Nature does some crazy stuff, Ted. I guess you saw the reported research in Tel Aviv on the nematode? They have figured out the epigenomic pathways for transgenerational memory in the nemotode, one the best known genomes and a model system. “Nematodes are the most numerous multicellular animals on earth. A handful of soil will contain thousands of the microscopic worms, many of them parasites of insects, plants or animals.” (1) Your basic roundworm. Photogenic? I don’t think so. But just imagine that you can teach one something and it can be remembered and acted on three or four generations later, and we don’t yet know how long. I have mentioned it in my blog before. This means that the rate of growth of knowledge will go hyperbolic. This means that massive growth of knowledge and building momentum will drive an entirely different kind of civilization than we have today.
Nature does some crazy stuff and it’s good news.
