Every wonder why you feel under the weather at the start of every season? All living things have an internal calendar which controls certain body functions. Scientists have recently discovered how body cells can trace the changing of seasons through a group of cells that come during the summer, or during the winter.
“This is mind blowing to me because I am a big science geek and it is extraordinary how science is evolving rapidly. Who knows what else might come along with this discovery,” Tahir Razzaq said.
The brain releases hormones that are sent throughout the entire body. Some of these hormones can create “calendar cells” in bunches, and these cells determine the strength of humans immune system or when animals should hibernate and breed. This explains why animals have certain breeding seasons, it’s based off the natural annual calendar in living things, which also knows when the best time for the young to survive is.
To record the amount of time passing by annually, the cells produce in different amounts throughout the changing of seasons. The calendar cells can only be created one season at a time, therefore the body and brain will never get off track. Even though they can’t be created at the same time, they can exist in the body at the same time. Scientists are not quite sure if the cells know what exact season it is when they produce, or if they produce because of the light and temperature change.
“I think that the discovery of calendar cells in humans and animals will be helpful in the future of developing the theories on why people get sick during different times of the year, and how animals know when they are supposed to hibernate and breed in nature,” junior Jimmy Fraus said.
This internal clock is related to the reasons why we are able to sleep and be awake at the right times. Human and animal bodies both have natural time intuitions. These intuitions are always correct due to lighting. The earth is always rotating, and the light comes and go relatively the same, setting up living organisms and mammals internal clocks from birth.
Top image: Olivia Meyers
