{"id":819927,"date":"2026-10-31T16:44:27","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T16:44:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/819927\/"},"modified":"2026-10-31T16:44:27","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T16:44:27","slug":"study-unravels-healing-powers-of-cold-temperatures-and-say-they-could-even-help-us-live-longer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/819927\/","title":{"rendered":"Study unravels healing powers of cold temperatures and say they could even help us live longer"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Scientists have identified a link between cold temperatures and longevity<\/a>, an advance that could help prevent age-related diseases in the future.<\/p>\n

Previous studies in animals have shown that moderately cold temperatures can effectively extend lifespan and delay age-related decline<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But exactly how cold temperatures <\/a>trigger these beneficial effects at a cellular level has remained unclear.<\/p>\n

Now, scientists have found that muscle tissues<\/a> and a molecule called BH2 play a key role in the beneficial effects of cold temperatures on longevity.<\/p>\n

Researchers from the University of Cologne in Germany showed that there is a link between cold temperatures, increased lifespan, and the biological process that controls the quality of proteins<\/a> inside cells.<\/p>\n

\"AnAn elderly man hangs on bars as he exercises on public fitness equipment (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Key to this link is the organic compound BH2, or dihydrobiopterin, according to the study published in the journal Nature.<\/p>\n

Studying the worm species Caenorhabditis elegans, widely used in research, scientists found that BH2 is key to the process that maintains functional proteins and preserves a balance of protein quality and quantity in cells.<\/p>\n

Researchers also tested this theory in human cell models of Huntington\u2019s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS<\/a>), which are both age-associated diseases involving the accumulation of misfolded or damaged proteins.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are excited to show that mildly cold temperatures trigger significant production of a specific metabolite, BH2, which is synthesised, stored, and subsequently released by muscle tissue,\u201d said David Vilchez, an author of the study from University Hospital Cologne.<\/p>\n

\u201cBH2 then goes to other parts of the body, where it helps to maintain protein homeostasis and contributes to tissue health during ageing<\/a>,\u201d Dr Vilchez said.<\/p>\n

The findings suggest that specifically targeting a single tissue, such as muscle, could provide organism-wide protection.<\/p>\n

\u201cFurther experiments on human cells encourage us to look for treatments that mimic the beneficial effects of cold without requiring changes in body temperature,\u201d Dr Vilchez said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis opens up new avenues for therapeutic approaches,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"ModerateModerate cold increases BH2 levels in the muscle of the nematode C elegans (David Vilchez \/ University of Cologne \/ CECAD)<\/p>\n

Scientists hope to further explore if the beneficial effects of cold temperatures could be reproduced by supplementing specific metabolites.<\/p>\n

For instance, administration of both BH2 and the protein building block molecule tyrosine could produce a protective effect in C. elegans and also in human cell cultures.<\/p>\n

This suggests that supplementing some key organic molecules can reproduce some of the beneficial effects of cold, but scientists cautioned that research is still at a nascent stage in developing a \u201cpill\u201d to mimic these effects.<\/p>\n

The latest study provides a good starting point for further research into cold treatment-related options for conditions such as Huntington\u2019s disease and ALS, researchers say.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":819928,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[59,102,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-819927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-gb","tag-health","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=819927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819927\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/819928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=819927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=819927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=819927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}