Circadian Rhythms
17 Dec, 2015
570 Biology
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the evolution and role of Circadian Rhythms, the so-called body clock that influences an organism’s daily cycle of physical, behavioural and mental changes. The rhythms are generated within organisms and also in response to external stimuli, mainly light and darkness. They are found throughout the living world, from bacteria to plants, fungi to animals and, in humans, are noticed most clearly in sleep patterns.
Guests
-
Russell Foster No other episodes
Professor of Circadian Neuroscience at the University of Oxford -
Debra Skene No other episodes
Professor of Neuroendocrinology at the University of Surrey - Steve Jones
22 episodes
Emeritus Professor of Genetics at University College London
Reading list
-
Seasons of Life: The Biological Rhythms That Enable Living Things to Thrive and Survive
Russell G. Foster and Leon Kreitzman (Profile Books, 2009) Google Books → -
The Rhythms Of Life: The Biological Clocks That Control the Daily Lives of Every Living Thing
Russell G. Foster and Leon Kreitzman (Profile Books, 2004) Google Books → -
Sleepfaring: A Journey through the Science of Sleep
Jim Horne (Oxford University Press, 2006) Google Books → -
The Secret World of Sleep: The Surprising Science of the Mind at Rest
Penelope A. Lewis (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) Google Books → -
Sleep: A Very Short Introduction
Steven W. Lockley and Russell G. Foster (Oxford University Press, 2012) Google Books → -
Counting Sheep: The Science and Pleasures of Sleep and Dreams
Paul Martin (Flamingo, 2010) Google Books →
Related episodes
-
The Calendar
19 Dec, 2002 520 Astronomy -
Photosynthesis
14 May, 2020 570 Biology -
The Brain and Consciousness
19 Nov, 1998 150 Psychology -
Plankton
5 Oct, 2023 570 Biology -
The Measurement of Time
29 Mar, 2012 520 Astronomy -
Eclipses
31 Dec, 2020 520 Astronomy -
The Cell
13 Sep, 2012 570 Biology -
Evolutionary Psychology
2 Nov, 2000 150 Psychology -
Imagination and Consciousness
29 Jun, 2000 120 Epistemology -
Complexity
19 Dec, 2013 500 Science -
Consciousness
25 Nov, 1999 120 Epistemology -
Neuroscience in the 20th century
24 Dec, 1998 610 Medicine and health -
Automata
20 Sep, 2018 600 Technology -
Enzymes
1 Jun, 2017 570 Biology -
The Nervous System
10 Feb, 2011 610 Medicine and health -
Chaos Theory
16 May, 2002 500 Science -
Behavioural Ecology
11 Dec, 2014 570 Biology -
Bird Migration
18 Jun, 2020 590 Animals (Zoology) -
Mitochondria
1 Jun, 2023 570 Biology -
The Brain
8 May, 2008 610 Medicine and health
Programme ID: b06rzd44
Episode page: bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06rzd44
Auto-category: 573 (Biological rhythms)