WashU Expert: This year, let’s make standard time permanent
A Washington University in St. Louis expert on circadian rhythms says the country should be on standard time permanently. The science behind the choice is clear: standard time is better in terms of sleep, cardiac function, weight, cancer risk and alcohol and tobacco consumption.
Individual cells isolated from the biological clock can keep daily time, but are unreliable
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have shown that individual cells isolated from the biological clock can keep daily time all by themselves. However, by themselves, they are unreliable. The neurons get out of synch and capriciously quit or start oscillating again.
Biological clock more influenced by temperature than light
Photo by David Kilper/WUSTL PhotoErik Herzog, Ph.D., and graduate student Rachel Huckfeldt attach electrodes to a multielectrode array.Getting over jet lag may be as simple as changing the temperature —your brain temperature, that is. That’s a theory proposed by Erik Herzog, Ph.D. assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. Herzog has found that the biological clocks of rats and mice respond directly to temperature changes.