SMF

I know what a neurotransmitter is, and I know that they frequently initiate action potentials in both the cell that is presynaptic, and the cell that is postsynaptic, to a specified synapse. I don't believe-- "Neurotransmitter are only relevant to eventually create AP in the postsynaptic cell" as you said. What is important to Scilearner's question is that synapses cannot transmit information in both directions while axons can, and this polarizes the direction of travel in most normally functioning nervous tissues. SM

Mrs Zeta: You say- I say- It is so great to have people with vision to help me find my way in this complicated world. Sheesh! SM

Mr Skeptic says, regarding my comment about unnatural selection,-- "Which is nothing more than natural selection in an unnatural environment." Answer-- For me yes. No. I am not sure. I guess my interest is, is it plausible? SM

Pingu. Interesting question. You should be able to find the e-mail address of a penguin researcher and just ask them. Look at research articles that usually give institutional affiliation (check the website) of authors and sometimes contact information. You will find that most researchers are enthusiastic about their interests and are happy to help out with questions like yours. SM

Insane_alien, Mrs Zeta thinks that unnatural selection is going to take over. SM

CharonY, so, you don't think that a neurotransmitter would ever be relevant for creating an action potential in a presynaptic cell? SM

Steve69, this is an amusing hypothesis. How do you propose that it might be tested? SM

The article that you linked says that the UPS programs the routes of their drivers for efficiency and maximizing right turns is more efficient than left turns. This is because left turns require more time waiting for a gap in oncoming traffic or a traffic signal to change than right turns. This is, of course, only true in countries that drive on the right side of the roadway. SM

One of the most interesting relatively recent additions to the theory for me was the significance of neutral mutations.

Mrs Zeta. Your ideas are fun but are speculative fiction, especially because you don't take into account a large variety of other predictions that, it they were correct, would make yours very unlikely. SM

Blahah, you misunderstand the concept. Labeled lines maintain different types of information separate in different pathways, or within an array of axons in a pathway, such that the information at the source is reconstructed at the termination. For the senses, this information can be a large variety of sensory qualities, and one important quality is spatial relationships within the receptor surface. A homunculus is a construct of spatial representation. SM

You are correct. Almost all neuron networks that transmit information over distance (not local interneurons) are polarized such that an action potential can only be initiated at one end (usually the cell body) and transmitted by way of a synapse at the other end. SM

Burn out?

Blahah and Thinker_Jeff are referring to the labeled line theory. SM

Working voltage gated sodium channels are necessary for an action potential to occur because it is part of the mechanism.

The Green Optimistic website also has a flagged tip for Recommended Reading: How to run your car on water. This involves the production of high energy HHO gas for injection into the intake of an internal combustion engine. I don't trust websites that promote hoaxes. SM

If Ahmeeeeeeeeeed has an incandescent lamb (another interesting image) the changing resistance of the filament with temperature also has to be taken into account. Resistance is low in a cold filament so a lot of current flows, but when it heats up and is bright its resistance increases and current reduces. SM

SysD. I don't think there is a separate clinical name for loose connective tissue. Clinicians learn this in the first year of medical school in basic science courses. It consists of delicate collagen (mostly type 1) and elastin filaments that provide structure while keeping enough space for tissue fluid, immune cells and fibroblasts which maintain and repair the fibrous component. The immune cells consist of macrophages, eosinophils, neutrophils, T-lymphocytes, B-lymphocytes and their progeny (plasma cells), and mast cells. These cells are either white blood cells, or their descendants, although mast cells are not usually seen in the blood. Also, of course, this space contains extensive blood capillary beds and lymph capillaries. The hormonal interactions between all of these cells is very complicated, but they work in concert to control infection from foreign organisms and repair damage. Any alterations in the connective tissue itself is performed by fibroblasts. This usually involves rebuilding collagen and elastin, pulling together wound openings, and sometimes building bulwarks to wall off infections. SM

Dark areas that absorb more light get warmer and thereby conduct more heat to the air, and radiate more IR which is partially transferred to the air via greenhouse gasses, so that air above should be warmer. Lighter areas reflect more light and absorb less, so the air above should be cooler. SM

These ideas have been extensively explored in science fiction, primarily via the notion of a matter transmitter that doesn't actually send matter to a different location, just the information necessary to make an exact duplicate of a person at the destination. The experience of the sender is entering a booth, undergoing some kind of scan, and then leaving to go about his/her business. The duplicate at the destination experiences going into the booth and walking out at the destination. There are now two exact copies of the individual that begin to diverge in experience at this point (e.g. one knows that he is a copy). I recommend a somewhat different version of this in The Kiln People by David Brin. The experiences of Dean Mullen in his original thought experiment would be to not detect any transition in himself between the point in his life from when the duplicate was made, to the copy created later. If the environment of the copy were also identical to the past, then Dean wouldn't even know that there was a billion year gap in his life. This further brings up the old conundrum-- how do you know that this hasn't happened to you already, dozens of times. The way I look at this question is that continuity of experience as stored in a brain are necessary for the continuity of identity of a person. Alter the experiences or the brain and the person is different. For interesting real life examples check out Phineas Gage for an altered brain and the book (also movie) Awakenings by Oliver Sacks for transporting a person, with stored experiences intact, forward in time (both are covered in Wikipedia). SM

In regard to separated hemispheres of the brain, the problem is that the two hemispheres are not identical. In Roger Sperry's hemispheric separation experiments he found that the two cortical hemispheres are specialized for different functions. In most people the left hemisphere is specialized for speech, math, and other more cognitive functions. The right hemisphere is specialized for spatial relationships and other more global functions. They normally operate together for an integrated human and both hemispheres share all the the other functions that are not a component of consciousness, but are necessary for normal human functions which are numerous. I don't see how dividing a brain into two individuals could work, but in any case the resulting two persons would be very different and subnormal. SM

My understanding of the post is that with infinite time the exact same person will occur. No mechanism was suggested, just that with enough time it would happen. I would like to know more about the infinite postulate, otherwise, this is just an interesting thought experiment that belongs in Other Science or Philosophy. SM

I agree about the misplacement of this topic but while it is here, how about experience. Without the same past a copy would just be a twin or clone. To be the same person you also have to postulate an exact same environment with the same history, culture, parents and childhood experiences. Also, what do the physicists say about Dean Mullen's statement regarding infinite space and eternal time. SM

I learned from reading Lynn Margules that horizontal gene transfer is bacterial sex without procreation. SM

With some trepidation: Swelling is enlargement. It refers to size increase. Inflammation is a pathological process involving blood vessels (usually capillaries) and surrounding tissue. It describes degenerating and healing responses to damage from trauma, chemical agents, or infection. Edema primarily refers to the accumulation of tissue fluid in the tissue surrounding capillary beds when there is inflammation. Most of the capillary beds in our body reside in loose connective tissue that provide a space for the exchange of nutrients, waste, and gasses with most of the cells of our body. Edema, as a part of inflammation, involves an increase in the leakage of blood filtrate (e.g. plasma) into this tissue. There are a variety of immune cells that live in loose connective tissue that mediate inflammation and edema, and when they detect some problem they release chemicals that attract other immune and connective tissue cells and also cause capillary beds to greatly increase their normal slow leakage of fluid into the tissue. This brings in more immune cells, circulating antibodies, and nutrients needed to put the situation back in order. There is normally a slight excess of fluid leaked into tissues and this is carried off in the lymph vessel system. The excess fluid is first filtered through lymph nodes to check for foreign antigens and then conducted back to the blood via entry to the subclavian veins in the neck. The lymph nodes are key for detecting infection and when there is inflammation the flow through them increases and they are key for regulating the immune response. SM