Liver helps 'set' body clock
A disrupted body clock can cause a higher risk of obesity and diabetes, but this breakthrough suggets a new target for treatments to 'reset' the clock. Image: YinYang/iStockphoto International travellers, shift workers and even people suffering from obesity-related conditions stand to benefit from a key discovery about the functioning of the body's internal clock.Professor Chris Liddle, from the Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research, the University of Sydney, worked with a team from the Salk Institute based in California, to demonstrate the importance of circadian receptors found in the brain and the liver. Their findings are published in Nature today."The research is important as these are the first core component of the circadian clock identified that can be targeted with drugs, which could provide relief for those affected by disrupted circadian rhythms," said Professor Liddle.The circadian clock is an internal daily body clock that controls alertness, appetite, sleep timing and hormone secretions."Previously...