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From: Philip Torrens <skerries_at_hotmail.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] cold hand adaption
Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2000 09:27:01 PST
>From: "Robert C. Cline" <rccline_at_swbell.net>
>As for Schurke's experiment, I don't dispute that there is a process of
>acclimatization, or that there are physiological differences between
>populations or individuals descended from racial groups which have had
>10,000 years of exposure to a particular climate.  What I suggest is, that
>there does not appear to be any scientific articles by Schurke published, 
>or
>at least indexed in the scientific literature on the web; no evidence of
>controls, and actually not a very "scientific" experiment.

Interesting, and the cobwebbed hollows that pass for my memory prevent me 
from citing a source, but I thought I'd read somewhere that studies with 
Arctic fishermen had suggested there was actually a process of 
neovascularization (spelling?), that is the individuals actually grew 
additional blood vessels in their hands which allowed them to shunt greater 
quantities of warm blood into the extremities.
Sounds plausible to this layman - our muscles, red blood cell count, resting 
heart rate and so on certainly respond to exercise, exposure to altitude, 
etc. On the other hand, I suppose it could be a desperate rear-guard action 
by the last of the LaMarckist evolutionists, surrounded by Darwinists.
Any doctors or scientists on the list care to comment on the possibility of 
this "change in the phenotype"?

Philip Torrens
N49°16' W123°06'


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From: Dave Kruger <dkruger_at_pacifier.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] cold hand adaption
Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2000 17:22:12 -0800
Philip Torrens wrote:

> [snip] I thought I'd read somewhere that studies with
> Arctic fishermen had suggested there was actually a process of
> neovascularization (spelling?), that is the individuals actually grew
> additional blood vessels in their hands which allowed them to shunt greater
> quantities of warm blood into the extremities.

Maybe, but not needed to explain the effect.  See below.

> Sounds plausible to this layman - our muscles, red blood cell count, resting
> heart rate and so on certainly respond to exercise, exposure to altitude,
> etc. On the other hand, I suppose it could be a desperate rear-guard action
> by the last of the LaMarckist evolutionists, surrounded by Darwinists.
> Any doctors or scientists on the list care to comment on the possibility of
> this "change in the phenotype?

Far more likely is that the process of normal vasoconstriction in response to
cold water immersion has been modified -- so that vessels which would have
previously closed down get "reprogrammed" to stay open.  Reason I support that
explanation is the 6-week time for filletters (see my previous post):  probably
too short a time to generate a lot of vascularization (micro or macro).

I've noticed this acclimatisation effect in me when I used to XC-ski
regularly.  Lots greater tolerance of cold on my hands at the end of the
season.

-- 
Dave Kruger
Astoria, OR
not an M.D.
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From: Evan Easton <evan_at_eeaston.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] cold hand adaption
Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2000 07:48:45 -0600
> Philip Torrens wrote:
>
> > [snip] I thought I'd read somewhere that studies with
> > Arctic fishermen had suggested there was actually a process of
> > neovascularization (spelling?), that is the individuals actually grew
> > additional blood vessels in their hands which allowed them to shunt
greater
> > quantities of warm blood into the extremities.
>
> Maybe, but not needed to explain the effect.  See below.
>
> > Sounds plausible to this layman - our muscles, red blood cell count,
resting
> > heart rate and so on certainly respond to exercise, exposure to
altitude,
> > etc. On the other hand, I suppose it could be a desperate rear-guard
action
> > by the last of the LaMarckist evolutionists, surrounded by Darwinists.
> > Any doctors or scientists on the list care to comment on the possibility
of
> > this "change in the phenotype?
>
> ...

I know virtually nothing about the topic, but there is a behavior that some
organisms (e coli, rats, some plants, humans) exhibit that is called "heat
shock response" that might be at play, at the molecular level.  As I
understand it (which may be off), when exposed to temparatures significantly
over or under what the organisms are used to, heat shock response factors
(proteins of some sort) activate the synthesis of heat shock proteins
(hsp's) through RNA-transcription.  These heat shock proteins serve to
regulate and repair damage to cells at the more extreme temperatures.

Apparently, hsp generation can continue for several days after the initial
heat shock.  I imagine that continued heat shock would result in a
continuous generation of the heat shock proteins required to allow the
organism to survive in the more extreme temperatures.  The behavior is
consistent with the observation that after the heat shock is removed the
tolerance dissipates.

BTW, I got this info from a friend who minored in molecular biology in
college.  Any current biological experts care to comment on this theory?

Evan

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