William J. Schwartz, M.D., Ph.D. will present seminar: “Chronognosis: A Practical Introduction to Circadian Biology” on 10/20/17 from 11-12 in LIB110.

William J. Schwartz, M.D., Ph.D. to present seminar “Chronognosis: A Practical Introduction to Circadian Biology” on October 20, 2017 from 11-12, LiB 110. Synopsis: Since the dawn of life, most organisms have had to adapt to environmental cycles of light and darkness, and restrict many of their biological activities to specific times of day and night. Central to this adaptation is the evolution of an endogenous, self-sustained, 24-h (circadian) timekeeping mechanism (?clock?) that orchestrates body rhythms for concerted action and synchronizes them to the local time of day. In the last few decades, there have been spectacular advances in our understanding of this clock mechanism. It is a layered system with emergent properties at several levels of organization, including regulatory molecules, cells, circuits, and tissues. This seminar will provide a practical introduction to the terminology, concepts, and strategies for work in this field.