Chronobiology

This book covers circadian rhythmicity; analyses of the behavioural and ecological importance of rhythms and their theoretical bases; the comparative anatomy, physiology, genetics and molecular biology of organisms within circadian clocks; real-world examples; classic research and 6 cutting-edge research areas.

Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute, Hannover, Germany, July 13-25, 1979

The regular alternation of light and dark affects not only human biological systems, but also the social organization of behavior. The effect of such light modes is manifested in periodic changes in physiological functions and biological rhythms exhibited at every level of life. The book discusses some of the specificities of the circadian rhythms in living organisms and mentions aspects of the control of circadian rhythms as well as experimental and clinical cases that are closely related to circadian disruption. This book can evoke interest in many researchers who want to use this information for the advancement of their research towards a better understanding of the biological time structure.

This book covers topics from a wide variety of disciplines including cell biology, developmental biology, ecology, endocrinology, genetics, molecular biology, neurobiology, and pharmacology. There is a focus on circadian (daily), tidal, seasonal, and annual rhythms, as well as other biological rhythms. Rhythms are placed within the context of the functional significance of these rhythms for the health and well-being of relevant organisms and include genetic and molecular mechanisms of biological timekeeping, melatonin and pineal gland rhythms, as well as on the chronobiology and chronotherapy of cardiovascular, pulmonary, ulcer, and other diseases.

In three volumes, historian Jole Shackelford delineates the history of the study of biological rhythms—now widely known as chronobiology—from antiquity into the twentieth century. Perhaps the most well-known biological rhythm is the circadian rhythm, tied to the cycles of day and night and often referred to as the “body clock.” But there are many other biological rhythms, and although scientists and the natural philosophers who preceded them have long known about them, only in the past thirty years have a handful of pioneering scientists begun to study such rhythms in plants and animals seriously. Tracing the intellectual and institutional development of biological rhythm studies, Shackelford offers a meaningful, evidence-based account of a field that today holds great promise for applications in agriculture, health care, and public health. Volume 1 follows early biological observations and research, chiefly on plants; volume 2 turns to animal and human rhythms and the disciplinary contexts for chronobiological investigation; and volume 3 focuses primarily on twentieth-century researchers who modeled biological clocks and sought them out, including three molecular biologists whose work in determining clock mechanisms earned them a Nobel Prize in 2017.

In three volumes, historian Jole Shackelford delineates the history of the study of biological rhythms—now widely known as chronobiology—from antiquity into the twentieth century. Perhaps the most well-known biological rhythm is the circadian rhythm, tied to the cycles of day and night and often referred to as the “body clock.” But there are many other biological rhythms, and although scientists and the natural philosophers who preceded them have long known about them, only in the past thirty years have a handful of pioneering scientists begun to study such rhythms in plants and animals seriously. Tracing the intellectual and institutional development of biological rhythm studies, Shackelford offers a meaningful, evidence-based account of a field that today holds great promise for applications in agriculture, health care, and public health. Volume 1 follows early biological observations and research, chiefly on plants; volume 2 turns to animal and human rhythms and the disciplinary contexts for chronobiological investigation; and volume 3 focuses primarily on twentieth-century researchers who modeled biological clocks and sought them out, including three molecular biologists whose work in determining clock mechanisms earned them a Nobel Prize in 2017.

Do intertidal organisms simply respond to the rise and fall of tides, or do they possess biological timing and navigation mechanisms that allow them to anticipate when conditions are most favourable? How are the patterns of growth, development and reproduction of some marine plants and animals related to changes in day-length or to phases of the moon? The author describes how marine organisms, from single cells to vertebrates, on sea shores, in estuaries and in the open ocean, have evolved inbuilt biological clockwork and synchronisation mechanisms which control rhythmic processes and navigational behaviour, permitting successful exploitation of highly variable and often hostile environments. Adopting a hypothesis-testing and experimental approach, the book is intended for undergraduate and postgraduate students of marine biology, marine ecology, animal behaviour, oceanography and other biological sciences and also as an introduction for researchers, including physiologists, biochemists and molecular biologists entering the field of chronobiology.

In three volumes, historian Jole Shackelford delineates the history of the study of biological rhythms—now widely known as chronobiology—from antiquity into the twentieth century. Perhaps the most well-known biological rhythm is the circadian rhythm, tied to the cycles of day and night and often referred to as the “body clock.” But there are many other biological rhythms, and although scientists and the natural philosophers who preceded them have long known about them, only in the past thirty years have a handful of pioneering scientists begun to study such rhythms in plants and animals seriously. Tracing the intellectual and institutional development of biological rhythm studies, Shackelford offers a meaningful, evidence-based account of a field that today holds great promise for applications in agriculture, health care, and public health. Volume 1 follows early biological observations and research, chiefly on plants; volume 2 turns to animal and human rhythms and the disciplinary contexts for chronobiological investigation; and volume 3 focuses primarily on twentieth-century researchers who modeled biological clocks and sought them out, including three molecular biologists whose work in determining clock mechanisms earned them a Nobel Prize in 2017.