Does anyone know how the nucleus destruction happens? Is there any analogy to regularization/sparsification in machine learning? Is there some kind of process that destroys the nucleus of the least useful neurons?
The hypothesis advanced by the article is that there is no loss of function. The neurons are packed with enough proteins to function for five days. The nuclei are just dead weight.
In mammals, red blood cells don't have nuclei either and can live up to 90 days in physiologic conditions.
Educated guess resp. nuclei destruction mechanism: probably through partial apoptosis (nucleus fragmentation), autophagia, and/or expulsion and phagocytosis by other cells.
