SciBar: It's All In The Timing - Understanding Circadian Clocks

Chronobiologist Alexis Webb will discuss why some of us need that Saturday lie-in more than others.

How does our body know that we should wake up in the morning and go to bed at night?
Our daily rhythm is maintained by an internal clock that schedules our behaviour and physiology to local time. The cells in our bodies can tell the time – they have what is called a 'circadian clock' which helps us maintain a 24-hour sleep wake cycle.

Alexis Webb is an American chronobiologist who is interested in how individual cells can keep such precise time. She will discuss her work to understand how the cells in our brain act as clocks and how differences in cellular clock behaviour can contribute to things like jetlag and why some of us need that Saturday lie-in more than others.