Circadian clock in pancreas directly linked to diabetes

Friday, June 18, 2010 - 14:30 in Biology & Nature

The pancreas has its own molecular clock. Now, for the first time, a new study has shown this ancient circadian clock regulates the production of insulin. If the clock is faulty, the result is diabetes. The researchers show that insulin-secreting islet cells in the pancreas, called beta-cells, have their own dedicated clock. The clock governs the rhythmic behavior of proteins and genes involved in insulin secretion, with oscillations over a 24-hour cycle.

Read the whole article on Science Daily

More from Science Daily

Latest Science Newsletter

Get the latest and most popular science news articles of the week in your Inbox! It's free!

Check out our next project, Biology.Net