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Scientists Identify How the Body Senses Cold
Vicissidude writes with a link to a story on the Nature website, discussing the discovery of a protein that may enable us to sense cold temperatures. It's been pinned down in mice, and the same protein may perform a similar function in humans. Mice rely on a single protein, called TRPM8, to sense both cold temperatures and menthol, the compound that gives mints their cool sensation. The sensor also controls the pain-relieving effect of cool temperatures, but does not seem to play an important role in the response to painfully cold temperatures below 10 C. TRPM8 is in the same family as the protein that detects heat and capsaicin, the compound that makes peppers hot. These proteins lie in the cell membranes of select neurons, and form channels that open and close in response to external signals."
Of course, our top-down-generated silicon computers only took a few decades to develop, while it took millions of years for evolution to produce the intricate mechanisms that make up modern life. We're not really doing too bad, considering.
But then again, who's surprised at anything when they're dead?
I imagine that's skin / nerve temperature, not air temp. At 50F air temp, your skin is a lot warmer than that.
I'd be sweltering if it was above 40, and Cold if it were below 15... Freezing if it were below 0. I guess numbers don't really mean anything until we include the units.
Cheers, Chris
For what it's worth, many folks are bragging that they think you can spend some time at 8C (~45F) in the air, but if you were "bathed" in that temperature (e.g., tossed into cold water at that temperature), the expected survival time would only be a couple of hours or less.
This is good news for me and many people here. As long as I am fat, I am not old.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.