Cracking the Code of the Circadian Clock: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2017
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70284/njirm.v9i3.2365Keywords:
circadian rhythm, suprachiasmatic nucleus, melatonin, sleep-wake switch, zeitgebers, thalamusAbstract
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2017 has been awarded for unraveling the mystery of the circadian rhythm. There are four main proteins involved: Period, Timeless, Cycle and Clock. Period was discovered by Jeffrey Hall and Michael Roshbach at Brandeis University (Boston, USA ), Timeless by Michael Young at Rockefeller Institute (NY, USA ); a Japanese scientist, Joseph Takahashi, discovered the Clock and and Cycle genes , which regulate the previous two. These findings will enable us to make future advancements in the treatment of sleep disorders. Melatonin is also currently being used for treating circadian rhythm disturbances. Now we know how it works ! [S Paralikar, Natl J Integr Res Med, 2018; 9(3):1-2]
References
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