DNA
Daily Ramble
I’ve spent more than my fair share of time considering DNA and its evolution. It’s probably why I’m predisposed to saying “no” to the COVID vaccine without overwhelming longitudinal studies showing its safety and efficacy.
Why? Maybe it’s the work I’ve done with psychedelics — I’m not quite sure. Actually, I am. It’s definitely been influenced by psychedelics. Let’s get some block and tackling done before I go much further, though. DNA is the double helix structure that exists in anything we consider remotely alive. If it doesn’t have DNA, it can’t be considered life — even tangentially. Viruses have DNA, and we argue if they’re alive or not, but nothing geological has DNA, making it devoid of life. (We can argue about the spirit of stones and mountains another day…) Epigenetics I think of like switches that either allow or suppress the genes in our DNA. When our parents conceive us, our DNA is set, but epigenetics will influence what gets expressed or not. All this is my layman’s understanding, so if I’m off base, I’ll gladly be corrected and share that in a future Ramble.
The breakthrough in understanding DNA’s structure came, in part, from Francis Crick, who happened to be on LSD when he made his discovery. The basic building blocks of DNA are four different molecules, called nucleotides, which go by their abbreviation of A, G, C, and T. The innumerable combination of these four molecules bound within the DNA double helix of various lengths is responsible for all life diversity on our planet. How those four molecules first occurred and arranged themselves into a double helix structure is considered the origin of life on our planet. No one has a definitive answer, but lots of folks have hazarded plausible theories. Crick, for his part, thought the arrangement came from outer space — a meteorite, perhaps.
That’s all beyond my comprehension, but however it started, the idea that DNA itself has some purpose intrigues me. If it did, wouldn’t it want us to become aware of it? The shamans in the jungle certainly have been a long time, as evidenced in Rick Strassman’s DMT: The Spirit Molecule.
At present, estimates are that 80%+ of our DNA is non-coding, meaning that 80%+ of our DNA has no specific biologic function that science can detect. One of my bedrock beliefs is that nature is completely efficient, leaving nothing to waste. It’s inconceivable to me that 80%+ of our DNA is junk, as some scientists have labeled it. The fact that we don’t know what this 80%+ of our genome is up to is one of the biggest mysteries of the universe in my mind. Could our consciousness, spirit, or ancestry somehow be locked up in that 80% of our DNA we don’t understand? Unraveling the mystery is likely to shift our conception of self radically.
More importantly, I sure want to avoid anything that might disrupt my genetic birthright.
Favorite Thing on the Interwebs Today
It’s not what you think…
Bitcoin Price Prediction
Yesterday: $50k - $57k
Today: $53.6k - $59k
Tomorrow: $55k - $62k
We got a shot in the arm today from Elon, making an incredibly bold announcement about Tesla, which I’ll cover in a moment. The net-net is that the potential pivot I mentioned yesterday is firming, likely leading us back up to test the highs again in the $62k region over the coming days. The low at $53k is increasingly looking like the low point for our latest pullback that started last Monday. So what am I expecting for today and tomorrow? A grind. Getting past $57k and $59k will both be hurdles we need to clear. Once we close over $57k on the day, I anticipate a push to $59k. And once over $59k, I anticipate a push to $62k. That could take us through the better part of this week and next to accomplish, though.
The series of Tweets from Elon Musk today could not be more bullish:
It’s not just that everyone purchasing a Tesla in the US is offered Bitcoin payment by default, nor that Tesla is cutting out all payment processors by running their own node, but the fact that they are KEEPING the Bitcoin instead of selling it to fiat that makes today’s announcement so insanely bullish.
Bitcoin Q & A
Q: What is a Bitcoin node?
A: An internet-connected device running the Bitcoin software.
A Bitcoin node sends and receives new transactions, validates new blocks, and stores a copy of the entire blockchain. Recall that a block is a “mined” set of transactions. Each new block is chained to the next, forming the blockchain.
Operating a node increases the Bitcoin network’s decentralization, strengthening the network. Because the node interacts directly with the Bitcoin network, there are no intermediaries that can censor transactions.
Thanks for reading,
Kent
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