3 ms·

> Also, what? Is this about that circadian rhythm line? It look true, if not under-stated. Shift between nights and days was one of the major constant things t

> Also, what? Is this about that circadian rhythm line? It look true, if not under-stated. Shift between nights and days was one of the major constant things throughout the evolution of life. And the influence of this rhythm goes deeper than just physiology - it reaches a molecular level. Almost every cell in the body has a mechanism for keeping internal time of the day [1]. And they are kept in synch through suprachiasmatic nucleus, mainly via the light through the retina, changes in temperature, and food intake [2]. It is so prevalent, that even small things, like your sense of smell or which nasal side is more active and which one is congested falls under circadian regulation [3]. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circadian_clock https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circadian_clock [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suprachiasmatic_nucleus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suprachiasmatic_nucleus [3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasal_cycle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasal_cycle

kwk1 3y ago
I doubt it's that the circadian rhythm is news to the person you're replying to, but rather that that line is fairly badly written, particularly the "want sex and have asthma attacks or a fever in the afternoon" part. Summarizing: > [They] are the [...] changes [...] that [...] modulate when we [...] have asthma attacks or a fever in the afternoon. That does not read clearly to me!
- kkoncevicius 3y ago
  You might be right, thou I don't see that sentence as being exceptionally unclear. The first remark in the OP - stating that this is about fruit flies, made me think they might not have heard about circadian rhythms and were genuinely surprised, as it portrays a certain view often shared by people who have studied little about biology.
  - RheingoldRiver 3y ago
    The conjunction should be "or" not "and"; and the lack of Oxford comma really, really hurts comprehensibility. Also, including the `in the afternoon` breaks the parallel structure of each of the items in the list. A couple options to improve: 1. circadian rhythms are the 24-hour changes in our physiology that synchronize with the day-night cycle and modulate when we are hungry, sleepy, want sex, or, in the afternoon, have asthma attacks or a fever. 2. circadian rhythms are the 24-hour changes in our physiology that synchronize with the day-night cycle and modulate when we are hungry, sleepy, want sex, or suffer conditions like asthma attacks or fevers. 3. circadian rhythms are the 24-hour changes in our physiology that synchronize with the day-night cycle and modulate when we are hungry (mealtimes), sleepy (nighttime), want sex (??? i didnt know this was a thing), or suffer asthma attacks or fevers (afternoons).
    - coldtea 3y ago
      >The conjunction should be "or" not "and"; and the lack of Oxford comma really, really hurts comprehensibility Only for people unable to understand a sentence in context. In general, the Oxford comma, or it's lack thereof, rarely, if ever, is a problem - except for grammar geeks (and even those have debated its significance since forever).
      - housecarpenter 3y ago
        I found it difficult to understand.
      - ralferoo 3y ago
        There is, of course, this counter example from 2018 where many people misinterpreted the headline at first reading: https://desk.thecontentcloud.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Oxford-Comma-570x570.jpg https://desk.thecontentcloud.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/...
        coldtea 3y ago
        LOL, did they?
        RheingoldRiver 3y ago
        There's also this: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/09/us/oxford-comma-maine.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/09/us/oxford-comma-maine.htm...
- coldtea 3y ago
  >I doubt it's that the circadian rhythm is news to the person you're replying to, but rather that that line is fairly badly written, particularly the "want sex and have asthma attacks or a fever in the afternoon" part That was the best written part of the description, and was written with a clear intention. The author wanted to add some more surprising (but still really affected by circadian rhythms) stuff, to make the description more memorable and interesting, even to those that knew the "hungry" and "sleepy" part.
  - kwk1 3y ago
    For example: I don't consider myself an asthmatic. Does this sentence imply that I nonetheless may experience asthma-like symptoms in the afternoon as a component of my circadian rhythms? Or does it mean that those who already suffer from asthma are more likely to have attacks in the afternoon? For the fever part, I haven't noticed such a pattern for myself. Does it mean that fevers are more likely to occur in the afternoon, or does it mean that a normal human's daily temperature pattern resembles a fever in the afternoon?
    - coldtea 3y ago
      >Or does it mean that those who already suffer from asthma are more likely to have attacks in the afternoon? The latter: https://hms.harvard.edu/news/circadian-rhythm-asthma https://hms.harvard.edu/news/circadian-rhythm-asthma >For the fever part, I haven't noticed such a pattern for myself. Does it mean that fevers are more likely to occur in the afternoon, or does it mean that a normal human's daily temperature pattern resembles a fever in the afternoon? Apparently the first: https://westjem.com/articles/fever-incidence-is-much-lower-in-the-morning-than-the-evening-boston-and-us-national-triage-data.html https://westjem.com/articles/fever-incidence-is-much-lower-i... But it's also true our daily temperature pattern changes throughout the day following a circadian rhythm (though I wouldn't call it rising that it "resembles a fever").
vintermann 3y ago
Quote from my mom in social media a few weeks ago: "How does the November cactus know that it's November?" with a picture of the flowering cactus. We don't have a true Arctic night at these latitudes, but thanks to the mountains it's close.

kwk1 3y ago

I doubt it's that the circadian rhythm is news to the person you're replying to, but rather that that line is fairly badly written, particularly the "want sex and have asthma attacks or a fever in the afternoon" part. Summarizing: > [They] are the [...] changes [...] that [...] modulate when we [...] have asthma attacks or a fever in the afternoon. That does not read clearly to me!

kkoncevicius 3y ago
You might be right, thou I don't see that sentence as being exceptionally unclear. The first remark in the OP - stating that this is about fruit flies, made me think they might not have heard about circadian rhythms and were genuinely surprised, as it portrays a certain view often shared by people who have studied little about biology.
- RheingoldRiver 3y ago
  The conjunction should be "or" not "and"; and the lack of Oxford comma really, really hurts comprehensibility. Also, including the `in the afternoon` breaks the parallel structure of each of the items in the list. A couple options to improve: 1. circadian rhythms are the 24-hour changes in our physiology that synchronize with the day-night cycle and modulate when we are hungry, sleepy, want sex, or, in the afternoon, have asthma attacks or a fever. 2. circadian rhythms are the 24-hour changes in our physiology that synchronize with the day-night cycle and modulate when we are hungry, sleepy, want sex, or suffer conditions like asthma attacks or fevers. 3. circadian rhythms are the 24-hour changes in our physiology that synchronize with the day-night cycle and modulate when we are hungry (mealtimes), sleepy (nighttime), want sex (??? i didnt know this was a thing), or suffer asthma attacks or fevers (afternoons).
  - coldtea 3y ago
    >The conjunction should be "or" not "and"; and the lack of Oxford comma really, really hurts comprehensibility Only for people unable to understand a sentence in context. In general, the Oxford comma, or it's lack thereof, rarely, if ever, is a problem - except for grammar geeks (and even those have debated its significance since forever).
    - housecarpenter 3y ago
      I found it difficult to understand.
    - ralferoo 3y ago
      There is, of course, this counter example from 2018 where many people misinterpreted the headline at first reading: https://desk.thecontentcloud.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Oxford-Comma-570x570.jpg https://desk.thecontentcloud.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/...
      - coldtea 3y ago
        LOL, did they?
        RheingoldRiver 3y ago
        There's also this: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/09/us/oxford-comma-maine.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/09/us/oxford-comma-maine.htm...
coldtea 3y ago
>I doubt it's that the circadian rhythm is news to the person you're replying to, but rather that that line is fairly badly written, particularly the "want sex and have asthma attacks or a fever in the afternoon" part That was the best written part of the description, and was written with a clear intention. The author wanted to add some more surprising (but still really affected by circadian rhythms) stuff, to make the description more memorable and interesting, even to those that knew the "hungry" and "sleepy" part.
- kwk1 3y ago
  For example: I don't consider myself an asthmatic. Does this sentence imply that I nonetheless may experience asthma-like symptoms in the afternoon as a component of my circadian rhythms? Or does it mean that those who already suffer from asthma are more likely to have attacks in the afternoon? For the fever part, I haven't noticed such a pattern for myself. Does it mean that fevers are more likely to occur in the afternoon, or does it mean that a normal human's daily temperature pattern resembles a fever in the afternoon?
  - coldtea 3y ago
    >Or does it mean that those who already suffer from asthma are more likely to have attacks in the afternoon? The latter: https://hms.harvard.edu/news/circadian-rhythm-asthma https://hms.harvard.edu/news/circadian-rhythm-asthma >For the fever part, I haven't noticed such a pattern for myself. Does it mean that fevers are more likely to occur in the afternoon, or does it mean that a normal human's daily temperature pattern resembles a fever in the afternoon? Apparently the first: https://westjem.com/articles/fever-incidence-is-much-lower-in-the-morning-than-the-evening-boston-and-us-national-triage-data.html https://westjem.com/articles/fever-incidence-is-much-lower-i... But it's also true our daily temperature pattern changes throughout the day following a circadian rhythm (though I wouldn't call it rising that it "resembles a fever").

vintermann 3y ago

Quote from my mom in social media a few weeks ago: "How does the November cactus know that it's November?" with a picture of the flowering cactus. We don't have a true Arctic night at these latitudes, but thanks to the mountains it's close.