Rhythms of Life: The biological clocks that control the daily lives of every living thing by Russell Foster and Leon Kreitzman, Profile, 拢20, ISBN 1861972350
LATE again? Bet it鈥檚 for work, and not for the spring migration. It鈥檚 not your fault. Even the noisiest alarm clocks and tightest timetables cannot tame the natural daily rhythms human bodies obey. In Rhythms of Life, we get a glimpse of the curious workings of those inner timekeepers. We are reliably informed by biology professor Russell Foster of Imperial College London that the rectal temperature of second-year physiology students fluctuates rhythmically, with a low point around 4 to 6 am and a high point 12 to 14 hours later.
Unlike the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, real animals rarely miss their appointments. They can be relied upon to show up punctually, hours, months or years hence. Their lives depend on it. The Magicicada nymph lives underground for 17 years before emerging into the light to moult into a winged cicada. The bison of Yellowstone National Park unfailingly begin their annual migration in the spring. The flowers of some species of daisy open and close like clockwork, and the bees that pollinate them can be relied upon to turn up at just the right time.
Advertisement
With co-author Leon Kreitzman, Foster has produced a scholarly, fascinating book about circadian rhythms that鈥檚 bang on time. Just weeks after George Bush announced plans for a manned mission to Mars, here is a warning about the havoc that longer Martian days will wreak on the pioneers鈥� bodies. Here also is the recently completed molecular mechanism for the fruit fly Drosophila鈥檚 internal clock.
The genetics is not for beginners, but the scope of the book as a whole is extraordinary. There are philosophical musings on time, and harsh words for doctors who turn a blind eye to the body鈥檚 rhythms. There鈥檚 even an appendix on how to avoid jet lag, so you may safely read this book on the plane.