Scientists identify cellular switches that regulate biological clock

Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified a major gear in the body’s biological clock that tells it when to sleep and metabolize food. They showed that two cellular switches called REV-ERB-α and REV-ERB-β, which are found in on the nucleus of mouse cells, are essential for maintained normal sleep and eating cycles, as well as for metabolism of nutrients from food. "This fundamentally changes our knowledge about the workings of the circadian clock and how it orchestrates our sleep-wake cycles, when we eat and even the times our bodies metabolize nutrients," Ron Evans, who led the research team, said. "Nuclear receptors can be targeted with drugs, which suggests we might be able to target REV-ERB-α and β to treat disorders of sleep and metabolism." The scientists also discovered that the REV-ERBs control the activity of hundreds of genes involved in metabolism, such as those responsible for controlling levels of fat and bile.