ function has implications for human health, as disruption of the clock and circadian rhythms has been implicated in both the cause and effect of diseases ranging from diabetes to cancer.”

The circadian clock establishes a 24-hour rhythm that regulates behavior, hormone production, the immune system, and metabolism. Using human cells and mice, researchers from the Paolo Sassone-Corsi Laboratory at UCI’s Center for Epigenetics and Metabolism hope to decipher the physiological circuits that enable biological clocks to achieve coherence, such as those between the brain and liver. Their paper, “Communicating clocks shape circadian homeostasis,” was published in Science today.