3 ms·

That's ridiculous. People don't die when "proteins stop folding". They die much, much earlier. The less resistance you have, the earlier you die.

• JumpCrisscross 3y ago
  > People don't die when "proteins stop folding". They die much, much earlier. When? Why? Heat kills becauses it unfolds proteins. If that happens in your heart, you get a heart attack--that's the proximate cause of death. The ultimate cause remains, however, unless we're talking about charring or vaporising heat, your proteins misfolding. The other common way to die from heat is dehydration, which kills by altering your electrolyte imbalance which causes arrythmia. But that can be countered through hydration. (Until the proteins in your gut start misfolding.) Side note: I didn't say you die because your proteins stop folding. I said you die because your proteins stop folding properly. > less resistance you have, the earlier you die The resistance comes in the form of heat-shock proteins [1], which "enable excess heat to be stored temporarily" [2]. Above 40°C, your HSR proteins start misfolding. There is no resistance nor acclimation beyond that limit. Our chemistry doesn't permit it. Variations exist in the 40 to 45°C regime in terms of tolerance duration, but that's irrelevant when we're talking about climate. Above 40°C / 104° F wet-bulb temperature, everyone without access to cooling will eventually die. You can't build resistance to it because that literally involves evolving proteins which, to my knowledge, don't exist in mammals. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_shock_protein https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_shock_protein [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4515708/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4515708/