this post was submitted on 30 Dec 2023
862 points (99.3% liked)

Science Memes

11189 readers
3065 users here now

Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.



Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.
  4. Infographics welcome, get schooled.

This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.



Research Committee

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] TIMMAY@lemmy.world 23 points 11 months ago (2 children)

I am not an expert but I believe the temp threshold is for when proteins denature due to the ambient heat overcoming the strength of the bonds (mostly h-bonding i believe) that hold the protein in its specific tertiary structure and when you exceed it the proteins unfold/break

[–] NoSpotOfGround@lemmy.world 38 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I read that this is a common misconception: the high heat is not enough to denature any proteins (else it would kill you too) and, what's more surprising, it actually makes viruses/bacteria more active. But it also makes your immune system more active, with an overall win in effectiveness over the microbes, which is what makes it useful.

[–] TIMMAY@lemmy.world 15 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Interesting! Im going to have to rabbit-hole this I suppose.

[–] Duranie 5 points 10 months ago

Yep - our bodies turn the thermostat up, increasing metabolism/cellular functions, which increases body temperature. Fatigue slows us down as our bodies redirect resources towards supporting our immune systems and producing cells to fight off the infection, vs spending that energy on being mentally and physically active.

Once our bodies get a handle on things, the fever "breaks" and we start recovery and return to homeostasis.

[–] TheGreenGolem@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 11 months ago (1 children)

But you do sound like an expert.

[–] TIMMAY@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago

too much youtube 🤷‍♂️