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Nature 452, 294-295 (20 March 2008) | doi:10.1038/452294a; Published online 19 March 2007

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Physiology: Brain comes to light

Hitoshi Okamura1

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To perceive seasons, animals compare changes in day length with the constant cycle of their inner circadian clock. At a molecular level, light signals trigger coordinated gene-expression events in the brain.

To survive, organisms must adapt to the constantly changing conditions of their surroundings. For example, most animals that live at temperate latitudes concentrate their reproductive efforts to times when environmental conditions such as temperature and food availability are optimal for the survival of their offspring.

  1. Hitoshi Okamura is in the Department of Systems Biology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Science, Kyoto University, 46–29 Yoshida-Shimo-Adachi-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.
    Email: okamurah@pharm.kyoto-u.ac.jp

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