The biological clock­ timekeeper for virtually every activity within living things, from sleep patterns to respiration is a single protein, Purdue University researchers report.

D. James and Dorothy Morré have discovered ECTO-NOX protein, which is responsible for setting the length of periods of activity and inactivity within cells. If the protein is altered, an organism's body will experience 'days' of different length. "We can now begin to understand the complex chain of events that connect the clock to events in the body," said James Morré. "Since the clock affects nearly every bodily activity, this discovery holds myriad potential applications, from minimizing jet lag to determining when best to administer cancer drugs." "Now we have an opportunity to tell how organisms tell time," said Dorothy Morré. "This could give us new insights into cellular activity, such as cholesterol synthesis, respiration, heart rhythms, response to drugs, sleep, alertness - there's so much." >from *Purdue researchers discover basis for biological clock*, january 6, 2003

related context
> circadian clock genes. june 24, 2002
> eye's photoreceptor control biological clock. august 15, 2001

imago
> bioclock activity