Humans evolved extended plasticity and neoteny.
Modern media seems built to exploit it — repetition, novelty, baby-words (Goo-gle - Tik-tok - Bum-ble - Lady "gaga")
I think marketing has figured out.
Makes me wonder if cultural neoteny feeds back into how we develop.

20 years ago, Aaron Osgood-Zimmerman and I would entertain ourselves asking questions like, "How many crickets are in field?" or "How many cells are in the body?"

Aaron became a statistician, and I become a biologist.

We have now collaborated on an interesting exploration: doi.org/10.64898/202...

I didn’t realize the retina has PNN-like ECM components. Visual development also shifts through childhood toward more stable foveal-detail processing. Makes me wonder: if humans evolved extended neoteny, would that prolong global-dominant perception?

From 2021, It would be fascinating to see whether a partial reduction in HA degradation shifts neural crest migration efficiency or timing.

The cell surface hyaluronidase TMEM2 plays an essential role in mouse neural crest cell development and survival
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

ECM mechanics can regulate gene activity through mechanoenhancers

I kind of love this. And potatoes 🥔

Super excited to share this new story led by @jedziabis.bsky.social where she defines a critical role for microglial innate immune signaling in PV cell and perineuronal net (PNN) development in hippocampus, and consequences for plasticity and behavior in adulthood www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

From what I can gather Hyaluronan turnover changes massively across life:

Embryo: HA turns over in hours
Fetus: slows to hours–days
Postnatal: slows further to days–weeks
Late teens/20's: peak
Aging: creation slows, degradation speeds up - body gradually “dries out”.

Slow it down just a little..

Could LMW-HA signalling influence pruning or the timing of circuit maturation during critical periods?

There’s scattered evidence that low-molecular-weight hyaluronan activates TLR2/4, and that TLR2/4 signalling shapes microglial activity.
Any experts?

We associate hyaluronan + glycolysis with cancer, yet they’re essential for wound healing.
If glycolysis drives long HA and long HA stabilizes tissue, then paradoxically glycolysis + HA might be protective, not carcinogenic?

Here’s the idea I’m exploring:
Many species that evolve to be more social or less aggressive also show neoteny — they keep youthful traits for longer.
Not just in appearance, but in the brain: plasticity, longer learning windows, emotional sensitivity.