complete a cycle and constitute a circadian molecular clock. This generation of the ~24-hour molecular clock is governed by post-translational modifications such as phosphorylation, sumoylation, histone acetylation and methylation, and ubiquitination. Reversible phosphorylation regulates important processes such as nuclear entry, formation of protein complexes and protein degradation. Each of these processes significantly contributes to keeping the period at ~24 hours and lends the precision of a circadian clock by affecting the stability of the aforementioned core clock proteins. Thus, while transcriptional regulation generates rhythmic RNA levels, regulated posttranslational modifications control protein abundance, subcellular localization, and repressor activity of PER and CRY. Proteins responsible for post-translational modification of clock genes include casein kinase family members (casein kinase 1 delta (CSNK1D) and casein kinase 1 epsilon (CSNK1E) and the F-box leucine-rich repeat protein 3 (FBXL3). In mammals, CSNK1E and CSNK1D are critical factors that regulate the core circadian protein turnover. Experimental manipulation on either of these proteins results in dramatic effects on circadian periods, such as altered kinase activities and cause shorter circadian periods, and further demonstrates the importance of the post-translational regulation within the core mechanism of the circadian clock. These mutations have become of particular interest in humans as they are implicated in the advanced sleep phase disorder. A small ubiquitin-related modifier protein modification of BMAL1 has also been proposed as another level of post-translational regulation. Regulation of circadian oscillators Circadian oscillators are simply oscillators with a period of approximately 24 hours. In response to light stimulus, the body corresponds with a system and network of pathways that work together to determine the biological day and night. The regulatory networks involved in keeping the clock precise span over a range of post-translation regulation mechanisms. Circadian oscillators may be regulated by phosphorylation, SUMOylation, ubiquitination, and histone acetylation and deacetylation, the covalent modification of the histone tail which controls the level of chromatin structures causing the gene to be expressed more readily. Methylation of a protein structure adds a methyl group and regulates the protein function or gene expression and in histone methylation gene expression is either suppressed or activated through changing the DNA sequence. Histones go through an acetylation, methylation and phosphorylation process but the major structural and chemical changes happen when enzymes histone acetyltransferases (HAT) and histone deacetylases (HDAC) add or remove acetyl groups from the histone causing a major change in DNA expression. By changing DNA expression, histone acetylation