Some say the biological clock is linked to lunar cycles or sunspots, but a husband and wife team has discovered that a single protein could be Nature's timepiece.

The findings, published in Biochemistry, have wide-reaching implications because “...the body's clock affects nearly every bodily activity...”, as James Morré, who has been intrigued with the biological clock for over 40 years, told The Indianapolis Star (12 January). Together with his wife, Dorothy, he isolated a single, cylinder-shaped protein that apparently directs 12-minute periods each of growth and rest in living cells. The couple propose that the protein has two faces. “One handles cell enlargement. Then the protein 'flips over', allowing the second face to carry out other activities while cell enlargement rests.”

The Morrés verified the protein's links to biological clocks by cloning the gene and altering it to produce different period lengths. “The 'day' that the cell experienced was precisely 60 times the period length of the protein's cycle” (BBC News,12 January).

Dorothy Morré declared “This could give us new insights into cellular activity, such as cholesterol synthesis, respiration, heart rhythms, responses to drugs, sleep, alertness...”, providing a potential wealth of clinical applications. Currently, though, they want to build up a better picture of the protein, adding that “...the practical applications would be best left to drug firms and medical experts.”