Biologists Discover Biochemical Link Between Biological Clock and Diabetes

Zhang and UCSD colleagues discovered a protein with a biochemical link between biological clock and diabetes. They discovered that an organism with an irregular biological clock has a greater risk to obesity and insulin resistance. Cryptochrome was first discovered as a key protein regulating the biological clocks of plants. Since the discovery, cryptochrome has been found in the nuclei of animal cells. Prior to this study, the role of cryptochrome was to switch genes on and off in a rhythmic way, controlling an organism's biological clock. Eric Zhang and his colleagues found that this protein not only controls the biological clock but also regulates gluconeogenesis, the process in which our bodies supply a constant concentration of glucose required for homeostasis. By regulating cryptochrome, the scientists have aiding in diabetic treatment. This new connection has opened a new realm of diabetic treatment.

I choose this article because it proposes a new view on one of the leading problems in America. Diabetes, obesity and diet related illnesses are a major pandemic in America. This article is unique because it poses solutions not only to diabetes but to other illness that may have a connection to the biological clock. Eric Zhang will now be researching for more links between biological clocks and diseases.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100919131856.htm