Feel the rhythm.

Three scientists have been awarded the nobel prize for physiology or medicine for single (ok, triple) handedly transitioning the field of chronobiology from an astrological to biochemical designation. The serious physiological detriments of shift work, jet lag (travel or social) and even screen time could not be understood without their landmark sequencing of the period gene in the 1980s. Speaking of shift work, we now know this period gene pulls all-nighters on the reg to nocturnally build-up the PER protein only for it to be daily broken down through a negative feedback loop--an intricate process which has since become recognized as a key component of circadian rhythms. In fact, there was a period of time when the influence of circadian rhythms on carcinogenesis and timing of cancer treatments were all the rage, and we will be surprised if chrono-oncology doesn’t make a come-back as we learn more about its implications on the cell cycle.