Science on Tap: Circadian Rhythms – A look at how the clock controls our physiology

Circadian rhythm (sr-kd-n): A daily cycle of biological activity based on a  24-hour period and influenced by regular variations in the environment,  such as the alternation of night and day. Circadian rhythms include  sleeping and waking in animals, flower closing and opening in plants,  and tissue growth and differentiation in fungi. As a consequence of our rotation about the earth's axis, life has evolved a mechanism to coordinate physiology to the solar day and the external environment.   This light sensitive coordination is accomplished by the circadian  clock, which is present in nearly all walks of life: from bacteria to  humans, and at the core of this temporal regulation are a handful of  proteins that generate a molecular oscillator at the level of gene  expression. 
Come grab a drink or a delicious appetizer and hear Dr.  Carrie Partch, a principal investigator in UCSC's Chemistry and  Biochemistry Department, discuss this phenomenon in more detail and the  impact that disruption of the circadian clock has on human physiology  and disease.
For more information about Dr. Carrie Partch, see her website at: http://partch.chemistry.ucsc.edu/index.html.