Book Theory

Peter Maguire (Sudden Superhero)

*lifting weights on the bench press*
27.... 28.... 29.... 30!

*sets weight bar back on the bench press and inhales and exhales hard as I catch my breath and wipe my forehead with a towel from the sweat*

Whew! What a workout.

......

Hello and welcome back to Book Theory! It's time for us to tackle the newest superhero to show up on Wattpad by Kelsea_Dove, a character with common superpowers but a fantastic story. I present to you Peter Maguire, aka the Red Soldier!

Peter was having a nice average day on the balcony of his apartment home when a robber stole important stuff from a company that had a serum to create a new superhero. Pete accidentally helped the robber up to where he is at without knowing that he was aiding a criminal. And said criminal threw the syringe that had the serum inside at Peter and woke up the next day having superpowers.

OK, the powers that Peter acquired from the syringe is super strength, super agility and super fast reflexes. (And maybe peak human hearing, which is like super hearing but not as strong.)

So we're gonna measure up Peter's powers to the spectacular means of science.

Why only super strength and agility? There's a simple solution and it's a protein called myosin.

Myosin is what makes our muscles be able to move. It interacts with actin, another protein formed into filaments to make up the cytoskeleton and actin is like a microscopic transportation system to distribute the myosin proteins throughout the cytoskeleton to promote motor functions for the muscular system in the body. Some of the myosin proteins is also responsible for muscle contraction.

Plus, we have muscles all over our body that is responsible for the movement we make with our faces, in our arms, our legs, our torsos. Heck, even our butts and pelvises! And let's not forget the heart being a muscle, too. The myosin proteins has to reach every corner of the body just to provide movement and to keep our hearts beating.

But what about the superhuman reflexes and the possible peak human hearing? There's another simple answer involving a special set of myosin proteins and a gene named ACTN3.

While researching, I learned that even some myosin proteins are found in the inner ear. These myosin proteins are called myosin VIIA, controlled by the MYO7A gene and they are responsible for our sense of hearing. The myosin VIIA regulate the production and maintenance of hairlike projections called stereocilia. Stereocilia is rich in actin and it bends to the presence of sound waves and in turn, the inner ear turns the sound waves into electrical impulses to the brain to translate it into what it hears. They are also found in the retina to give us our vision. Without these myosin proteins or if the amount is abnormal, we'd be deaf, blind or both like Helen Keller.

So if Peter's inner ear was strengthened by the serum that slightly altered the MYO7A gene, then it would explain how Pete would be hearing things that's above the average hearing sense than most people. Maybe he'd also have better eyesight than everyone else. Who knows?

For superhuman reflexes, this is where ACTN3 comes in. This gene is popularly dubbed the 'sports gene', which is also connected to strength and speed. ACTN3 instructs a protein called alpha-actinin-3, providing said protein for muscle fibers that twitch quickly. Faster twitching muscles would indicate speed, agility and reflexes in response to muscle neurons, concentration and reaction time, so that's pretty much self-explanatory. (If not, sorry for the vagueness)

Long story short: the serum only enhanced the ACTN3 and MYO7A genes in Peter's DNA, enhancing the skeletal muscles within his body, making them denser and gifting him with super strength and agility. It also adjusted his heart to regulate the new levels of myosin and actin proteins, as well strengthening his speed, hearing and reflexes.

I wonder what other muscles or proteins are enhanced in Peter's DNA. Just wishful thinking.

But hey, that's just a theory, a Book Theory!
And that's the last page, folks!

Theory End

That was pretty short, but science always like short explanations in very technical and fancy terms.

Comments and votes are appreciated.

Onto the next  theory!