Slightly off-topic: Seasonality is something which has intrigued me for a few years now, especially since the covid pandemic, and I've been reading a lot into it.
There are plenty of papers out there which try to explain viral seasonality and just about all of them fall short in terms of really getting a grasp on why viruses tend to 'like' certain meteorological conditions.
I love this paragraph:
"The complex interplay of variables that results in a given virus having such a specific seasonal pattern made me think of the Drake equation. Formulated in 1961, the Drake equation was meant to spark dialogue over the possibility of alien life by taking into account a handful of factors, like the fraction of stars in our galaxy that might have planets and the average number of planets that could support life as we know it. The possibility of extraterrestrial life was not solely determined by one variable but rather by a succession of quantities that needed to be estimated. Likewise, the seasonality of viruses cannot be attributed uniquely to outside temperature, or indoor gatherings, or even shifting humidity levels throughout the year. It’s a result of how all of these factors and more play together with the unique characteristics of individual viruses. If anything, it’s a reminder of the extraordinary complexity of life."
In a way it's hardly surprising. Dealing with earth's seasons is one of the most fundamental survival challenges on the planet. The selective pressure to sense the seasons is ancient and very persistent.
So if one were to hypothetically stay in a temperature controlled and artificially lit environment could this seasonal cycle get messed up? And what consequences might that have?
From an engineering perspective, a single bacterium is a state of the art self contained factory. It has thousands or even ten of thousands of feeback circuits each with multiple interweaving depdendencies that somehow works perfectly to adjust inputs/outputs on the fly at extreme efficiency.
Even with all of our technological achievements, we can barely build something at this level of complexity. And to make it so cheaply and quickly? Pure science fiction. Yet scoop up a handful of dirt or pour a glass of water and you can get billions of these sophisticated machines in your hand.
Earth and its biosphere is a marvel of technology. Shame we don't seem to appreciate it enough.
Slightly off-topic: Seasonality is something which has intrigued me for a few years now, especially since the covid pandemic, and I've been reading a lot into it.
There are plenty of papers out there which try to explain viral seasonality and just about all of them fall short in terms of really getting a grasp on why viruses tend to 'like' certain meteorological conditions.
I love this paragraph:
"The complex interplay of variables that results in a given virus having such a specific seasonal pattern made me think of the Drake equation. Formulated in 1961, the Drake equation was meant to spark dialogue over the possibility of alien life by taking into account a handful of factors, like the fraction of stars in our galaxy that might have planets and the average number of planets that could support life as we know it. The possibility of extraterrestrial life was not solely determined by one variable but rather by a succession of quantities that needed to be estimated. Likewise, the seasonality of viruses cannot be attributed uniquely to outside temperature, or indoor gatherings, or even shifting humidity levels throughout the year. It’s a result of how all of these factors and more play together with the unique characteristics of individual viruses. If anything, it’s a reminder of the extraordinary complexity of life."
Source: https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/covid-19-health/virus-ever...
In a way it's hardly surprising. Dealing with earth's seasons is one of the most fundamental survival challenges on the planet. The selective pressure to sense the seasons is ancient and very persistent.
So if one were to hypothetically stay in a temperature controlled and artificially lit environment could this seasonal cycle get messed up? And what consequences might that have?
From an engineering perspective, a single bacterium is a state of the art self contained factory. It has thousands or even ten of thousands of feeback circuits each with multiple interweaving depdendencies that somehow works perfectly to adjust inputs/outputs on the fly at extreme efficiency.
Even with all of our technological achievements, we can barely build something at this level of complexity. And to make it so cheaply and quickly? Pure science fiction. Yet scoop up a handful of dirt or pour a glass of water and you can get billions of these sophisticated machines in your hand.
Earth and its biosphere is a marvel of technology. Shame we don't seem to appreciate it enough.
The seasonal state machine
We are really hardwired for Earth.