Jeffrey C. Hall . American researcher and scientist, winner of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Medicine. Discoverer of the molecular mechanisms behind circadian rhythms, known as the functioning of the body’s biological clock . This mechanism helps regulate sleep, eating, and many other things like jetlag.
Summary
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- 1 Biographical synthesis
- 2 Studies and scientific career
- 3Awards and distinctions
- 4Biological clock
- 1 The cause of jet lag
- 5 Sources
Biographical synthesis
He was born on 3 of maypole of 1945 , in the city of [ `Brooklyn]], New York , United States .
Studies and scientific trajectory
He graduated in 1971 from Ph.D. in genetics from the University of Washington and transferred to a position at Brandeis University in 1974. He spent his entire career studying the neurological components of fly courtship and its behavioral rhythms.
American geneticist and chronobiologist, focused on the neurology and behavior of Drosophila melanogaster. Thanks to these observations, he made contributions on the functioning of biological clocks, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Medicine. He is currently a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Awards and distinctions
- Genetics Society of America Medal (2003)
- Gruber Prize for Neuroscience (2009)
- Louisa Gross Horwitz Award (2011)
- International Canada Gairdner Award (2012)
- Massry Award (2012)
- Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2017)
Biological clock
Most living creatures on Earth , including humans, are adapted to the rotation of the planet thanks to an internal biological clock that sets, for example, sleep patterns and metabolism. For many years, scientists have known about these circadian rhythms. American scientist Jeffrey C. Hall unraveled in the 1980s how such a watch is actually wound. That is, what are the molecular mechanisms that control it, for which it has been recognized by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm with the 2017 Nobel Prize in Medicine.
The first clue to the existence of this biological clock was obtained by the astronomer Jean Jacques d’Ortous de Mairan in the 18th century while studying mimosa plants , whose leaves open towards the Sun during the day and close at dusk. When he placed the plants in constant darkness, he discovered that regardless of the [[sunlight, the leaves followed their daily oscillation. They responded to invisible hands.
Other researchers, such as Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young, found that not only plants, but also animals and humans adapt to the fluctuations of the day, which is known as the circadian rhythm.
Using humble fruit flies as a model organism, the researchers isolated a gene that controls biological rhythm based on the 24-hour cycles of night and day. They showed that this gene encodes a protein that accumulates in the cell during the night, and then breaks down during the day. Later, they identified additional protein components of this machinery, so that they were able to recognize the mechanism that governs this kind of clockwork within the cell. Thanks to that, scientists now know that biological clocks work on the same principles in cells of other multicellular organisms, including ourselves.
The cause of jet lag
The clock regulates critical functions such as behavior, hormone levels, sleep, body temperature, and metabolism
With exquisite precision, our internal clock adapts our physiology to radically different phases of the day. The clock regulates critical functions, such as behavior, hormone levels, sleep, body temperature and metabolism, explain from the Karolinska Institute. In this way, our well-being is affected when there is a temporary mismatch between our external environment and the internal biological clock, for example when we travel through various time zones and experience the dreaded and heavy «jet lag», disorders similar to those that causes shift work.
There are indications that the chronic mismatch between our lifestyle and the rhythm dictated by our internal timer is associated with an increased risk of suffering from various diseases such as diabetes, mental health problems and even some types of cancer and possible alterations in function cerebral. One of the latest research in respect of Northwestern University (Illinois) says that our internal clock is able to set how and when the pancreas to produce insulin and control the sugar in the blood. Some pharmaceutical companies even experiment with medicines capable of restoring the correct rhythm in those people who, due to their way of life, are exposed to disorders of this type.
The field that opens is vast. Francisco Martín, a researcher at the Cajal Institute of the CSIC, has no doubt that it is a “well deserved” award. He also works on circadian rhythms with the fruit fly, like the nobel winners. In his opinion, the path opened by the three American scientists will allow attacking diseases from another path. Cancer and Alzheimer’s are two possibilities. «Today it is known that patients with a type of brain cancer (glioma) and people with Alzheimer’s have altered their circadian rhythm. They do not sleep well and sometimes they do not know if it is day or night, is it an effect of the disease or a consequence? We don’t know that yet, but it is a new perspective to explore. At the very least, we would improve the patient’s life, “he says.
