'The winter of our discontent may be down to our genes. Not only do we get more coughs and colds in the chilly, rainy months, there are also more heart attacks and diagnoses of autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes. We may now know why.
The activity of some of our genes varies with the seasons throughout the year. The discovery comes from an analysis of blood samples from more than 16,000 people in both hemispheres. The most striking pattern was that 147 genes involved in the immune system made it more reactive or "pro-inflammatory" during winter or rainy seasons, probably to battle the onslaught of cold and flu viruses.'
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