Circadian rhythm, with a period of approximately 24 hours, is one of the most popular biological rhythms or biological clocks in nature. Three American scientists, Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young, won the 2017 Nobel Price in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm. Their work uncovered the molecular mechanisms of a fundamental biological phenomenon and shed lights on the interactions between living organisms and their environments and provided bases for developing therapeutic methods to treat circadian rhythm-related diseases. This article summarizes the history of the circadian rhythm research, describes the molecular mechanisms of circadian rhythm, and discusses the future research of biological rhythm and its potential application in medicine and agriculture.

2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine  /  circadian rhythm  /  biological clock