Oxygen is toxic in the cold in C. elegans

Our results suggest that oxygen toxicity contributes to the death of <i>C. elegans</i> during cold shock. The changes in survival induced by cold acclimatization and mutations in the cold acclimatization pathway suggest that oxygen toxicity in the cold exerts evolutionary pressure, leading to the development of protections against it. Additionally, the resistance provided by diverse compounds and antioxidant proteins in both low temperature and high oxygen suggests these conditions have similar chemical environments. We discuss evidence that similar phenomena may function in humans.