Circadian Rhythms
17 Dec, 2015
570 Biology
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the evolution and role of Circadian Rhythms, the so-called body clock that influences an organism’s daily cycle of physical, behavioural and mental changes. The rhythms are generated within organisms and also in response to external stimuli, mainly light and darkness. They are found throughout the living world, from bacteria to plants, fungi to animals and, in humans, are noticed most clearly in sleep patterns.
→ Listen on BBC Sounds website
Guests
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Russell Foster No other episodes
Professor of Circadian Neuroscience at the University of Oxford -
Debra Skene No other episodes
Professor of Neuroendocrinology at the University of Surrey - Steve Jones
22 episodes
Emeritus Professor of Genetics at University College London
Reading list
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Seasons of Life: The Biological Rhythms That Enable Living Things to Thrive and Survive
Russell G. Foster and Leon Kreitzman (Profile Books, 2009) Google Books → -
The Rhythms Of Life: The Biological Clocks That Control the Daily Lives of Every Living Thing
Russell G. Foster and Leon Kreitzman (Profile Books, 2004) Google Books → -
Sleepfaring: A Journey through the Science of Sleep
Jim Horne (Oxford University Press, 2006) Google Books → -
The Secret World of Sleep: The Surprising Science of the Mind at Rest
Penelope A. Lewis (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) Google Books → -
Sleep: A Very Short Introduction
Steven W. Lockley and Russell G. Foster (Oxford University Press, 2012) Google Books → -
Counting Sheep: The Science and Pleasures of Sleep and Dreams
Paul Martin (Flamingo, 2010) Google Books →
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Programme ID: b06rzd44
Episode page: bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06rzd44
Auto-category: 573 (Biological rhythms)
Hello (First sentence from this episode)
Hello. Circadian rhythms are a biological version of a clock inside humans and all other animals, and they're in plants and quite possibly in almost every living cell.