Master Pacemaker: Finding the gene that keeps the biological clock ticking
In the first study of its kind for the field of circadian biology, UTM researchers used RNA sequencing to observe the expression of genes in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), a tiny region of the brain’s hypothalamus region that governs the biological clock in mammals. Their findings pinpoint a gene that appears to regulate the biological clock and act as “master control” of the central circadian pacemaker.