Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Adjusting the human body temperature downward has been used therapeutically, in particular, as a method of stabilizing a body following trauma. It has been suggested that adjusting the adenosine A1 receptor of the hypothalamus may allow humans to enter a hibernation -like state of reduced body temperature, which could be useful for applications ...
The human body has two methods of thermogenesis, which produces heat to raise the core body temperature. The first is shivering, which occurs in an unclothed person when the ambient air temperature is under 25 °C (77 °F) [dubious – discuss]. [18] It is limited by the amount of glycogen available in the body. [5]
Other circumstances also affect the body's temperature. The core body temperature of an individual tends to have the lowest value in the second half of the sleep cycle; the lowest point, called the nadir, is one of the primary markers for circadian rhythms. The body temperature also changes when a person is hungry, sleepy, sick, or cold.
Enzymes (/ ˈ ɛ n z aɪ m z /) are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions.The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products.
In biochemistry, denaturation is a process in which proteins or nucleic acids lose folded structure present in their native state due to various factors, including application of some external stress or compound, such as a strong acid or base, a concentrated inorganic salt, an organic solvent (e.g., alcohol or chloroform), agitation and radiation, or heat. [3]
The body temperatures of many small birds (e.g. hummingbirds) and small mammals (e.g. tenrecs) fall dramatically during daily inactivity, such as nightly in diurnal animals or during the day in nocturnal animals, thus reducing the energy cost of maintaining body temperature. Less drastic intermittent reduction in body temperature also occurs in ...
A creature with a fairly constant body temperature can therefore specialize in enzymes which are efficient at that particular temperature. A poikilotherm must either operate well below optimum efficiency most of the time, migrate, hibernate or expend extra resources producing a wider range of enzymes to cover the wider range of body temperatures.
Hence, if the body were perfectly insulated, core temperature would continue to increase until lethal core temperatures were achieved. Conversely, we are normally in surroundings that are considerably cooler than the body's core temperature of 37 °C (98.6 °F) creating a gradient for thermal energy flow from the core to the surroundings.