31–40 of 111 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Exactly. I want to know what cellular metabolic tricks they use to keep their foot cells working at just over freezing temperatures.
What about a simple anti-freezing agent used in something like a car radiator? This doesn't seem like it should be such a mystery in the age of Google and Wikipedia. There are bacteria and other multicellular organisms that function just fine in extreme cold environments. See extremophiles, psychrophiles, etc.
This is anecdata. I am also not a bird. Inspired by Wim Hof, I've started doing short barefoot snow walks. Within days, even between multiple walks on the same day, my feet became more cold-tolerant. They now recover from the cold faster, stay warm in the snow longer, and when I'm indoors, my feet are no longer cold without socks. My feet used to be cold to the touch and feel cold subjectively without socks.
Interesting. From my experience, coldness of feet is correlated with blood circulation. There are periods when my feet are cold (going together with the restless legs syndrome at night), and I think it goes away when circulation improves. My theory is that exposing feet to elements is another trick to improve blood flow to them, I’ve been meaning to try that.
In my experience, and I've not found any studies to support this, restless legs correlates with oxygen levels vs carbon monoxide and/or carbon dioxide levels. Check your air.
This doesn’t explain why the interstitial fluids and cells themselves in a birds feet avoid freezing. Presumably, either their feet can simply be maintained at slightly above freezing or they use some form of antifreeze. Does anyone know?
The article says this: It’s pretty much all tendons and bones. So, unlike your human foot, which contains plenty of moist muscle tissue, a bird’s foot contains only very little fluid in its cells.
“Warm blood moving toward the feet is cooled, which helps penguins keep their feet at temperatures just above freezing.” http://blogs.britannica.com/2011/01/penguin-feet-avoiding-fr...
I feel like I’ve read articles about birds feet not getting cold from four different sources (Reddit, YT, Twitter and now HN) in the past week. Why is everyone suddenly so interested in birds?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Interesting. From my experience, coldness of feet is correlated with blood circulation. There are periods when my feet are cold (going together with the restless legs syndrome at night), and I think it goes away when circulation improves. My theory is that exposing feet to elements is another trick to improve blood flow to them, I’ve been meaning to try that.
If you don't have any snow to walk through, just give 'em an ice water dip. You can do your whole body, too, with similar benefits. It's uncomfortable, but what isn't... In my experience, and I've not found any studies to support this, restless legs correlates with oxygen levels vs carbon monoxide and/or carbon dioxide levels. Check your air.
I don’t think there’s anywhere for CO to come from, however air quality varies (CO2 levels easily reach 1000 ppbv at times).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you don't have any snow to walk through, just give 'em an ice water dip. You can do your whole body, too, with similar benefits. It's uncomfortable, but what isn't... In my experience, and I've not found any studies to support this, restless legs correlates with oxygen levels vs carbon monoxide and/or carbon dioxide levels. Check your air.
Maybe oxygen then? Worse circulation or carbon monoxide could be involved, then. I don’t think there’s anywhere for CO to come from, however air quality varies (CO2 levels easily reach 1000 ppbv at times).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The article says this: It’s pretty much all tendons and bones. So, unlike your human foot, which contains plenty of moist muscle tissue, a bird’s foot contains only very little fluid in its cells.
It seems like they do keep their feet above freezing. Which is counter to the article’s: “Given a bird’s frantic little heart, blood simply rushes by way too fast to freeze.” As the blood never actually reaches freezing temperatures. “Warm blood moving toward the feet is cooled, which helps penguins keep their feet at temperatures just above freezing. ” http://blogs.britannica.com/2011/01/penguin-feet-avoiding-fr...
https://www.birdnote.org/listen/shows/why-birds-feet-dont-fr...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_feet_and_legs#Thermal_reg...
One article I briefly looked at indicates there isn't as much study of avian ...something ....as mammalian. Maybe fattiness because I was wondering if they have any adipose tissue in their feet. Oil is harder to freeze than water.
I also googled for info about saltiness and bird feet, which helped me find some article about "antifreeze" in various species but it barely mentions birds in passing:
https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/19/science/19creatures.html
Salt gets used to de-ice roads in winter because it changes the freezing point of water. But I am not readily finding anything that indicates we have found a chemical antifreeze mechanism in bird feet.
It may exist but not have been studied or looked for at all.
Edit: Though upon closer examination, the article about animal "antifreeze" talks about proteins that serve that function, which is a new one on me. So someone else would need to google up info on protein structures of bird feet and speculate if those could have antifreeze properties. I don't know that much about protein and its impact on physiological characteristics (other than, you know, it's pertinent to insulin resistance or something, which most diabetics seem unfamiliar with while we blame everything on fat and overlook the role of lack of muscle).
This is anecdata. I am also not a bird. Inspired by Wim Hof, I've started doing short barefoot snow walks. Within days, even between multiple walks on the same day, my feet became more cold-tolerant. They now recover from the cold faster, stay warm in the snow longer, and when I'm indoors, my feet are no longer cold without socks. My feet used to be cold to the touch and feel cold subjectively without socks.
This is anecdata. I am also not a bird. Inspired by Wim Hof, I've started doing short barefoot snow walks. Within days, even between multiple walks on the same day, my feet became more cold-tolerant. They now recover from the cold faster, stay warm in the snow longer, and when I'm indoors, my feet are no longer cold without socks. My feet used to be cold to the touch and feel cold subjectively without socks.
Not sure how pertinent that is to your experience, but it's the first thing that comes to mind.