US geneticists Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young were awarded the Nobel Medicine Prize on Monday for shedding light on the biological clock that governs the sleep-wake cycles of most living things. The team's work revealed the role of genes in setting the "circadian clock" which regulates sleep and eating patterns, hormones and body temperature, the Nobel committee said.
"Their discoveries explain how plants, animals and humans adapt their biological rhythm so that it is synchronised with the Earth's revolutions." All life on Earth is tuned to the rotation of our planet. Scientists have long known that living organisms, including humans, have an internal timekeeper that helps them anticipate and adapt to the rhythm of the day.
Hall, 72, Rosbash, 73, and Young, 68, "were able to peek inside our biological clock and elucidate its inner workings," the jury said. They identified genes that regulate the clock, and the mechanism by which light can synchronise it. Rosbash told Swedish Radio he was rattled when the committee's call woke him from his sleep at 5:10 am.
"I was called on the landline next to my bed which never rings unless someone has died or something of this magnitude happens," he recounted. "I was breathless, both literally and figuratively. My wife said: 'Please start to breathe'." Young told reporters in New York the prize "really did take me by surprise." "I really had trouble even getting my shoes on this morning. You know, I'd go and pick up the shoes and then I'd realise I needed socks and then I'd realise I needed to put my pants on first."
A disrupted circadian clock is what causes jetlag - which happens when the internal clock and external environment move out of sync as people rapidly change time zones. The clock also regulates sleep, which is critical for normal brain function. Circadian dysfunction has been linked to depression, bipolar disorder, cognitive function, poor memory formation and some neurological diseases.
Studies have indicated that a chronic misalignment between a person's lifestyle and the circadian clock - when doing irregular shift work, for example - might be associated with an increased risk for cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, metabolic disorders and inflammation.