David: I think the legitimate answer is we don't know where prions fit in. I'm glad you are back, and I hope it is for a good length of time. What's happened with your book?-I dug into the final proof of my book for prions: -"Another alternative to early information-bearing proteins,
other than RNA, is prions. These are the same type of proteins
that cause mad cow disease. Recently, prions have been found to
manage changes in wild yeast, changes that are beneficial and
helpful especially when the the yeast is under stress. And these
changes are inheritable.-Quoted study: Prions were first found to produce heritable new traits
more than a decade ago in laboratory studies of simple
baker's yeast. The key discovery then was that some proteins
could spontaneously switch from a normal shape into
a self-perpetuating prion conformation. The switch to the
prion state alters protein function, which can result in the
appearance of new traits, some helpful, some detrimental.
Sophisticated cellular machinery ensures that replicating
[reproducing] prion templates are chopped into pieces
that can be passed to daughter cells during cell division.
Importantly, the rate at which proteins switch into and
out of the prion state increases in response to environmental
stress, suggesting that they are part of an inherent
survival mechanism that helps yeasts adapt to changes in
their surroundings. All the prions appear capable of creating
diverse new traits, nearly half of which are beneficial.
Convinced of the impact prions have had on yeast evolution,
the researchers speculate that these shape-shifting
The Atheist Delusion: Science IS Finding God 91
proteins may be "remnants of early life," from a time when
inheritance was predominantly protein-based rather than
nucleic-acid based (Prions are a common mechanism for
phenotypic inheritance in wild yeasts. Nature, 2012; 482
(7385): 363 DOI: 10.1038/nature10875).-This discovery with information-bearing prions opens up a
new theoretical area of an early attempt at an origin of life. But
it is a surprising odd-ball discovery considering what has been
thought to be reasonable in the past. Prions are proteins. The big
issue is how did they start? Where did their information come
from? In other words, prions have the same problems all the
other molecules have, which have been considered or attempted."-As I said, interesting but don't advance any theories.


> > Matt: I'm not throwing it out there to confuse... come now... we have much history! 
> > 
> > There are tantalizing puzzle pieces here. I'm reminded of Number Theory: Tons of problems--trivially easy to define. Nearly impossible to solve.
> 
> I think the legitimate answer is we don't know where prions fit in. I'm glad you are back, and I hope it is for a good length of time. What's happened with your book?-Finals week this week, and I needed a diversion. -I'm back, it'll still be intermittent, but the next few weeks I'll be free. (Selling the house, so not THAT free, but still...)-As for the book, stalled. I need to get on the Hemingway plan of "Every day, 500 words."

--
\"Why is it, Master, that ascetics fight with ascetics?\"

\"It is, brahmin, because of attachment to views, adherence to views, fixation on views, addiction to views, obsession with views, holding firmly to views that ascetics fight with ascetics.\"

Brain neurons follow lognormal patterns:

https://www.livescience.com/health/scientists-reveal-the-hidden-math-that-governs-how-n...

"The density of neurons in the brain is governed by a fundamental mathematical function, new research finds.

"The discovery, which holds true across a variety of mammals, could help researchers make better computer models of the brain in the future.

***

"During their attempts to build models of the brain, van Meegan told Live Science, the team realized scientists knew little about what dictated the density of neurons in the brain. While previous work had compared densities from species to species or from some layers of the cortex — the outer, wrinkly part of the brain — there was little information about how the density of nerve cells might vary within cortical regions.

"The researchers combined previously collected data from mice, marmosets, macaques, humans, galagos (also known as bush babies), owl monkeys and baboons. They found that neurons were distributed in a common pattern across all of these mammals: Within different cortical regions, the density could be described with a lognormal distribution.

"On a graph, a lognormal distribution is skewed to one side, with a long tail tapering off to the right. What this represents, van Meegen said, is that there are a lot of regions with average neuron densities, but a few regions have much higher density. And those higher density regions may be important, because they represent rare but important deviations from the norm.

"'If we only look at the mean number of neurons, maybe one doesn't see the difference," van Meegen said. But the long-tailed distribution means that a few changes to extreme outliers in density might make a big difference in brain connectivity or even function.

"The researchers also investigated why this pattern might hold across very different mammals. They found that given the way neurons arise — by cells dividing in a somewhat variable environment — the lognormal distribution arises naturally, without any need for regulatory processes.

"'It may originate from how the brain comes to be, by cells splitting over and over with a little bit of noise, possibly from internal variability or changes in the environment," or variability in the environment, Morales-Gregorio said. "This probably explains why it's everywhere."

"The researchers are now looking at how this pattern of distribution affects how neurons communicate with one another, and whether disruptions in the pattern might lead to neurological problems."

Comment: Look at the article to see the patterns which are logarithmic. More of God the math wizzard.