What causes the body temperature to rise during sickness?
Assorted fevers have pestered mankind throughout the ages, and they have long been the subject of scientific study. Yet, even a few years ago we had no scientific understanding of how the body produces fever, and the reasons why are still not com¬pletely understood. When the body is attacked by the germs of yellow fever or scarlet fever, its everyday temperature rises several uncomfortable degrees above normal. It also runs high fevers when attacked by measles and a whole lot of other infections. A bad case of sunstroke can bring on a high fever. When body temperature rises eight degrees above normal, certain nerve tissues that control muscle movement may be permanently destroyed, and temperatures higher than this may be fatal. These facts explain why medical re¬searchers are so eager to solve all the secrets involved in the general problem of fevers. Recently a team of researchers demonstrated what actually happens inside the body to cause an abnormal rise in temperature. Like true sc
