It's been talked about a few times on HN already, but it's a very interesting protein. It suggests a genetic delivery mechanism that is already in the body - and thus doesn't invoke a lot of the immunogenic properties of using viruses for gene therapies.
I don't have the slightest idea of whether this is something that's plausible -- but is there any mechanism that this rna could use to go from mother to child during pregnancy or vice versa?
Came here to say that, feels a little eerie. Just like that other reply pondering about a cure to that disease. Definitely makes for a great SciFi plot. :)
Going further down that road, it also means that pretty much everything mankind has achieved is just a byproduct of said disease.
With the usual crummy standards of science reporting, this leaves me more confused than when I started. Is Arc in the human genome or not? If it's not, then where does it come from? And if it is, why do neighboring neurons die if they do not get a transmission of the encapsulated Arc RNA? Can't they build it themselves?
I'm sure there's a straightforward answer to this that I'm missing, but the article isn't helping.
Arc was originally a virus and is now encoded as a gene within the human genome. (part of the point of the article)
The neurons don't die, the synapses wither, and not for lack of the gene, but for lack of the encoded messages ordered up by the gene within neighboring synapses.
The article suggests that synapses are using some sort of chemical notification system, out of band of the synapse-to-synapse firing that permits reorganization. When there is a defect in the notification system, you get autism or worse.
All of that was in the article. Maybe slow down a bit?
“I’d like to share a revelation that I’ve had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you’re not actually mammals.”
“Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment. But you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply, until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area.”
“There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease…A cancer of this planet. You are a plague... And we are the cure.”
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[ 0.23 ms ] story [ 49.7 ms ] threadIf you want to play with the Arc protein check it out here: https://serotiny.bio/notes/proteins/arc/
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16289846
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16139798
If there are any problems with Arc gene -- if it is not transferred properly to a child -- then child might develop various conditions (autism etc.)
Going further down that road, it also means that pretty much everything mankind has achieved is just a byproduct of said disease.
I'm sure there's a straightforward answer to this that I'm missing, but the article isn't helping.
Arc was originally a virus and is now encoded as a gene within the human genome. (part of the point of the article)
The neurons don't die, the synapses wither, and not for lack of the gene, but for lack of the encoded messages ordered up by the gene within neighboring synapses.
The article suggests that synapses are using some sort of chemical notification system, out of band of the synapse-to-synapse firing that permits reorganization. When there is a defect in the notification system, you get autism or worse.
All of that was in the article. Maybe slow down a bit?
If it's not present the channel gets closed.
The whole purpose is to make it possible for a synapse to wither, because to reorganize something needs to be tore down.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Crash
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aezikcoCr4o
“I’d like to share a revelation that I’ve had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you’re not actually mammals.”
“Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment. But you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply, until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area.”
“There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease…A cancer of this planet. You are a plague... And we are the cure.”