Terminology
What is supercooling?
The process of keep a liquid as a liquid beyond its freezing point
Is sweating a form of supercooling?
No
What percentage of the world has diabetes?
(Must be within 5%)
12%
Define an ice age
A long term reduction in Earth's surface and atmospheric temperatures, resulting in continental ice sheets, polar ice caps, and glaciers
What monosaccharide circulates in the bloodstream and serves as a primary energy source for cells?
Glucose
What is cryogenic freezing?
The process of cooling biological samples to halt biological activity
Which of the following can naturally freeze and come back to life?
Alligators, otters, eagles, or octopi
Alligators
Which of the following is NOT a symptom of diabetes?
Frequent urination, fatigue, unexplained weight loss, hypermobility
Hypermobility
When did the most recent ice age end?
Roughly 12,000 years ago
What evolutionary pressure favored individuals who could efficiently store energy during periods of food abundance?
Natural selection
What is an autoimmune disorder?
(Hint: Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder)
An autoimmune disorder occurs when the body mistakenly attacks itself
(The body attacks the pancreas in Type 1 diabetes)
Many animals hibernate to survive winter. Name three bodily changes that occur during hibernation
Reduced breathing, heart, and metabolism, body temperatures drop, entering torpor, etc
Name two lifestyle habits that can reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes
Avoiding sugary drinks/drinking water, increasing physical activity, eating lots of fiber, etc
How does shivering help protect us from the cold?
It creates heat from the rapid contraction and relaxation of muscles, increasing our body temperature
In modern medicine, diabetes is classified as what type of condition due to its long-term health effects?
A chronic disease
What is cold diuresis?
Needing to pee after being exposed to cold
True or false: Tardigrades (water bears) can survive in temperatures below -250F
True, they can survive in temperatures as low as -360F!
Insulin is a hormone sometimes used to help treat diabetes. What does insulin do?
It acts as a 'key' to let glucose in your bloodstream enter yours cells to be used for energy
What species of humans lived alongside modern humans but went extinct partly due to an inability to adapt to the ice age?
Neanderthals
What modern factor contributes to higher rates of type 2 diabetes today than in the past?
Processed food consumption, sedentary lifestyle
What is an antifreeze?
What is the only mammal that is able to successfully lower its body temperature to -3C (26.8F)?
Arctic ground squirrel
There are three types of diabetes, one of which we have not discussed. This type of diabetes sometimes occurs after a specific hormonal change and generally only lasts a few months.
Gestational diabetes
We are currently in an interglacial period (a geological interval separating colder glacial periods within an ice age). What is this interglacial period called?
The Holocene Epoch
Epinephrine (adrenaline)