The best season for Team cold has arrived, where temperatures drop considerably, and we must walk around covered like snowmen, so… cold lovers are surely ecstatic already.
However, this smile will remain on your face for much longer, since everything indicates that they are superior to those belonging to team heat, and we’re not saying it, science says it.
Several studies reveal that people who prefer the cold and also resist it, not like most people who need to be with hundreds of blankets on top to acclimatize, have superior genetics.
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Why Do Some People Resist the Cold?
There are several factors, but the latest study published in The American Journal of Human Genetics details that people are resistant to low temperatures because of a lack of the protein alpha-actinin-3 in their muscle fiber.
Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden showed that more of the skeletal muscle of these individuals comprise slow-twitch muscle fibers, which are more durable and energy-efficient, thus providing better tolerance to low temperatures than fast-twitch ones.
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The results indicate that only 20 percent of people (out of a total sample of 1.5 billion) lack this protein. This is due to a mutation in the gene that encodes it, i.e., evolutionarily speaking, the presence of this gene increased when humans migrated from Africa to the colder climates of central and northern Europe.
For the study, 42 healthy men between the ages of 18 and 40 were asked to sit in cold water (14°C) until their body temperature dropped to 35.5°C. The researchers measured muscle electrical activity with electromyography (EMG) and took muscle biopsies to study protein content and fiber type composition.
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The research also showed that the lack of alpha-actinin-3 affects the body’s response to physical exercise, since “they rarely succeed in sports that require strength and explosiveness;” however, “a tendency towards a greater capacity in these people in endurance sports” has been observed, he explains.
Although the memes against Team Cold are very good, with the above, it is concluded that people who withstand low temperatures are superior to the rest, genetically speaking, and all thanks to a mutation.
This story was written in Spanish by Nayeli Párraga in Cultura Colectiva