The regular laboratory incubator maintains a temperature of about?

• A. 25 C
• B. 37 C
• C. 20 C
• D. 42 C

Answer: (B)

Incubators are kept at temperatures that support cellular metabolism and enzymatic activity, essentially simulating the conditions inside the body. The standard setting is about body temperature, 37 C, because mammalian cells grow best and many biological processes function optimally there. If you use room temperature (around 25 C), metabolism slows and cells don’t proliferate well. Cooler settings, like 20 C, are generally not suitable for routine incubation of mammalian cells. Higher temperatures, such as 42 C, stress or damage cells and are reserved for specialized experiments. So, 37 C is the typical, best-fitting temperature for a regular laboratory incubator.