Editing Parahuman (section)

==Biology==
Parahumans and potential parahumans have a structure called the [[Corona Pollentia]] in their brain. The size, shape, and location of this structure varies with the individual parahuman, but tends to be located between the frontal and parietal lobe. The Corona Pollentia, along with a substructure inside the Pollentia called the Gemma, allows the parahuman to control their abilities.<ref>“See, there’s this part of the brain that people who study parahumans call the Corona Pollentia, not to be confused with the Corona Radiata.  It’s a part of the brain that’s different in parahumans, and it’s the part that’s used to manage powers, when the powers can be managed.  More specifically, there’s this part of the Corona they call the ''Gemma,'' that controls the ''active'' use of the power, the same way there are parts of the brain that allow us to coordinate and move our hands.”<br><br>She ran her fingers over my exposed scalp, massaging it, as if she were feeling the shape of my head.  “The size, shape and location of the Corona and the Gemma changes from parahuman to parahuman, but it tends to sit between the frontal and the parietal lobe.  Beneath the ‘crown’ of the head, if you will.  They can’t really lobotomize the Corona in criminals.  Some of that’s because the location and shape of the Corona depends on the powers and how they work, and trial and error doesn’t work with the scary bad guys who can melt flesh or breathe lasers.” - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/08/25/snare-13-09/Excerpt] from [[Snare 13.9]]</ref> 

The Corona Pollentia starts out at about the size of a golf ball. During a trigger event, the Corona Pollentia activates in a spurt of growth, spreading further into the brain and forming a connection with the parahuman's [[shard]].<ref name="T7.6">“You get more cloudiness in some kinds of scans where it expands out into the webbing around the brain, but we’re not getting that.  It’s been way too long since I studied this,” I said.  “The corona starts as a single marker, like a quarter-sized knot in wood, or a ball the size of a golf ball, pushed between the two lobes.  Then when we trigger, it surges into life.  It’s part of the reason we black out.  It expands slightly, veins swell.  But most of the time an unactivated corona is hard to tell apart from an activated one, and a surprising number of people have unactivated ones.  Sometimes you look at them and the larger veins or structures suggest what the power is linked to.” - [https://www.parahumans.net/2018/06/09 Excerpt] from [[Torch 7.6]]</ref> It also seems that parahumans can pass on a similar power to their children without them having to suffer severe mental trauma. It is important to note that while children of parahumans are more likely to gain powers, it is pointed out that the trend is more likely to do with long-term exposure to parahumans than genetics.<ref>“The odds are still high, even with an adopted child.  It’s likely more to do with exposure to parahumans at formative ages than genetics.” - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/09/01/interlude-13/ Excerpt] from [[Interlude 13]]</ref><!--expand on this more references!-->

Trigger events can radically alter a parahuman's biology, as seen with certain [[Brute]]s and [[Changer]]s, as well as having other effects such as reducing or even removing [[Noctis cape|the need to sleep]] or obviating the need for a functional body or brain.<ref>“At my apartment, I have papers on stuff like where the physical bodies of breakers go when they’re in breaker mode, or offloaded consciousnesses in nonstandard brains.  I’m not sure if any of it would help in terms of inspiring tech, but maybe it could help you make some educated guesses.”- [https://www.parahumans.net/2018/06/23 Excerpt] from [[Torch 7.10]]</ref> Another example is that parahumans with sonic powers tend to have altered voices.<ref>“What ‘this’?” ReSound asked.  I’d expected her voice to sound altered, as many capes with sonic themes did, but she sounded normal.  Confident. - [[Shadow 5.2]]</ref>

Pre-[[Gold Morning]] powers were also able to alter themselves due to permanent changes in anatomy or biology of hosts, be it mutilation or deeper alterations, as exemplified by [[Victoria Dallon]], [[Valefor]], [[Bonesaw]]'s projects and [[The Unmasked]].<ref>When I was in Boston, there was a group that mutilated themselves to try to force their powers to travel in these alternate paths.  It worked. - [https://www.parahumans.net/2019/05/14/13-z/ Excerpt] from [[Black 13.z‏‎]]</ref>