Timing of Biological Clocks

"A clock," writes Arthur T. Winfree, "is not much good if you can't pull out its stem and set it."

Similarly, the most critical property of biological clocks--which rhythmically organize the processes of life--is their ability to reset on cue.

This ability allows enables biological clocks to regain synchrony with a changing environment (as when we travel across time zones) or to maintain the alignment between certain physiological rhythms and the natural solar day.

In The Timing of Biologic...