Author: bioclock

In the past years, much has been written and said about blue light. It was suggested that mainly blue light causes problems for the biological clock and sleep. BioClock researchers, led by Joke Meijer, now have shown that not just blue light can affect our biological clock! They performed an MRI study, and showed that exposure to light of different colors affected the SCN. These results may be very important for people with sleep problems. PhD candidate Robin Schoonderwoerd...

In February, Kornelija Vitkute started her PhD project at the University of Groningen. Under supervision of dr. Peter Meerlo, dr. Robbert Havekes and dr. Roelof Hut, she investigates the effects of static artificial light on behavior, physiology and brain mechanisms. With this knowledge, from both nocturnal and diurnal species, lights can be designed that are not harmful for circadian rhythms of people and animals. Who are you? Hey, I am Kornelija! I come from Lithuania, a...

Ivanka Spruijt has started her PhD project at the Leiden University and University of Amsterdam. She investigates the effects of artificial light at night on insects, and more specifically she looks at the plant-insect interaction. If the rhythms within this interaction are disturbed, this may lead to problematic consequences for survival of species. Who are you? My name is Ivanka, PhD candidate within the BioClock consortium, currently living in Utrecht. I’m one of the...

In January, Oana-Georgiana started her post doc research project at the Leiden University. In collaboration with BioClock PhD candidate Emma Visser, and under supervision of dr. Niki Antypa, she will further optimize light therapy as a treatment for depressed patients. Light and chronotherapy are effective therapeutic strategies and therefore widely used but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Oana-Georgiana will study this in her BioClock project by specifically...

In the summer of 2021, Jorine has started her BioClock post doc research at the Erasmus MC. This project is a collaboration with BioClock PhD Demy van Gilst and under supervision of dr. Ines Chaves and dr. Marijn Vermeulen and professors Bert van der Horst and Irwin Reiss. The main goal of the project is to improve the rhythms of preterm babies. In the uterus, children are exposed to daily rhythms from the mother mainly. Once they are born but still in hospital care, the...

Kamiel Spoelstra, BioClock researchers, explains in a large interview how artificial light affects the environment. Especially bats, his expertise, are largely affected by streetlights and building lighting. He explains that certain species may flourish in extra lighting but many species are disturbed by it. Together this reduces the diversity of bat species and biodiversity in general. Less bats leads to changes in the population of nocturnal moths as they are their source of...

A team of honours students of the University of Amsterdam created a magazine on the disturbance of the circadian rhythm in Western society. They approached this ‘wicked challenge in health’ from different perspectives, including biological, psychological and sociological. BioClock researchers Oana-Georgiana Rus-Oswald (LU), Emma Visser (TU/e) and Tom de Boer (LUMC) were among the interviewees. The magazine can be found here: ...