{"id":25523,"date":"2020-10-07T11:55:35","date_gmt":"2020-10-07T11:55:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/?p=25523"},"modified":"2020-10-07T11:55:35","modified_gmt":"2020-10-07T11:55:35","slug":"human-biology-appears-to-have-two-seasons-not-four-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/?p=25523","title":{"rendered":"Human Biology Appears to Have Two Seasons, Not Four: Study"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"News<\/p>\n

MONDAY, Oct. 5, 2020 (HealthDay News)<\/p>\n

The human body<\/a> apparently disagrees with Mother Nature on how many seasons there are.<\/p>\n

Instead of four seasons, human biology appears to have two, according to a team of Stanford University researchers.<\/p>\n

“We’re taught that the four seasons — winter, spring, summer and fall — are broken into roughly equal parts throughout the year, and I thought, ‘Well, who says?’ ” said Michael Snyder, a professor and chair of genetics. “It didn’t seem likely that human biology adheres to those rules.”<\/p>\n

So he and his colleagues conducted a study guided by people’s molecular compositions to let the biology reveal how many seasons there are.<\/p>\n

They analyzed four years of molecular data from 105 people, aged 25 to 75. About four times a year, participants provided blood samples that were analyzed for molecular information about immunity, inflammation, heart<\/a> health, metabolism, the microbiome and more. Participants’ diet<\/a> and exercise<\/a> habits were also tracked.<\/p>\n

Overall, the study found that more than 1,000 molecules ebb and flow during the year, especially during late spring-early summer and late fall-early winter.<\/p>\n

For example, late spring coincided with a rise in inflammatory biomarkers known to play a role in allergies<\/a>, a spike in molecules involved in rheumatoid arthritis<\/a> and osteoarthritis<\/a>, a peak in HbAc1, a protein that signals risk for type 2 diabetes<\/a>, and the highest annual levels of the gene PER1, an important regulator of the sleep<\/a>-wake cycle.<\/p>\n

In early winter, there were increases in immune molecules that help fight viral infections; molecules involved in acne<\/a> development; and markers of high blood pressure<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The researchers also found differences between people who were insulin<\/a>-resistant (their bodies don’t process glucose normally) and those who weren’t.<\/p>\n

Insulin<\/a>-resistant people had higher levels of Veillonella, a type of bacteria involved in lactic acid fermentation and the processing of glucose, throughout the year, except during mid-March through late June, according to findings published Oct. 1 in the journal Nature Communications<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Snyder noted that the study involved people in California, and it’s likely that the molecular patterns of people in other regions would differ.<\/p>\n

Understanding such seasonal changes in human biology could help guide health care and the design of clinical drug trials, he suggested.<\/p>\n

— Robert Preidt<\/p>\n

\"MedicalNews\"
Copyright \u00a9 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n


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QUESTION<\/h4>\n


\n Allergies can best be described as:<\/span>
\n See Answer<\/span>
\n<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

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References<\/p>\n


\n SOURCE: Stanford University, news release, Oct. 1, 2020 \n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n