Jo Nagai was raising swallowtail butterflies at his home in Kobe, Japan, when he noticed something odd. The ones he had looked after as caterpillars seemed to recognize him. Wild butterflies fled. His didn't.
He was in second grade. He wrote a four-page letter to Dr. Martha Weiss, an entomologist at Georgetown University who had studied whether moths could retain memories through metamorphosis. He asked if she could help him design a version of her experiment for butterflies.
She said yes.
Using a muscle therapy device, Jo trained caterpillars to associate the scent of lavender with a mild vibration. When the caterpillars became butterflies, 70 per cent of them still avoided the lavender. Their brains had been completely rebuilt during metamorphosis. The memory survived anyway.
Then he bred them.
The offspring, which had never been trained, also avoided lavender. So did their grandchildren. Without ever experiencing the vibration, two generations of butterflies inherited an aversion to a scent their grandmother had been taught to fear.
Jo documented it all in a 33-page research paper and presented his findings at the International Congress of Entomology in Kobe in 2024. He was 10.
A second grader wrote a letter to a Georgetown professor, and together they found evidence that butterflies can pass memories down through generations.
-Wilderness Whisper
RO!
Around the world, our Viking family rowed as one—from Italy to Canada, Norway to South Africa—ahead of today's match.
Best of luck to our partners at the Norwegian Football Association and the Norwegian National Team as they face off today.
Onwards, and heia Norge! 🇳🇴
#VikingRow #MyVikingStory #Norway
Kamala Harris at her closing campaign rally:
"Donald Trump intends to use the United States Military against American citizens who simply disagree with him."
Ok so wait @CNN if hes not an employee and not paid then can any of us just come in n tell a story abt a phone call w an old person that may or may not have happened? Im so dropping by. Ill tell 6 stories n u guys guess which ones are real. Winner buys street hot dogs!
“The US has an estimated 800 million parking spaces. Most of them are uncovered asphalt sitting in direct sun, generating nothing, absorbing heat, and contributing to the urban heat island effect in every city they're in.
A 2023 analysis estimated that covering existing US parking infrastructure with solar canopies could generate enough electricity to power roughly half the country.”
Thank you #norway 🇳🇴 you rowed 🚣 your way into our hearts. You showed us what was possible. You made us yearn for a kinder America. Thank you for sharing your joy and sportsmanship. You have inspired a whole new generation of young athletes. America loves you. ❤️