Studies on thermal acclimation in insects are often performed on animals acclimated in the laboratory under conditions that are not ecologically relevant. Costs and benefits of acclimation responses under such conditions may not reflect costs and benefits in natural populations subjected to daily and seasonal temperature fluctuations. Here we estimated costs and benefits in thermal tolerance li...

Low temperature injury is one of the most significant causes of crop damage worldwide. Cold acclimatization processes improve the freezing tolerance of plants. To identify genes of potential importance for acclimatzation to the cold and to elucidate the pathways that regulate this process, global transcriptome expression of the chickpea (Cicer arietinum L), a species of legume, was analyzed usi...

Mountain chickadees and juniper titmice from northern Utah were examined to determine metabolic and body-composition characteristics associated with seasonal acclimatization. These species use behavioral adaptations and nocturnal hypothermia, which reduce energetic costs. These adjustments could reduce the need for extensive metabolic adjustments typically found in small passerines that overwin...

BACKGROUND Many studies have linked weather to mortality; however, role of such critical factors as regional variation, susceptible populations, and acclimatization remain unresolved. METHODS We applied time-series models to 107 US communities allowing a nonlinear relationship between temperature and mortality by using a 14-year dataset. Second-stage analysis was used to relate cold, heat, an...

Recently, a marked increase in the number of acute myocardial infarction cases during winter has been reported. Approximately 53% more cases were reported in winter than during summer [1]. The abrupt rupture of atherosclerotic plaques that occurs during cold exposure has been associated with an increase in sympathetic tone that causes increased blood pressure, heart rate and cardiac workload [2...

Many plants acquire freezing tolerance through cold acclimatization (CA), a prolonged exposure to low but non-freezing temperatures at the onset of winter. CA is associated with gene expression that requires transient calcium influx into the cytosol. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) cells treated with agents blocking this influx are unable to cold-acclimatize. Conversely, chemical agents causing incre...