Identifying novel pathways and mechanisms that synchronize circadian clocks with the environment

光线和温度条件在一天中有节奏地变化。为了提高生存的机会，生物体需要提前了解这些变化。就像手表能让人类安排一天的时间一样，生物进化出了内部时钟，使它们能够告诉人们现在是什么时间，并相应地调整自己的行为。生物钟有些不准确，与一天24小时的节奏相比，自然倾向于快一点或慢一点。因此，如果不进行调整，生物钟很快就会与环境不同步，并指示错误的时间。然而，在自然界中，光和温度条件下的24小时节律将昼夜节律加快或减慢到精确的24小时，这样昼夜节律钟就可以保持精确的计时器。尽管我们现在对构建生物钟的分子有了很多了解，但我们对生物钟如何与现实世界同步的理解仍然不完整。我们建议确定分子和机制，帮助时钟同步他们的节奏与环境。

Light and temperature conditions change rhythmically over the course of the day. To improve chances of survival organisms need to know about these changes in advance. Like a wristwatch that enables humans to organize their day, organisms have evolved internal clocks that enable them to tell what time of day it is and to adjust their behaviour accordingly. Circadian clocks are somewhat inaccurate and naturally tend to tick slightly faster or slower compared to the 24-hour rhythm of the day. Therefore, without adjustment circadian clocks will soon be out of synchrony with the environment and indicate the wrong time of day. In the natural world, however, the 24-hour rhythms in light and temperature conditions speed up or slow down the circadian clockwork to exactly 24 hours, such that circadian clocks can remain accurate timers. Although a great deal is now known about the molecules that built the circadian clockwork, our picture of how the circadian clock is synchronized to the real world is still patchy. We propose to identify the molecules and mechanisms that help clocks to synchronize their rhtyhm to that of the environment.