Center for Biological Timing

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Nearly all biological systems show periodic patterns of activity. Commonly known examples are daily (circadian), tidal, lunar and yearly rhythms of activities such as sleep, locomotion, migration and reproduction. It remains unclear what kinds of "biological clocks" monitor time and regulate these activities, although some notable progress has been made on certain cases in the past decade. This Center for Biological Timing provides a coordinated effort of seventeen laboratories at three universities, in a way impossible for individual research projects. Molecular, cellular and system-level processes will be studied to see how they generate, synchronize and integrate critical physiological oscillations within neural and endocrine systems. Research at the molecular and cellular levels will concentrate on the role of genetic transcriptional and translational events, the participation of intracellular "second messenger" pathways, and the role of membrane properties in the generation and control of oscillations. Research at the level of functioning systems will concentrate on interrelationships among elements in the timing system, particularly those between oscillating elements themselves, and between oscillators and external cues that entrain or modulate the period or phase of the oscillators. Research on neural and hormonal outputs will focus on how the timing systems and rhythmic processes are integrated into the behavior of the organism, and in turn can be modulated by a number of pathways. A biomathematical core facility will provide a rigorous quantitative framework on which to build the biological analysis of temporal structure. This center exploits a unique opportunity to combine formal mathematical modelling, molecular biology, physiology and behavioral approaches in a unified setting on an important biological issue. It will enhance activity in education and the development of human resources in this multidisciplinary area, and industrial participation is encouraged. Impact of the center will be strong across all fields of biology, and likely on applied areas such as agricultural productivity and human performance.