A 10 year old child’s experiment demonstrated that memories can be inherited across generations.
The story started when Jo Nagai, a second grader from Kobe, Japan, observed that swallowtail butterflies he had raised by hand appeared to recognize him, whereas wild butterflies would flee.
Motivated to uncover a scientific explanation, he contacted Georgetown University entomologist Dr. Martha Weiss, who had previously shown that moths retain memories despite the extensive cellular reorganization during metamorphosis.
Encouraged by her research, Jo suggested conducting a similar study with butterflies. This led to a remarkable international collaboration. Using a simple setup created at home, Jo conditioned caterpillars to link a gentle vibration with the smell of lavender.
Remarkably, after their brains were entirely reconstructed inside the chrysalis, 70 percent of the adult butterflies still avoided the lavender scent, demonstrating that their memories had endured the transformation.
The most surprising result emerged when Jo bred these conditioned insects. Neither the offspring nor the grandchildren had ever encountered the vibration, yet both generations displayed an instinctive aversion to the lavender scent.
At the age of ten, Jo compiled his groundbreaking observations into a 33 page paper and presented them alongside Dr. Weiss at the International Congress of Entomology in Kobe. This discovery of transgenerational memory challenges conventional views of genetics and inheritance while illustrating how a child’s curiosity can push the frontiers of scientific understanding.
As a scientist I've had an "elevator speech" prepared for a few years now.
This year I made an "elevator video" & let me tell you: people enjoy seeing my research way more than just hearing about it!
So what do #beavers have to do with #wildfire? Watch (with sound) & find out!
Today The Climate Book is finally released in many parts of the world!
I want to use my platform to share the reality of the climate crisis – to communicate a holistic picture of how the world is changing and what we need to do about it. That is why I created this book.
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📢 ON MARCH 25TH, WE WILL STRIKE FOR CLIMATE REPARATIONS AND JUSTICE!📢
Join us for the Global Climate Strike as we demand policymakers and world leaders to prioritize #PeopleNotProfit!
Find out more: https://t.co/4vSZMw5LoT
#FridaysForFuture
Design made by: @namevdelang
"Right now more than ever we are desperate for hope. But what is hope?
For me, hope is the feeling that keeps you going, even though all odds may be against you. For me hope comes from action not just words. For me, hope is telling it like it is."
#wef2021#DavosAgenda
Crise climática não é prioridade porque não é tratada como crise, diz @GretaThunberg em entrevista a @blogdosakamoto, colunista do UOL.
➡ No papo, a jovem também falou sobre a chegada de Joe Biden à presidência dos Estados Unidos.
Acompanhe na thread! ⬇
While large parts of the Arctic remain ice free, temperatures remain extremely high compared to normal for this time of year.
Temperature is unable to drop much below freezing where open water remains. In the past, ice cover would allow temperatures to be more like -25 °C.
This #Friday mothers r seeking #ClimateJustice along with their children for their #righttolife; these children live on the landfills & r struggling for #CleanAir & health as the landfills continue to fall on their homes in these abnormally heavy rains:((
#Bhalswa#BackToStrike
“After 2 years of school strikes, the world is still in a state of climate crisis denial”
Today ahead of our meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel @AnunaDe, @adelaidecharli2, @Luisamneubauer and I write in The Guardian.
#FaceTheClimateEmergency
https://t.co/1nrLVGKJxX
I can’t remember the last time I had a day off. But ahhh it’s going to be SO nice when this climate thing has been fixed!! Then I think I will go on vacation. Just hang in there a few more decades...
I’m extremely honoured to receive the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity. We’re in a climate emergency, and my foundation will as quickly as possible donate all the prize money of 1 million Euros to support ... ->
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Over 20 000 signatures in 3hrs! Moderating as fast as we can...
Sign & share our open letter with demands to EU-and global leaders here https://t.co/jq0Pwp5KZc
This summer we'll meet with leaders & heads of states, deliver your signatures & tell them to #FaceTheClimateEmergency
We can’t fight the climate crisis without first protecting the people who are the protagonists in this fight from coronavirus. Here you find effective ways of making a diference: https://t.co/VBZuWTyzM0
Please donate!
#SOSAmazonia#SalvemAAmazonia
@GretaThunberg
Be kind. Help where you can. Support those at the front line of our societies. And listen to the experts!
If you use this as an opportunity to mock or oppress your opponents then that really shows your true worth.
Ignore the hate and ignorance. We're in this together.
#COVID19
Anything except drastic emission cuts at the source starting today is surrender. But we will not give up without a fight. Giving up will never be an option.