Synopsis
This book is an introduction to a basic property of life, one mostly unknown to science and the public until the latter half of the last century: Humans, plants, and animals have within their bodies a kind of clock that synchronizes much of what they do throughout their lives to the time of day and the seasons, and in the case of the sea-dwelling organisms, the tides. This timepiece performs its service autonomously - it rules silently within us without us giving a thought to it.
Three chapters are devoted to the human clock: its disruptive action in transmeridional travel and shift work, its oversight in most every aspect of our physiology, and how doctors being aware of its action can save lives. Other major subjects describe the role in piloting birds in homing and migration, guiding the seasonal reproduction of plants and animals, and its influence on shore dwellers. The book closes with a description of the clockworks' escapement.
À propos de l?auteur
After earning his doctorate at Northwestern in 1962, John Palmer taught at the University of Illinois, and chaired the Biology Departments at New York University, and the University of Massachusetts. He spends most summers at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole. MA, and has worked at other marine labs around the world. He has done research in the field of chronobiology for 39 years, and has published more books on the subject than any other author.
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