Tuesday, March 19, 2019 - 11:43
When the temperature outside freezes or swelters, we respond by putting on a sweater or eating ice cream. But when our body temperature changes, how do our cells respond?
Humans are made up of trillions of cells. Each cell has thousands of genes inside of it. Because the genes tell our cells what to do, a group of Stony Brook University researchers explored the effects of temperature change on genes. Their work offers new insights into how genes function when heated or cooled.
Gábor Balázsi, right, with postdoctoral associate Daniel Charlebois.
“When genes misbehave, they cause many diseases, such as cancer,” said Gábor Balázsi, PhD, who led the research team. “So it’s important to understand how genes control cells in different conditions.”
In the laboratory, all cells have a temperature at which they need to be maintained. Human cells have to be kept at 37 degrees Celsius, which equals 98.6 Farenheit, normal human body temperature.
“All we know about genes in human cells, we know at...