Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.
Subscribe

Logo for

Science 337 (6096): 805-806

Copyright © 2012 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Circadian Time Redoxed

Mino D. C. Belle, and Hugh D. Piggins

In all living cells, oxidation and reduction (redox) processes occur as potentially harmful oxidizing or reducing agents (free radicals), such as nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), accumulate as by-products of metabolism. In response, biologically active molecules quickly stabilize the relative concentrations of these redox agents. Although redox processes have been associated with cellular housekeeping and homeostasis, recent research has provided a new twist on cellular redox states, linking them to the intrinsic daily (circadian) clock (1–4). On page 839 in this issue, T. A. Wang et al. (5) show that the molecular circadian clock and redox states regulate the electrical activity of the neurons that comprise the mammalian central circadian clock.

Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, UK.

E-mail: hugh.d.piggins{at}manchester.ac.uk

To Advertise     Find Products

Science Signaling. ISSN 1937-9145 (online), 1945-0877 (print). Pre-2008: Science's STKE. ISSN 1525-8882