How the timing and arrangement of clock proteins affect daily biological rhythms

Circadian clocks regulate ∼24-h oscillations in gene expression and control various physiological processes.

• Every cell in the human body contains a molecular clock that influences behaviors such as sleep and metabolism.
• Circadian clocks operate through feedback loops where core clock genes are activated and then negatively regulated by their own protein products.
• Current knowledge about circadian clocks primarily comes from genetic and biochemical studies.
• The spatial organization of clock proteins, genes, and mRNAs within live clock cells is not well understood.
• Understanding the subcellular organization of these components may provide insights into circadian rhythms at the single cell level.

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