I understand that being warm-blooded means we control our body temperature, but HOW does that happen?

Question

and what do cold-blooded creatures lack that does not allow them to self regulate temperature?

In: Biology

Answer 1

When energy is created (in the mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell!), the process is not very efficient, and heat is a byproduct of that reaction. If all of our cells are functioning correctly, we exist at a stable temperature, regardless of what the temperature is outside the body. This is good, because that means we can live in a variety of different climates.

Since ectotherms (cold-blooded animals) don’t create all that energy to maintain an ambient temperature, they don’t require as much food, which is a pro. It’s not that they lack something to self regulate temperature, it was a trait that was selected for by evolution, since it led to an increase in organisms that lived long enough to survive and reproduce.