Scientific Seminar: Biology governed by the moon: from behavior towards molecular mechanisms

Since its beginnings, life has been exposed to the regular environmental cycles caused by sun and moon, requiring adjustments of physiology and behavior. Our work focusses on the molecular mechanisms of moon-controlled timing systems and their interactions with the well-studied circadian clock. In many marine organisms, like the bristle worm Platynereis dumerillii, moonlight sets the phase of an endogenous monthly oscillator. Some recent question we have been tackling are: How can different worms across a population reliably synchronize to the same moon phase? Does lunar timing influence daily timing? And can the study of molecular timing mechanisms of marine bristle worms help to understand some of the scientifically reported, but “just weird” correlations between human physiological/behavioral rhythms and the lunar cycle?