Related topics: sleep

Agronomists save tomatoes from toxic aluminum with melatonin

RUDN University agronomists and colleagues from China and Iran have helped tomatoes cope with the toxic effect of aluminum in acidic soils with the help of melatonin. This hormone contributes to nitric oxide production, blocking ...

Bear genes show circadian rhythms even during hibernation

The internal clocks of grizzly bears appear to keep ticking through hibernation, according to a genetic study. This persistence highlights the strong role of circadian rhythms in the metabolism of many organisms including ...

Stolen genes allow parasitic control of behavior of host

A team led by Tappei Mishina at the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR) has discovered that parasites manipulate their hosts using stolen genes that they likely acquired through a phenomenon called horizontal ...

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Circadian rhythm

A circadian rhythm is a roughly-24-hour cycle in the biochemical, physiological or behavioral processes of living entities, including plants, animals, fungi and cyanobacteria (see bacterial circadian rhythms). The term "circadian", coined by Franz Halberg, comes from the Latin circa, "around," and diem or dies, "day", meaning literally "approximately one day." The formal study of biological temporal rhythms such as daily, tidal, weekly, seasonal, and annual rhythms, is called chronobiology.

Circadian rhythms are endogenously generated, and can be entrained by external cues, called Zeitgebers, the primary one of which is daylight. These rhythms allow organisms to anticipate and prepare for precise and regular environmental changes.

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