Michael Rosbash of Brandeis University shared the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for work on circadian rhythms.SCOTT EISEN/HOWARD HUGHES MEDICAL INSTITUTEToday (October 2), Michael Rosbash, Jeffrey Hall, and Michael Young were awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for explaining how organisms synch their behavior and physiology to Earth’s 24-hour spin cycle. Brandeis University’s Rosbash spoke with The Scientist about what inspired the award-winning work and what the biggest challenges are now in understanding circadian rhythms.
The Scientist: How did you become interested in studying genes related to circadian rhythm?
Michael Rosbash: The origin of the interest is a basic understanding of questions like, why your mother has the quirks she does or why your two children come out differently. It is just a natural curiosity about the world around us. The question is, “What is this really all about? How does this work?” Scientists like reduction, so then the question becomes, how do you break down the problem so it is really manageable, so you could study it and learn something concrete?
I always had an interest in the biological underpinnings of behavior, but as a biochemist or molecular biologist, it always seemed difficult to study. My colleague Jeff Hall ...
