scraps of evolution

[AntonioLao]

The evolution of life on planet Earth could not have followed wasteless processes of mutation. Equivalently, perfect mutation is unnatural. Consequently, perfect mutation would short-circuit the evolutionary process to the extent that a monkey born today will conceive a human tomorrow. On the contrary, the wastes and scraps of evolution are the multitude of obligate intracellular parasites known as the viruses. They belong in the taxonomical fuzziness between life and nonlife. Biologically speaking, in a certain sense they are the missing links between genetic gaps among living species and for want of these missing links the deprived species subsequently become extinct.

It is generally agreed among research scientists, microbiologists, and genetic engineers that the fundamental dominant mutagens are nuclear radiations caused by the bombardments of alpha rays, beta rays, gamma rays, x-rays, and cosmic rays. Two of these, namely gamma rays and x-rays are actually electromagnetic radiations or energetic photons of very high frequencies or very short wavelengths. On the other hand, scientists use the scanning electron microscope (SEM) composed of electron beam to study the nanometer structures of the viruses. Unfortunately, particle radiations of SEM can only observe the dead crystallized viruses which leave much of live actions to be desired. However, computerized modeling and simulations showed predominantly spherical or cylindrical viral structures. But no one really knows what the living structures of viruses look like. More detailed investigations indicate that beyond the classifications of the tiniest viruses are the even simpler classifications of the viroids and the prions which are infectious agents that exist at the lowest bound of visibility. The viroids are simply tiny molecules of naked single stranded circular RNAs that can shortchange the lives of plants while the prions are simple molecular proteins that can infect the brains of animal. Prions caused “mad cow disease.” Conversely, there should exist prions that can turn a roaring tiger into a meowing kitten or mutate a moron into an Einstein overnight. The search for these intelligence altering prions would be the ultimate quest for a TOE.

[labelwench]

Kuru was first noted in the Fore tribe of the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea as Australian administrators explored the area in 1957–1959. It was in the late 1950s that the full extent of the disease was realized, after it had reached large infection rates in the South Fore of the Okapa Subdistrict, though the agent was unknown.[6]

The disease was researched by Daniel Carleton Gajdusek who, along with Baruch S. Blumberg, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1976 for his showing that kuru was transmissible to chimpanzees. This was the first time that this group of encephalopathies had been demonstrated to be infectious and therefore a major step forwards in their investigation. As kuru is the only epidemic of human prion disease in known human history, it has provided important insights into the variant CJD.
From Wikipedia

Immunity

Simon Mead of University College London and others showed in their genetic and clinical assessment that persons, who survived the epidemic in Papua New Guinea, were carriers of a prion resistant factor. Mead's group has shown the source of immunity to be the inheritance of a genetic variant of prion protein G127V.[8] [9] This work remains breaking news as of November 22, 2009 and further implications of the discovery including evidence for rapid natural selection of populations are being discussed[10]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuru_(disease)

Some additional information on prion disease in human beings. LW

An Alaskan veterinarian whom I met through the Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race, and who formerly worked at a racetrack, died several years ago, a rare victim of CJD.

[AntonioLao]

My question is can we ever find (only if they exist) the good prions that can boost our intelligence?

[labelwench]

The prions that cause disease tend to be malformed variants, from what I have been reading. Therefore, I would suggest that the 'good' prions also exist. We are still not certain of the many roles they may play or even what forms they might take, based on the following.

Because prion caused disease affects a relatively small percentage of the population, it has not been given the attention or the funding for research to make fast progress, would be my suggestion.

Health & Medicine / Infectious Diseases

When Bad Prions Go Good

by Jocelyn Selim
From the April 2004 issue; published online April 21, 2004

Long-term memory may depend on molecules that are oddly similar to prions, a sinister group of proteins believed to cause mad cow disease. Kausik Si and Nobel laureate Eric Kandel of Columbia University claim that the property that makes prions so deadly—their ability to set off a chain reaction of protein shape-shifting—allows our brains to store thoughts for a lifetime.

Si was studying CPEB, a protein that helps activate neural connections during memory formation, when he noticed that the tail of the molecule resembled a prion. Curious, he engineered CPEB into yeast cells to see what would happen. In its new environment the protein acted just like a prion: It folded itself into a new shape and caused neighboring proteins to do the same. But the shape-shifted molecules didn’t become garbage, as happens when prions misfold to cause diseases like mad cow. Instead, the changed CPEB became a fast-replicating, active version of its normally dormant form.

“This suggests there is a normal role for prionlike proteins in the brain,” Si says. He speculates that transient electrical signals flip dormant CPEB into their high-activity, prionlike state as part of memory formation. “The fact that the process is self-perpetuating makes the new connections very stable,” he says. His work may not lead to a cure for prion diseases, but it gives us a better idea of how they work. Mad cow prions are found all over the body, but they cause problems only in the brain. The problem, Si speculates, is that neurons provide a prion-friendly environment because similar proteins operate there all the time.

[labelwench]

Another interesting article that I found posted on a Physics Forum....

http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=11751

[austintorn@aol.com]

The prions accord with my post 'Memory Explained' that I put out from time to time.

[Graybeard]

The evolution of life on planet Earth could not have followed wasteless processes of mutation.

Agreed .. it hasn't

Equivalently, perfect mutation is unnatural. Consequently, perfect mutation would short-circuit the evolutionary process to the extent that a monkey born today will conceive a human tomorrow.

Alternatively, perfect mutation (despite the fact that the verb mutate means to change) could have been that DNA follows perfect replication (perfect clones). In which case the environment would experience no change. This is a more logical hypothesis, because in order for the monkey to conceive a human, then something would have had to conceive the monkey, signalling the need to change, or adapt, hence not perfect ..... and why associate humans as the perfect mutation ?

Perfect DNA replication does exist in some species of flora and fauna. Those that can self fertilise. Some examples: The Woolomi Pine, species of Lizards ... and great White Pointer sharks, when a male cannot be found.

Wherever and whenever the environment makes it difficult for two-to-tango, then adaptation makes it possible for one-to-tango.

I also agree that viruses are the leggo blocks of us all.

cool bananas ... greg

[AntonioLao]

I also agree that viruses are the leggo blocks of us all.

I can't understand why they were rejected by the evolutionary process? Becoming renegades of the Clone War of DNAs and RNAs.

[Graybeard]

Perhaps they are not renegades ....... but a certain amount of aggressiveness and rejection is a necessary part of the selection (natural selection) process that aids binding ?? In other words, as unjust as it may seem to us, the acceptance of a virus is only accomplished after an internecine war has been fought between the host and the invader ? Easier to weed out incompatabilities in the planning stage, than to alter the foundations later .... lol

Perhaps if we were all examined under a 'virus' microscope (lol) it would be found that we are just a huge compilation of viruses. We have been 'built up' from an initial single cell ... and just added to, until we now believe we are the elemental part ?

Recently ... in the last 4-5 years (???) a particularly 'malignant' virus was about to run rampant throughout the feline (felid) species. It was considered a high probability that it would devastate the entire feline species, including all the big cats. Preparations were made to save core breeding stock and warnings were issued world wide.

However, as it turned, no 'wild' cat was affected (effected ?) by the disease. By wildcats I mean the Big Cats or the species Panthera. Remarkable as this result was ... it was found that all wildcats, especially Lions, Tigers, and Leopards already had this 'virus' code in their system. Further, DNA markers showed that it had been there for millions (??) of years. The Panthera species is the oldest of the feline (felid) species ... between 2.5-3.5 million years old.

The conclusion drawn from this was that the virus had invaded the panthera species all that time ago, had decimated those who could not adapt to its invasion, leaving alive only those that could successfully 'adopt' it .... They are now the common ancestors of all Pantheras today .... and this virus code can be read in their DNA.

Now, I may not have got the biological terms right, but the story is as I have told it.

Further, in an amazing piece of triva, a remarkable mutation occurred in a single cat ...... this mutation was so beneficial that ALL cats alive today carry this mutation ... any cats that were alive and did not carry this mutation have gone extinct .. so that the gene pool is now dominated by this mutation.

The mutation is that no cat (felid) can taste 'sweet'. Why should this be a beneficial selection ... as its survival proves ??

To nearly all species, sweet means energy. Why would it be beneficial not to recognise energy when it is served up on a plate.

I can think of some reasons why cats who liked 'sweet' went extinct from the gene pool, and those who didn't remained and came to dominate it.

cool bananas ... greg

[Lloyd Gillespie]

Antonio, nothing biological can boost intelligence, except maybe good food and sex, because intelligence is not biological. Intelligence is conceptually learned__That's purely perceptual seeing, hearing and cognizing__And, all exist within perception... I see, I know, I'm smarter__It's that simple... Biology creates the perception vehicle, but any dumb perceptual human, can become intelligent by enough study and good guidance__It's just plain hard work, and paying attention to detail...

My question is can we ever find (only if they exist) the good prions that can boost our intelligence?