Report on the 9th Berlin Colloquium

Over 150 researchers and practitioners accepted an invitation from the Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz Foundation to attend the 9th Berlin Colloquium on “Living Between the Clocks – The Inner Clock in Biology and Medicine”, held in Berlin on May 11. The Colloquium was the kick-off event to a new Ladenburg Collegium aimed at researching the impact of our inner clock on our daily lives.

Biologists, physicians, psychologists, pharmacologists, occupational scientists, company personnel managers and representatives from employer and business associations gathered at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation to hear scientists from the USA, Germany and many other European countries report on the latest research in chronobiology. “We attracted two audiences: those with a specialist interest in this field, and those with specialist know-how. The findings presented by the researchers coupled with the huge interest in this discipline have shown us that chronobiology is set to become a very important issue in the future” summed up Professor Gisbert zu Putlitz, President of the Foundation’s Board.

The presentations afforded the public an opportunity to gain an overview of the functionin,g and workings of the inner clock combined with an insight into the work of the leading laboratories currently tasked with investigating the biological, medical, psychological and genetic bases of the inner clock.

Scientists now accept that we have more than one inner clock: in fact, nearly every cell in our body “ticks” at its own rhythm. But more research is needed into exactly how the individual cells interact with each other, and what role is played by the brain’s “master clock”. The “heart” of our inner clock, namely the gene that keeps our inner clock ticking, was identified in the late 1990s, but much research is still required to pinpoint the exact workings of the processes by which our inner clock is genetically controlled.

All the researchers agree that light is the most important regulating factor for our inner clock. This external signal allows the inner clock to continually resynchronize itself with the rhythm of day and night. If this synchronization process is interrupted – by too little light, too little sleep or very prolonged or shortened days – we may suffer from tiredness, lack of concentration and metabolic problems. Even disorders such as cancer cannot be entirely excluded as long-term repercussions. Conversely, however, light treatment or sleep deprivation may be promising tools in the treatment of depression.

The Colloquium demonstrated that chronobiological findings might help us to find a healthier way of structuring our working hours and workplaces; they might even influence the development of medical treatments. If the correct conclusions are drawn, this is an area of research that might provide relief for shiftworkers and working hours better suited to the “night owls” amongst us. And though the Foundation focuses on promoting science first and foremost, the Chairman of the Foundation’s Board is quite right when he remarks “if the findings have a positive impact on these aspects of our social structures, so much the better.”.