Biological clock is key to reducing heart damage from radiation therapy

A new study suggests that the biological clock is involved in heart toxicity from radiation therapy and could be harnessed as part of a preventive strategy. Findings show that after receiving radiation to the heart, mice with disrupted biological clocks had significantly worse heart function than controls. They also demonstrated that Bmal1 -- a protein that drives 24-hour rhythms in the expression of many genes -- plays an important role in protecting the heart from radiation-related damage.