BioClock

The internal biological clock that is remarkably well-conserved throughout a wide range of plant and animal species, including humans. The timing of light exposure, physical activity, and food intake are important cues for proper functioning of the biological clock. However, these inputs have drastically – and abruptly – changed in our modern society: there is a round-the-clock demand for goods and services, and one in five workers is engaged in some form of shift work. Importantly, our night sky is heavily light-polluted which has a far-reaching impact on our ecosystem, changing daily and seasonal timing of a multitude of organisms we share our environment with. At the NIOO-KNAW, we team up with ecologists and chronobiologists all across the Netherlands in the BioClock Consortium to restore healthy rhythms for ourselves and in our natural environment.