Humans have an internal lunar clock – but light pollution is disrupting it

By Stefano Arlaud, PhD candidate in Time Processing and Metacognition of Time Processing, SBBS, Queen Mary University of London

Most animals, including humans, carry an internal lunar clock, tuned to the 29.5-day rhythm of the Moon. It guides sleep, reproduction and migration of many species. But in the age of artificial light, that ancient signal is fading – washed out by the glow of cities, screens and satellites.

Just as the circadian rhythm keeps time with the 24-hour rotation of the Earth, many organisms also track the slower rhythm of the Moon. Both systems rely on light cues, and a recent study analysing women’s menstrual cycles…

Read complete article

~	Pumpkins’ journey from ancient food staple to spicy fall obsession spans thousands of years

~	Scientists have puzzled over what happens to plastic as it breaks down in the ocean – our new study helps explain the mystery

~	Plaid Cymru’s staggeringly large victory in Caerphilly is a warning to both Labour and Reform

~	Should you pour coffee down the drain? An environmental scientist explains

~	Why Tokyo’s youth culture district will ban ‘nuisance Halloween’ again this year

~	Is Halloween more trick than treat? The dangers of overeating sugar, liquorice and sherbet

~	What a newly identified portrait of a black Napoleonic soldier reveals about British Army diversity

~	Voiced: Barbican festival highlights endangered languages and their connection to art

~	John Grisham’s The Widow: a legal mystery that asks if a sleazy lawyer can ever be seen as a ‘good’ victim

~	Why Beijing is looking to exert tighter control over Chinese Christians