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This site was designed to be used by high school biology teachers who want to address the nature of science.
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The Nature of Science: Biological Clocks |
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How would you know when to wake up or go to sleep if you didn’t have a clock? Scientists
have conducted studies where they have isolated people, such as in well-furnished caves,
for weeks at a time. They observe what happens to the times in which they are sleeping
and active when they have no clue about the time of day.
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Fruit flies, Drosophila, are active at certain times within a natural
24-hour cycle. How do they coordinate the timing of their activities?
What happens to their behavior when they are isolated from the normal
light/dark cycle of the day? In this activity you will explore fruit fly
behavior and be able to test hypotheses about what controls their cycle
of activity.
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Having examined the factors that seem to shift Drosophila circadian rhythms, a
new question should come to mind: "What's going on that causes these behaviors?"
Through a slide show and a reading you will begin to understand what is happening
at the cellular level that will explain the cycle of fruit fly behaviors.
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Having examined the cause for circadian rhythms in one organism, we switch our
focus to other animals. In this activity you will trace the scientific study of
circadian rhythms from insects to mammals. And this leads to a consideration of
circadian rhythms in human beings.
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Apply all that you’ve learned about circadian rhythms to solve a real-world
problem. Offer advice to a coach and athletes about how to deal with jet lag.
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