Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU)
Circadian clocks: how rhythms structure life
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU)

Circadian clocks: how rhythms structure life

Taught in English

Some content may not be translated

13,723 already enrolled

Course

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals

Martha Merrow
Till Roenneberg

Instructors: Martha Merrow

4.8

(204 reviews)

13 hours to complete
3 weeks at 4 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

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9 quizzes

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There are 6 modules in this course

Introduction to 'chronobiology'. What sorts of rhythms are observed in nature? Most of the lecture will be spent on describing daily or circadian rhythms in organisms from bacteria to man.

What's included

9 videos1 reading2 quizzes

Circadian rhythms synchronise to the 24-hour environment. Organisms use specialised photoreceptors to do this and they display characteristic properties in this process. We experience this active synchronisation process for example when we suffer from jet lag!

What's included

5 videos3 readings1 quiz

We will discuss the elaborate molecular mechanisms that allow circadian clocks to produce their daily rhythms and to synchronise them to its environment. We will compare these mechanisms in a wide range of organisms.

What's included

8 videos1 reading1 quiz

Circadian clocks serve to orchestrate physiology and metabolism in a coordinated way over the course of the day. Therefore, practically all processes in an organism are regulated outputs of the clock. We'll discuss examples of these processes and ideas about how this circadian regulation works.

What's included

8 videos1 reading1 quiz

With the appreciation of the clock’s global control, we proceed to discussing how much this temporal programme controls our lives from birth to death and how much we mistreat the circadian clock in modern life.

What's included

6 videos1 reading1 quiz

Finally, we will look at the clock’s relationship to pathology. What are the consequences of living against the clock, what happens if the clock ‘breaks’, and how can we use our knowledge about the circadian system in medical diagnosis and therapy.

What's included

11 videos3 quizzes1 peer review

Instructors

Instructor ratings
4.9 (68 ratings)
Martha Merrow
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU)
1 Course13,723 learners
Till Roenneberg
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU)
1 Course13,723 learners

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4.8

204 reviews

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Reviewed on Oct 23, 2020

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4

Reviewed on Aug 10, 2020

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Reviewed on Aug 29, 2022

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