How plausible are the Pak Protector changes in Humans?

Got to thinking about the next level of development Niven specs out in
Protector; knobby joints, loss of 'non-productive' organs and equipment,
increase brain (& skull), etc.

Some of it is similar to a molting like a crustacean, of a butterfly
from a larva. Especially true is the softening of the brain case and the
increase in gray matter.

Niven writes about these changes as triggered by an enzyme, one we
Terran 'Pak' have grown to live without but we still have vestigial
remnants of it in our genetic memory. Things like arthritis & loss of
the old choppers. (After all, we grow two sets of teeth, why not a third
or more sets?)

I've been thinking about some of these things in terms of better health
to go along with a longer life span, too bad we can get some sort of
'reset' to slough off built up toxins, to reset our DNA/RNA from some
sort of inner repository that was 'write protected' so to speak.

Whatcha guys think?

TBerk

Most of the changes he specifically notes as happening from change
from Breeder to Protector are just an exageration of things that
happen normally (as you already noted)
Hopefully, with the soon to be coming of full blown Nanotech, we can
realize some changes along these lines as happening.

Marc in Michigan

T <tberk.RemoveThis@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
 > Got to thinking about the next level of development Niven specs out in
 > Protector; knobby joints, loss of 'non-productive' organs and equipment,
 > increase brain (& skull), etc.
 >
 > Some of it is similar to a molting like a crustacean, of a butterfly
 > from a larva. Especially true is the softening of the brain case and the
 > increase in gray matter.
 >
 > Niven writes about these changes as triggered by an enzyme, one we
 > Terran 'Pak' have grown to live without but we still have vestigial
 > remnants of it in our genetic memory. Things like arthritis & loss of
 > the old choppers. (After all, we grow two sets of teeth, why not a third
 > or more sets?)
 >
 > I've been thinking about some of these things in terms of better health
 > to go along with a longer life span, too bad we can get some sort of
 > 'reset' to slough off built up toxins, to reset our DNA/RNA from some
 > sort of inner repository that was 'write protected' so to speak.
 >
 > Whatcha guys think?
 >
 > TBerk<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->