Bunker Experiment
   HOME





Bunker Experiment
The bunker experiment was a scientific experiment that began in 1966 to test whether humans, like other species, have an intrinsic circadian clock. It was started by Jürgen Aschoff and Rütger Wever of the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Physiology and later taken over by Jürgen Zulley. Participants lived in a bunker for multiple weeks while scientists measured their daily rhythms in many variables. The main conclusion of the experiment was that humans have an intrinsic clock with a period greater than 24 hours. The experiment also established many features of this clock and paved the way for future circadian studies. Background Before this experiment, scientists had already discovered that many plant and animal species have intrinsic clocks that can operate independently of external time cues. It is now known that these clocks operate based on molecular oscillations, using transcription-translation feedback loops and metabolic feedback loops. External cues, notably light ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Circadian Clock
A circadian clock, or circadian oscillator, also known as one’s internal alarm clock is a biochemical oscillator that cycles with a stable phase and is synchronized with solar time. Such a clock's ''in vivo'' period is necessarily almost exactly 24 hours (the earth's current solar day). In most living organisms, internally synchronized circadian clocks make it possible for the organism to anticipate daily environmental changes corresponding with the day–night cycle and adjust its biology and behavior accordingly. The term circadian derives from the Latin ''circa'' (about) ''dies'' (a day), since when taken away from external cues (such as environmental light), they do not run to exactly 24 hours. Clocks in humans in a lab in constant low light, for example, will average about 24.2 hours per day, rather than 24 hours exactly. The normal body clock oscillates with an endogenous period of exactly 24 hours, it entrains, when it receives sufficient daily corrective signals from ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Ronald J
Ronald is a masculine given name derived from the Old Norse ''Rögnvaldr'', Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) p. 234; Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Ronald. or possibly from Old English '' Regenweald''. In some cases ''Ronald'' is an Anglicised form of the Gaelic '' Raghnall'', a name likewise derived from ''Rögnvaldr''. The latter name is composed of the Old Norse elements ''regin'' ("advice", "decision") and ''valdr'' ("ruler"). ''Ronald'' was originally used in England and Scotland, where Scandinavian influences were once substantial, although now the name is common throughout the English-speaking world. A short form of ''Ronald'' is ''Ron''. Pet forms of ''Ronald'' include ''Roni'' and '' Ronnie''. ''Ronalda'' and ''Rhonda'' are feminine forms of ''Ronald''. ''Rhona'', a modern name apparently only dating back to the late nineteenth century, may have originated as a feminine form of ''Ronald''. Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) pp. 230, 408; Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Rhona. The names ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Jet Lag
Jet lag is a temporary physiological condition that occurs when a person's circadian rhythm is out of sync with the time zone they are in, and is a typical result from travelling rapidly across multiple time zones (east–west or west–east). For example, someone travelling from New York to London, i.e. from west to east, feels as if the time were five hours ''earlier'' than local time, and someone travelling from London to New York, i.e. from east to west, feels as if the time were five hours ''later'' than local time. The phase shift when travelling from east to west is referred to as ''phase-delay'' of the circadian cycle, whereas going west to east is ''phase-advance'' of the cycle. Most travellers find that it is harder to adjust time zones when travelling east. Jet lag is caused by a misalignment between the internal circadian clock and the external environment, and it has been classified within the category of a circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorder, reflecting its bas ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Shift Work
Shift work is an employment practice designed to keep a service or production line operational at all times. The practice typically sees the day divided into shifts, set periods of time during which different groups of workers perform their duties. The term "shift work" includes both long-term night shifts and work schedules in which employees change or rotate shifts. In medicine and epidemiology, shift work is considered a risk factor for some health problems in some individuals, as disruption to circadian rhythms may increase the probability of developing cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment, diabetes, altered body composition and obesity, among other conditions. History The shift work system in modern industrial manufacturing originated in the late 18th century. In 1867, Karl Marx wrote on the shift work system in '' Capital, Volume 1'': Capitalist production therefore drives, by its inherent nature, towards the appropriation of labour throughout the whole of th ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Nobel Prize In Physiology Or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine () is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's 1895 will, are awarded "to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind". Nobel Prizes are awarded in the fields of Physics, Medicine or Physiology, Chemistry, Literature, and Peace. The Nobel Prize is presented annually on the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death, 10 December. As of 2024, 115 Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine have been awarded to 229 laureates, 216 men and 13 women. The first one was awarded in 1901 to the German physiologist, Emil von Behring, for his work on serum therapy and the development of a vaccine against diphtheria. The first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Gerty Cori, received it in 1947 for her role in elucida ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Michael W
Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect), English 13th-century Bishop of Hereford elect * Michael (Khoroshy) (1885–1977), cleric of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada * Michael Donnellan (fashion designer), Michael Donnellan (1915–1985), Irish-born London fashion designer, often referred to simply as "Michael" * Michael (footballer, born 1982), Brazilian footballer * Michael (footballer, born 1983), Brazilian footballer * Michael (footballer, born 1993), Brazilian footballer * Michael (footballer, born February 1996), Brazilian footballer * Michael (footballer, born March 1996), Brazilian footballer * Michael (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer Rulers Byzantine emperors *Michael I Rangabe (d. 844), married the daughter of Emperor Nikephoros I *Michael II (770–829), called "the Stammerer" and "the Amorian" *Michael III ( ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Michael Rosbash
Michael Morris Rosbash (born March 7, 1944) is an American geneticist and chronobiologist. Rosbash is a professor and researcher at Brandeis University and investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Rosbash's research group cloned the ''Drosophila'' period gene in 1984 and proposed the Transcription Translation Negative Feedback Loop for circadian clocks in 1990. In 1998, they discovered the cycle gene, clock gene, and cryptochrome photoreceptor in ''Drosophila'' through the use of forward genetics, by first identifying the phenotype of a mutant and then determining the genetics behind the mutation. Rosbash was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2003. Along with Michael W. Young and Jeffrey C. Hall, he was awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm". Life Michael Rosbash was born in Kansas City, Missouri. His parents, Hilde and Alfred Rosbash, were Jewish ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Jeffrey C
Jeffrey may refer to: * Jeffrey (name) Jeffrey is a common English language, English given name, and a variant form of the name Geoffrey (given name), Geoffrey (itself from a Middle French variant of Godfrey (name), Godfrey, Gottfried). It has been argued that the common derivation of ..., including a list of people with the name * Jeffrey's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada * Jeffrey City, Wyoming, United States * Jeffrey Street, Sydney, Australia * Jeffreys Bay, Western Cape, South Africa Art and entertainment * ''Jeffrey'' (play), a 1992 off-Broadway play by Paul Rudnick * ''Jeffrey'' (1995 film), a 1995 film by Paul Rudnick, based on Rudnick's play of the same name * ''Jeffrey'' (2016 film), a 2016 Dominican Republic documentary film * Jeffrey's sketch, a sketch on American TV show ''Saturday Night Live'' *'' Nurse Jeffrey'', a spin-off miniseries from the American medical drama series ''House, MD'' People with the surname * Alexander Jeffrey (1806–1874), Scottish s ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Period (gene)
Period (per) is a gene located on the X chromosome of '' Drosophila melanogaster''. Oscillations in levels of both ''per'' transcript and its corresponding protein PER have a period of approximately 24 hours and together play a central role in the molecular mechanism of the ''Drosophila'' biological clock driving circadian rhythms in eclosion and locomotor activity. Mutations in the per gene can shorten (''perS''), lengthen (''perL''), and even abolish (''per0'') the period of the circadian rhythm. Discovery The period gene and three mutants (''perS'', ''perL'', and ''per0'') were isolated in an EMS mutagenesis screen by Ronald Konopka and Seymour Benzer in 1971. The ''perS'', ''perL'', and ''per0'' mutations were found to not complement each other, so it was concluded that the three phenotypes were due to mutations in the same gene. The discovery of mutants that altered the period of circadian rhythms in eclosion and locomotor activity (''perS'' and ''perL'') indicated ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Seymour Benzer
Seymour Benzer (October 15, 1921 – November 30, 2007) was an American physicist, molecular biologist and behavioral geneticist. His career began during the molecular biology revolution of the 1950s, and he eventually rose to prominence in the fields of molecular and behavioral genetics. He led a productive genetics research lab both at Purdue University and as the James G. Boswell Professor of Neuroscience, emeritus, at the California Institute of Technology. Biography Early life and education Benzer was born in the South Bronx to Meir Benzer and Eva Naidorf, both Ashkenazi Jews, Jews from Poland. He had two older sisters, and his parents favored him as the only boy. One of Benzer's earliest scientific experiences was dissecting frogs he had caught as a boy. In an interview at Caltech, Benzer also remembered receiving a microscope for his 13th birthday, “and that opened up the whole world.” The book ''Arrowsmith (novel), Arrowsmith'' by Sinclair Lewis heavily influenced th ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Melatonin
Melatonin, an indoleamine, is a natural compound produced by various organisms, including bacteria and eukaryotes. Its discovery in 1958 by Aaron B. Lerner and colleagues stemmed from the isolation of a substance from the pineal gland of cows that could induce skin lightening in common frogs. This compound was later identified as a hormone secreted in the brain during the night, playing a crucial role in regulating the sleep-wake cycle, also known as the circadian rhythm, in vertebrates. In vertebrates, melatonin's functions extend to Entrainment (chronobiology), synchronizing sleep-wake cycles, encompassing sleep-wake timing and blood pressure regulation, as well as controlling seasonal rhythmicity (circannual cycle), which includes reproduction, fattening, molting, and hibernation. Its effects are mediated through the activation of melatonin receptors and its role as an antioxidant. In plants and bacteria, melatonin primarily serves as a defense mechanism against oxidative ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Jürgen Aschoff
Jürgen Walther Ludwig Aschoff (January 25, 1913 – October 12, 1998) was a German physician, biologist and behavioral physiologist. Together with Erwin Bünning and Colin Pittendrigh, he is considered to be a co-founder of the field of chronobiology. Aschoff's work in the field of chronobiology introduced ideas of light interactions in the circadian rhythms of nocturnal and diurnal species as summarized by Aschoff's Rules. Life Aschoff was born in Freiburg Im Breisgau, the fifth child of pathologist Ludwig Aschoff (known for discovering the Aschoff-Tawara or atrioventricular node) and his wife Clara. He grew up in the liberal but morally strict world of Prussian academia. After the Abitur at a humanistic high school, he – according to his own statement "lacking a specific interest" – studied medicine at the University of Bonn, where he joined the Burschenschaft (fraternity) Alemannia Bonn. Aschoff's scientific career began in 1938, when he moved to the University of Göttin ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]