Human physiology works on a 24-hour cycle of gene expression (when the chromosome coding region is translated by RNA and then transcribed to make protein) and is controlled by the body's molecular clock. Core clock proteins activate or repress protein complexes that physically loop one part of a chromosome to become adjacent to a distant part of the same chromosome. The Penn team showed that daily oscillations of Rev-erb control gene expression in the mouse liver via interactions between on-and-off regions on the same chromosome. Previous work from the team demonstrated that by 5 p.m., Rev-erb increases to its highest concentration in mouse liver, where it turns off certain genes and therefore protein transcription. But as the day turns to night, its concentration steadily decreases and nearly vanishes from the liver by 5 a.m. - www.sciencedaily.com