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

光和温条件在一天中有节奏地变化。为了提高生存机会，有机体需要提前了解这些变化。就像手表可以让人类组织一天一样，生物体进化出了内部时钟，使它们能够辨别一天中的时间，并相应地调整自己的行为。生物钟有些不准确，与一天的24小时节律相比，自然会稍微快一点或慢一点。因此，如果没有调整，生物钟很快就会与环境不同步，指示错误的一天中的时间。然而，在自然界中，光和温度条件下的24小时节律会加快或减慢生物钟的工作速度，使其精确到24小时，这样生物钟就可以保持准确的计时器。尽管现在已经知道了很多关于构建生物钟的分子，但我们对于生物钟是如何与现实世界同步的图景仍然不完整。我们建议确定帮助时钟使其时钟与环境同步的分子和机制。

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.