Latest Thermoregulation Stories

Black bears show surprisingly significant and previously unobserved slowing of their metabolism during and after hibernation, according to a new study by scientists at the Institute of Arctic Biology at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.The amount of metabolic suppression surprised the researchers, since the bears exhibited only a moderate decrease in body temperature during hibernation."In general, an animal's metabolism slows to about half for each 10 degree (Celsius) drop in body...

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- After women exercise, they generally glow with radiance.  On the other hand, after men exercise, they usually look like he just got out of the pool.  A recent study in Japan looks at the differences between men and women's response to changes in exercise intensity and how men are more effective sweaters in those regards.  Regardless of the difference between sexes, researchers say women 'shouldn't sweat it.'Researchers that Osaka University and Kobe University...

Women have to work harder than men in order to start sweating, while men are more effective sweaters during exercise, according to new research published in the journal Experimental Physiology.The study by Japanese scientists at Osaka International University and Kobe University looked at differences between men and women's sweating response to changes in exercise intensity. The researchers asked four groups of subjects (trained and untrained females, trained and untrained males) to cycle...

In recent decades documented biological changes in the far Northern Hemisphere have been attributed to global warming, changes from species extinctions to shifting geographic ranges. Such changes were expected because warming has been fastest in the northern temperate zone and the Arctic.But new research published in the Oct. 7 edition of Nature adds to growing evidence that, even though the temperature increase has been smaller in the tropics, the impact of warming on life could be much...

In 2003, a massive heat wave struck and killed some 30,000 people in Europe in an area where heat was not considered a major threat. Similar mass die-offs occur in wild birds and some mammals during heat waves, but unlike humans, birds may not be able to take shelter or find fresh water in order to survive devastating heat. What is the outlook for desert bird communities in light of expected global temperature increases on Earth?Blair Wolf, an associate professor of biology at the University...

In trying to predict how species will respond to climate change caused by global warming, researchers and scientists are turning to comparative physiology, a sub-discipline of physiology that studies how different organisms function and adapt to diverse and changing environments. By comparing different species to each other, as well as to members within a species that live in different environments, researchers are learning which physiologic features establish environmental optima and...

Stay Cool, Avoid Strenuous Activities and Check on Older Relatives, Neighbors HARRISBURG, Pa., July 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With very hot temperatures and high humidity forecast for much of Pennsylvania in the coming days, the Department of Health is again urging residents - and particularly older adults - to take steps that can help them to avoid serious illness or even death. Although many of the heat-related deaths reported in recent weeks involved older adults, people of any age...

HARRISBURG, Pa., July 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With extremely hot temperatures expected to linger over Pennsylvania for much of this week, Health Secretary Everette James today urged Pennsylvanians to take steps to recognize and prevent heat-related illness. "Those at greatest risk for developing heat-related illness are infants and young children, people over age 65, and those with heart disease, high blood pressure, breathing problems, or chronic conditions," James said. "However,...

A nutrient that's common to all living things can make hibernating marmots hungry - a breakthrough that could help scientists understand human obesity and eating disorders, according to a new study by a Colorado State University biologist.The study appears in the current issue of the Journal of Experimental Biology.Professor Greg Florant discovered he could slowly release a molecule called AICAR into yellow-bellied marmots that activates a neurological pathway driving food intake and...

LOUISVILLE, Colo., May 25 /PRNewswire/ -- A day after delivering her fourth child at Anaheim Regional Medical Center in Anaheim, California last December, 34-year-old Brynn Ervin suffered a cardiac arrest, the result of massive blood clots lodged in the main arteries that take blood to her lungs. Desperate to save the life of the young mother, the cardiac arrest team performed 95 minutes of CPR. Then thoracic surgeon John Eugene, MD operated to remove the blood clots. Still, Ms. Ervin...