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New research suggests that the gut microbiota is behind the temperature swings in our bodies.
Average human body temperatures have been dropping consistently since the mid-19th century — and nobody knows why.
A new study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine suggests an answer to this mystery.
The authors analyzed data from patients hospitalized in the state of sepsis, which occurs when the body has a extreme immune response and dangerous to an infection, and also data from experiments with mice.
The results indicate that changes in our body temperature are associated with the intestinal microbiota. The choice of sepsis patients is not a coincidence, as this condition can cause large fluctuations in body temperature, writes the Science Alert.
“We know that the temperature response is important in sepsis because it strongly predicts who lives and who dies,” explains microbiologist Robert Dickson.
The team analyzed samples of the intestinal microbiota taken from 116 patients with sepsis and found that there is a correlation between variations in the microbiota and temperature fluctuations in patients.
To the firmicutes phylum bacteriawhich produce substances important for our growth and influence our metabolism and immune response, are associated with high fevers.
In tests with healthy mice with and without a bacterial microbiota, the lowest baseline temperatures were recorded in the animals without the microbiota. Antibiotic treatments also lowered their body temperatures.
In both human and mouse tests, it appears to be the same bacterial family to be associated with fluctuations in temperature. Scientists now want to analyze samples from a more diverse group of people and understand what biological mechanisms lead to this relationship.
Eventually, it may be possible for us to be able to modify the gut microbiota specifically to influence body temperature, which may be important for increase the chances of survival high fever or sepsis.
ZAP // 
