Tick tock, early death

Research from Oregon State University (1) shows that the flaws and the failure in the circadian rhythms can be attributed to neurodegeneration and early death. Impaired biological clocks seem to unleash a series of events with negative effects on the brain and health in general. Although the study does not address this, one has to wonder the possible negative effects on the human psyche from lack of sleep, international travel and overworking.

Humans arrived on the earth, a few thousands years ago, when it served up an environment of predictable cycles. They acclimatized with it and grew in tune with the sun – their bodies expecting highly predictable rhythms. They hunted when there was light and hid from predators at night. They slept when it was safe to sleep and did not when it was not so. The whole human system is built up on highly predictable rhythms, driven by the sun and the moon. Modern human, changed all of these – ushering in a series of diseases – that are generally called auto-immune diseases. They won the battle against the bugs but they lost the war against themselves.

At the present rate, it is likely that most humans will face a form of auto-immune disease before their death. In the future, it is most likely a disease of the brain will be the cause of death as most others can be solved mechanistically. The brain still remains beyond the grasp of the mighty human.

(1) Loss of circadian clock accelerates aging in neurodegeneration-prone mutants. Authors: Krishnan, Natraj,Rakshit, Kuntol,Chow, Eileen S.,Wentzell, Jill S.,Kretzschmar, Doris,Giebultowicz, Jadwiga M. 

Citation URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1957/26511