Light will cause changes in human body temperature, pulse, blood pressure and other aspects. Excessive light at night will also increase the risk of obesity and diabetes. Recently, Professor Xue Tian of the University of Science and Technology of China discovered the scientific mechanism that light can directly inhibit the body's ability to metabolize blood sugar by activating special photoreceptor cells on the human retina, triggering a series of nerve signal transmission in the eyes, brain and adipose tissue, which provides the possibility for future prevention and even treatment of this disease. On January 20, the internationally renowned academic journal Cell published the research results. The main energy source of living things on the earth is the sun. Light exposure will also affect the body's biological clock, resulting in a series of changes from physiology to psychology. For example, bright lights at night will inhibit the secretion of melatonin in the body, thus affecting sleep. In recent years, many public health surveys at home and abroad have shown that long-term exposure to light at night will increase the risk of blood glucose disorders, obesity and diabetes. What is the biological mechanism behind it? The scientific community has been looking for answers. Recently, Professor Xue Tian's team found that light directly through the activation of special photoreceptor cells on the retina, through the optic nerve to the hypothalamus and the medulla oblongata of a series of nerve nuclei to transmit signals, and finally through the sympathetic nerve acting on the peripheral brown adipose tissue, directly inhibiting the body's blood glucose metabolism. This study has been verified on mouse animal models, and the same phenomenon has been found in human experiments, indicating that light regulation of blood glucose metabolism may exist widely in mammals. "A large number of public health survey results have shown that too much light at night has a positive correlation with obesity, diabetes, etc. Our research has proved the causal relationship between light and the regulation of blood glucose metabolism from the perspective of biological mechanism." Xue Tian said that understanding the scientific principles will make it possible to prevent and even treat the diseases related to blood glucose metabolism caused by environmental factors in this regard in the future. The reviewer of Cell magazine said: "This is an important discovery in the field of blood glucose metabolism, and also a very interesting, novel, cutting-edge and excellent research work." (AFP)