Questions tagged [temperature]

Questions dealing with biological processes in relation to temperature, for instance temperature effects on metabolism, enzyme function or development time. Temperature can be measured on many different scales, e.g. in degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius, or Kelvin.

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How long can a hand be submerged in freezing water?

How long can one's hand be submerged in freezing (0°C) water before cell damage starts to occur? What causes the cell damage? I know exposure to temperatures below freezing can quickly cause frostbite,...
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Does thermal shock apply to human bones?

I always knew that a drop of cold water would crack a hot glass. But does this apply for our bones tho? Obviously not instantly, but after repeating it for years? I've always wanted to do cold showers ...
Mohammed Ibrahim Daghbouche's user avatar
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What are common culture temperatures?

In literature, authors sometimes refer to 37°C as a common culturing temperature. As I understand it, those are temperatures that are conventionally used for incubators in laboratories. For mesophilic ...
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Does sleep schedule affect circadian rhythm?

During the circadian rhythm, the internal human body temperature supposedly peaks around 4-6 pm. Let us assume that the average person goes to bed around 11 pm and sleeps for 8 hours. In that case ...
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[IAL Biology]: Struggling to understand how pH and temperature affect haemoglobins affinity for oxygen

As seen in the graph above, why do we say that increasing pH increases haemoglobins affinity for O2, but decreasing pH reduces its affinity? If the pH increases above or decreases below haemoglobins ...
Nawaz_04's user avatar
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What makes humans feel cold?

I have seen various sources talking about the effects of oestrogen on temperature: all of them agree that it makes you cold but they seem to explain the reason differently. One states that oestrogen ...
Thomas Stokes's user avatar
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Does surface to volume ratio matter for cold-blooded species with regards to temperature?

While surface grows quadratically with scale, volume growth is cubic. Temperature exchange (gain and loss) of animals is mostly dependant on surface area (the more area, the faster) whereas heat ...
Luatic's user avatar
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Why do different animals have different body temperatures?

Why do different animals have different body temperatures. For example, humans have 37°C, while dogs have 39°C. Presumably we have ancestors whose temperature differs from ours. Why would it change ...
David Dubois's user avatar
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Biology Experiment Algae pH & temperature help?

I am planning a Biology investigation for my IB IA on the impact of temperature and pH on algae growth. Does anyone have tips on how to measure the growth rate of algae? What algae is the most suited ...
Antonia's user avatar
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At how low a temperature can a snake like a copperhead survive in winter /

Copperheads were very common here, less so now that more people have moved into the subdivision. My yard is sort of an oasis for them . E. TX is expecting record cold in spite of climate change so I ...
blacksmith37's user avatar
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Lower optimum temperature of plant Catalase

Most resources give an optimum temperature of 35° C for Catalase. after performing the AP Catalase enzyme lab in school, using blended potatoes, our results gave a greater reaction rate at a room ...
Loren Meehan's user avatar
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Why don't cats have to pant?

I understand why dogs pant and humans transpire, namely for temperature homeostasis. So why don't cats need to do either, even after expending a lot of energy on a hot day?
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Taking cold shower / drinking cold water after / during training

(I am a new-comer in biology SE so sorry if violated any rules) Effect of cold showers after intense training I have read the answer to this question, but it seems there are discussions on the ...
234ff's user avatar
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Coronavirus and temperatures

An article on bioRxiv, Evaluation of heating and chemical protocols for inactivating SARS-CoV-2, recommends certain treatments to inactivate SARS-Cov-2 for lab work. The abstract notes: "Although ...
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SARS-CoV virus stability at low temperatures [closed]

For SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV1 this study published in NEJM by a NIAID team was done at a temperature of 21-23°C (see the Methods section in their supplemental material). What's known about virus ...
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What is the maximum/minimum temperature humans can survive at for an extended period of time, and what rate does the body temperature change at?

3 questions: At what rate does the body temperature of a human change at? That is, assuming the outside temperature is x, is there some sort of formula that can determine how long it takes for the ...
Pedro Hablespanyos's user avatar
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2 answers
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Are there any benefits/disadvantages/traits from having a permanent lower core temperature?

My body temperature as far as I remember has always been around 35.6 degrees Celsius, that's a degree less than what is the usually quoted as the average temperature for humans. Are there any known ...
mega_creamery's user avatar
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Do animals like Seals feel cold on their skin?

Whenever there is a documentary about animals and you get to the colder regions, you will hear about Seals and their layer of blubber keeping them warm. But the skin is on top of the blubber, in ...
Parrotmaster's user avatar
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How long can Legionella survive at 60°C?

I'm coding some stuff for water heaters and one of the functions is anti-Legionella. Anyway, I've read on wikipedia that 90% Legionella dies in first two minutes if the water temperature is 60°C, but ...
Invader Zim's user avatar
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1 answer
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human body in an environment where temperature is above body temperature

What would happen if humans were to live in an environment where the temperature is above the body temperature? Does the human body have a mechanism to cool the body? When the surrounding ...
Yashas's user avatar
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Are there specific theories as to what causes cold[-water] muscle cramps?

The field of what might cause cramps is quite contested with a lot of controversy around the heat/dehydration cramps, but I find it surprising that no specific theories appear to have been proposed (...
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What's the lowest temperature a tardigrade can remain active at?

There's a lot of information floating around the net about how tough they are & what they can survive, like "We now know that some tardigrades can tolerate being frozen to -272.8 °C". But any ...
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Why does solute potential go up as temperatures go down?

So the closer a solution's solute potential is to zero, the more water potential said solution would eventually have. The solute potential equation is -iCRT. If the temperature is 0, -iCRT would be ...
Mr_Username's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
406 views

How does heat stress kill plants?

It is known that many plants typically die when exposed to temperatures of 40 to 50°C (I believe, these figures relate to exposure times of ~1–2 hours). When a plant is heated, what is the mode of ...
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Does freezer burn affect only the cells on the surface of food?

Suppose i submerge a banana halfway through in a tray with water. Part of the banana is submerged in water, part of it is on the outside. The water and banana in the tray is being put in the freezer ...
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1 answer
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Psychrotrophic Bacteria

I want to know what gene or protein makes bacteria psychrotrophic, as opposed to regular bacteria that prefers warmer conditions. If you don’t know exactly, and you have suggestions as to where I can ...
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Where can I find resources of the biological processes occurring after death of a mammal at various temperatures?

Using google I usually end with results in cell death. I found some layman articles, but that does not help. My main interest is the brain part.
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why do we tighten out muscles against cold?

When I'm in shower and I want to open the cold water on myself suddenly I make my muscles so tight before I open the water and that helps so much in being able to handle the shock. Why does tightening ...
yukashima huksay's user avatar
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Does pouring water on your skin affect the evaporation process and heat loss?

Recently I've been playing football in the sun pretty hot temperatures. During the water breaks I tend to pour a lot of water over my head to cool me down, now this has an instant effect on cooling me ...
falkon13's user avatar
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Can varied temperature while sleeping help quality of sleep?

I read an interesting article which is about relations between body temperature and quality of sleep. I'm interested in the phrase from the article. Other experiments that varied the ambient ...
jykeith's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
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How do non-human apes cool their body temperature in warm climates?

Humans have sweat and we all know how that provides cooling along with the remaining vellus hairs acting as wicks. So how do hominids, our close relatives (some of which are more massive than humans) ...
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Dry Bulb Temperature VS Dew Point, which one is most relevant to insects?

I study insects that are leaving freely on my campus. The campus weather station has two different measures of temperature, the Dry Bulb Temperature and the Dew Point Temperature. Which one is the ...
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1 answer
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What is the fundamental reason for death from too high or low internal temperature?

I have read something about why we die from too high or too low body temperature but have always found only general reasons. For example, that the liver fails. But why does the liver fail? I would ...
Jakub Homola's user avatar
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2 answers
647 views

If you are 30 degrees, and touch something that is 50 degrees, do you only feel 20?

First off, I don't know if this is the correct site to post this question as it could possibly fit into others? If so, please flag it to be moved as I would appreciate that very much. Now, if my body ...
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2 votes
4 answers
234 views

What causes plants in the prunus genus to reach anthesis?

In a related question, I ask how to trick fruit trees into flowering later in the spring by prolonging frozen ground conditions. However, I'm starting to realize that I don't actually understand what ...
User1974's user avatar
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4 votes
2 answers
96 views

Breeding mosquitoes at lower temperature

It is well known fact that, to slow down the growth of drosophila, they are grown at 18-19 degree Celsius. It helps in maintaining stocks for longer time without frequent change of food. Is it ...
RKK's user avatar
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5 votes
2 answers
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Trick fruit trees into flowering later in the spring

There is a common problem with fruit trees in temperate climates where the trees flower before the last frost. Generally speaking, if the tree has flowered, and the temperature drops below freezing, ...
User1974's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
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Why does breathing increase in higher temperatures?

In my experiment, my group increased the temperature of a fish's water. We noticed the fish took more breaths than the prior normal temperature. Is this because the fish is trying to breathe in the ...
Bibliophile's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
457 views

Cold water sour taste

Recently I underwent a wisdom tooth extraction, and while there is still numbness I have observed something peculiar. If I drink cold water, it tastes sour, however the same effect is not observed ...
Skyler's user avatar
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0 answers
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How fast can the human body temperature change?

I'm really curious about how fast can a human body temperature change? E.g. how fast can the human body temperature change when the human has fever? I'm not interested in how fast fever changes the ...
flor1an's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
875 views

What are the most efficient heat exchange sites on the human body?

Where on the body would be the best place to achieve the greatest cooling effect with a "cooling undergarment"? Concentrated over the kidneys, groin, inside the wrists, back of the neck?
Scott Baker's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
118 views

If you have water on you, does it *actually* cool or down, or do you just *feel* cold?

I'm sure many people have noticed after getting out of a shower or out of a swimming pool that moving air makes them feel colder. It seems like one way to beat the summer heat is with water and also ...
DaneJoe's user avatar
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1 vote
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If people can survive being frozen some, why not indefinitely? [closed]

I've heard of cases and also personally met someone who survived with a full recovery after they were taken to the hospital after being found unconscious in the snow for (presumably) more than 45 ...
DaneJoe's user avatar
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4 votes
0 answers
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What is operating temperature of the human brain?

I've heard several times that human brain can die in temperatures over 40 °C, or under 10 °C, as an engineer I'm curious. In what temperature region can brain properly work? And just an underlying ...
Lemon drop's user avatar
2 votes
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612 views

Why are the most heat tollerant organisms prokaryotic?

Prokaryotic organisms are able to grow at far higher temperatures than are eukaryotes. Archaea are known to group, among some mesophiles, the most extremophiles organisms (es. Pyrococcus furiosus), ...
Saul Pierotti's user avatar
55 votes
2 answers
11k views

What is the benefit of fever during infections?

When people get sick, they often develop a fever. What is the effect of an increased body temperature on viruses and bacteria in the body? Is it beneficial to the infected body? Importantly, often ...
murmansk's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
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How to convert skin temperature to core temperature?

As opposed to regular invasive thermometers, there are non-invasive IR thermometers to measure the temperature. For example Thermofocus. I read in many sources that these IR thermometers only measure ...
Alaa M.'s user avatar
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1 vote
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Development threshold of a blowfly species differ depending on situation?

Within a species, does the lower development temperature threshold remain the same in all situations (also known as the development zero temperature)? For example, would the temperature threshold be ...
Kerry's user avatar
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2 votes
0 answers
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Which organisms require the least fluctuation in ambient temperature?

Note that I am NOT asking "which organism can survive the most extreme temperatures." Many extremophiles like the tardigrade can survives extreme heat, but also extreme cold. Many heat adapted animals ...
et is's user avatar
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Does drinking water affect oral thermometer accuracy?

According to various sources (including Mayo and Cleveland Clinics), one must wait a certain number of minutes before an accurate oral temperature reading may be taken. However, these two sources (and ...
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