Over the summer, I got to meet my baby cousin for the first time. At the time, he was just under three months old, and, to be honest, I was a little nervous to meet him. He was by far the youngest person I’ve ever interacted with, and I had to make a good (though likely unmemorable) first impression. After getting to hold him, two thoughts immediately popped into my mind. Firstly, I was really hoping he did not get my shirt messy, as it was brand new. Secondly, and more importantly for this discussion, I noticed he was a lot warmer than I had expected him to be. I had known that babies run hot, but I did not necessarily know why.
In class, when we began to learn about uncoupler proteins, I thought back to that moment and began to wonder if uncoupler proteins could have played a role. Babies have an increased amount of uncoupler proteins so that they can maintain their body temperature via non-shivering thermogenesis in the outside world, as it is far cooler than the 37ºC they are used to living in. Additionally, babies have a faster metabolism than adults, as they are constantly growing and developing, a process that requires more energy than in a relatively stable adult body. This combination of a faster metabolism and the presence of uncoupler proteins corresponds to the extra heat that I noticed. This understanding provides me with a greater understanding of how certain biochemical processes and differences present as noticeable, physiological changes.
I really enjoyed reading about your interaction with your baby cousin and how learning about uncoupler proteins brought a new perspective to your experience, since I also had a similar realization which I wrote about too! I found especially interesting how you also addressed the increased metabolism of babies and how this plays into the amount of uncoupling proteins that they have.