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Just so you know, there's half a dozen of equally plausible hypotheses about REM function, and dozens more of more fantastical. Most amusing one yet is about sy
by textor 8y ago
Just so you know, there's half a dozen of equally plausible hypotheses about REM function, and dozens more of more fantastical. Most amusing one yet is about synthesis of molecular chaperones that guard against aggregation of chains produced during NREM. But honestly we just don't know.
Personally I agree with Marcus Schmidt and his idea of "energy allocation function of sleep". Basically it says that distinct physiological states provide viable configurations of priorities for vital functions that allow for the lowest possible energy expenditure over the whole cycle. I.e. there's no single specific function of REM sleep, it hosts all functions that are too costly to prioritize during other states, and the same is true for NREM.
- iagooar 8y agoThat means that biology uses the same idea of having "background jobs" and worker queues that get more relevant while the main function has a bit less to do: many IT systems will schedule some tasks during the night when there is not much going on, so they can prioritize them because otherwise they wouldn't get a chance during the day. I wonder if there are universal laws that transcend biology and technology, all following the same rules that we haven't figured out yet.
- pm90 8y agoEverything derives from the laws of physics (well as we understand it now at least; our understanding has and will change in the future) so its not that surprising that in aggregate they would result in similar systems. I'm not saying its not fascinating though. It is incredibly fascinating, and this kind of research is exactly why we should be investing MORE not less in pure science.
- nonbel 8y ago>"this kind of research is exactly why we should be investing MORE not less in pure science." I disagree. Look at the paper: https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(18)30624-9 https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(18)... Can you point out where they even report the temperature of the brain/brainstem? This looks like it is just wild speculation.
- godshatter 8y agoAgreed. Hopefully someone will so we can get some good data on this.
- leonroy 8y ago> many IT systems will schedule some tasks during the night when there is not much going on Indeed, it’s natural that we do this but kind of funny when you consider that our machines now have their own circadian rhythms in tune with ours. What might our IT infrastructure look like if humans evolved to sleep far less or not at all I wonder!
- maushu 8y ago> What might our IT infrastructure look like if humans evolved to sleep far less or not at all I wonder! We probably would have started with multi-core systems much sooner.
- SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago> What might our IT infrastructure look like if humans evolved to sleep far less or not at all I wonder! Sounds like your typical developer or sysadmin to me, so probably not much different at all. ;)
- pc86 8y agoCan you explain to someone without a graduate degree in biochemistry what about "synthesis of molecular chaperones that guard against aggregation of chains produced during NREM" is amusing?
- textor 8y agoYou don't need a degree here. It's not amusing in a bad way, it's not ridiculous. I mean to say that it's highly surprising and counterintuitive, like a punchline in a joke. Most theories about REM are focused on brain function, as is almost all research on it. Chaperone production, though, is a basic housekeeping routine. Saying "well, REM isn't about episodic memory consolidation or dreaming or wherever you might think, it's an epiphenomenon of a very low-level mechanism that prevents boiling alive" is almost as unorthodox as claiming that learning to code is about forearms' dexterity.