Chronobiology studies biological rhythms in living organisms, including plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi. It integrates various fields of science and examines the impact of the environment on biological rhythms. Chronobiologists study sleep disorders, evolutionary processes, and use chronobiology in forensic medicine.
Chronobiology is a highly interdisciplinary branch of science concerned with the study of biological rhythms and cyclical processes in living organisms, including animals, plants, bacteria, and fungi. People working in this field can apply it in a variety of ways, ranging from treating patients with sleep disorders to studying the processes involved in the development of mold colonies. Some examples of fields integrated into chronobiology include: molecular genetics, anatomy, physiology, behavior, physics, cell biology, and chemistry.
Many living organisms have some form of internal clock. This clock regulates a huge number of biological cycles that occur regularly and often depend on the weather. Many of the processes in the body follow very specific timelines, such as the 90-minute REM cycle in sleeping humans or the cell division process in numerous animals. The internal clock is capable of regulating a wide variety of processes and its function can be influenced by environmental and genetic factors.
Researchers examine the impact of the environment on biological rhythms by studying lunar and solar rhythms and observing the role of diet, behavior and other activities in maintaining internal time. Chronobiologists study topics such as what causes internal rhythms to alter, how cycles can be artificially disrupted to achieve various desired goals, and how normal cycles can be restored after an interruption. They are also interested in the evolutionary processes that underlie cyclical biological processes.
Chronobiologists can be found in the field and in the laboratory, working with a wide variety of living organisms. Understanding the time-dependent processes involved in development and ordinary functioning can be very important in understanding an organism or in tracking down clues that provide information about a particular organism, ecosystem or interconnected network. Chronobiology can also be used in forensic medicine; for example, a researcher can use known time-dependent events such as the life cycle of insects to determine the time of death.
An area of particular interest in chronobiology is sleep disorders. Sleep disturbances can be observed in humans worldwide and are highly variable. The researchers hope to understand what causes sleep disturbances so they can learn more about potential treatments, and are also interested in the environmental and cultural pressures that cause fundamental alterations in biological patterns. For example, a night shift worker must develop an internal clock very different from the one he was born with, and understanding how this happens can be enlightening for a chronobiology researcher.
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