Ticking time bomb? High time for chronobiological research

Abstract

The field of chronobiology was thrust into the spotlight with the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded to Jeffrey Hall, Michael Rosbash, and Michael Young for elucidating the genetic makeup and mechanism of our internal 24‐h clock. In addition to recognizing their groundbreaking work, the prize should also serve as a call for molecular and epidemiological research into how our internal 24‐h clock influences health and disease. Indeed, neglecting our internal 24‐h timing system, which coordinates countless fundamental physiological processes, can exacerbate ill‐health conditions such as psychiatric disorders, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and possibly even cancer [1], [2], [3]. Unfortunately, most humans pay little attention to their internal clock and daily light exposure (a key cue for setting and regulating the clock) and too often push their bodies beyond their clocks’ capabilities [1]. Understanding how this may affect health and disease, how certain lifestyles may allow us to work in tune with environmental time (i.e., natural daylight), and how to diffuse a potential ticking time bomb of long‐term health risks is therefore a highly important research endeavor. Concerted and complementary molecular and epidemiological research in chronobiology can assist such ventures [4], [5]. From an evolutionary perspective, it is vital that organisms are able to adapt to the varying demands of the 24‐hour day, including fluctuations in light–darkness, temperature, food availability, and predation. Unsurprisingly, a striking evolutionary legacy of our internal timing …