CELLS taken from the 鈥渋nternal clock鈥� of rats can keep time in a culture dish
and reset the rhythms of other rats, say researchers in Texas.
David Earnest and his colleagues at Texas A&M University at College
Station took cells from the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of rat brains, a
region known to control their 24-hour circadian cycle. The team cultured the SCN
cells and found that they preserved their pattern of activity (Science,
vol 283, p 693).
鈥淚f you look at the pattern of rhythm in the animal and the pattern in the
cells, they鈥檙e identical,鈥� says Earnest. What鈥檚 more, when the team transplanted
cells into rats with faulty SCNs, the animals鈥� natural rhythm was restored
within a couple of days.
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