Circadian Rhythms

17 Dec, 2015 570 Biology

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the evolution and role of Circadian Rhythms, the so-called body clock that influences an organism’s daily cycle of physical, behavioural and mental changes. The rhythms are generated within organisms and also in response to external stimuli, mainly light and darkness. They are found throughout the living world, from bacteria to plants, fungi to animals and, in humans, are noticed most clearly in sleep patterns.

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Guests

  • Russell Foster No other episodes
    Professor of Circadian Neuroscience at the University of Oxford
  • Debra Skene No other episodes
    Professor of Neuroendocrinology at the University of Surrey
  • Steve Jones 22 episodes
    Emeritus Professor of Genetics at University College London

Reading list

  • Seasons of Life: The Biological Rhythms That Enable Living Things to Thrive and Survive
    Russell G. Foster and Leon Kreitzman (Profile Books, 2009) Google Books →
  • The Rhythms Of Life: The Biological Clocks That Control the Daily Lives of Every Living Thing
    Russell G. Foster and Leon Kreitzman (Profile Books, 2004) Google Books →
  • Sleepfaring: A Journey through the Science of Sleep
    Jim Horne (Oxford University Press, 2006) Google Books →
  • The Secret World of Sleep: The Surprising Science of the Mind at Rest
    Penelope A. Lewis (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) Google Books →
  • Sleep: A Very Short Introduction
    Steven W. Lockley and Russell G. Foster (Oxford University Press, 2012) Google Books →
  • Counting Sheep: The Science and Pleasures of Sleep and Dreams
    Paul Martin (Flamingo, 2010) Google Books →

Related episodes

Programme ID: b06rzd44

Episode page: bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06rzd44

Auto-category: 573 (Biological rhythms)

Hello (First sentence from this episode) Hello. Circadian rhythms are a biological version of a clock inside humans and all other animals, and they're in plants and quite possibly in almost every living cell.