Circadian Clocks Content

For This Beetle, ‘Date Night’ Comes Every Other Day

Andy Fell — January 18, 2024 - 8:00am

Life on Earth runs on a 24-hour cycle as the planet turns. Animals and plants have built-in circadian clocks that synchronize metabolism and behavior to this daily cycle. But one beetle is out of sync with the rest of nature.

Circadian Clock Controls Sunflower Blooms, Optimizing for Pollinators

Andy Fell — January 17, 2023 - 11:00am

An internal circadian clock controls the distinctive concentric rings of flowering in sunflowers, maximizing visits from pollinators, a new study from plant biologists at the University of California, Davis, shows. The work is published Jan. 13 in eLife.

Sunflowers Move by the Clock

Andy Fell — August 04, 2016 - 1:56pm

Plant biologists at 51�ԹϺ�� Davis and colleagues have discovered how sunflowers use their internal circadian clock, acting on growth hormones, to follow the sun during the day as they grow. Following the sun allows the plants to grow faster and put on more biomass. Mature flowers face east, where warm morning sun encourages pollinators.