Your bones may seem like the most permanent part of your body: hard, solid and finished. In reality, they’re under constant renovation. Every day, tiny teams of cells are breaking down old bone and building new bone in its place.

Throughout life, bones are continuously renewed in a process called “remodelling”. The cells responsible have their own biological clocks, much like the ones that help regulate sleep, hunger and countless other daily rhythms.

Two types of cells keep the process going. Osteoclasts remove old or damaged bone, and osteoblasts then lay down fresh bone to replace what was lost. Researchers have found that this cycle follows a daily rhythm with bone breakdown generally highest earlier in the day, while bone formation tends to peak later. The circadian clock inside bone cells appears to keep these two phases separated, ensuring........

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