CAN mice pass memories down several generations? It is a startling proposition, and has duly provoked some strong responses. "Crazy Lamarckian shit," exclaimed one observer.
To many biologists, the dirty word here isn't the one you might be thinking: rather, it is the reference to Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, who in the 18th century contended that traits acquired during life can be passed to the next generation. So if giraffes stretch their necks to reach high leaves, their offspring have longer necks. As there's no genetic basis for passing on such acquired traits, Lamarck's mechanism can't be the basis for natural selection, and so was discredited. That hasn't stopped people trying to revive it, for a variety of reasons, often more ideological than scientific.
Now new work suggests that mice may pass on memories of a dangerous smell (see "Fear of a smell can be passed down several generations"). While it needs to be corroborated, this finding seems consistent with Lamarckian inheritance. It is, however, based on epigenetics: changes that tweak the action of genes, not the genes themselves. So it fits with natural selection – and may yet give Lamarck's name a sheen of respectability.
This article appeared in print under the headline "An acquired taste"
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