Psience Quest

Update from Rupert Sheldrake on a wager made ten years ago, with the outcome decided over a 20-year span.

Quote:10th Anniversary of the Sheldrake-Wolpert Genome Wager

In 2009 Professor Lewis Wolpert bet Dr Sheldrake that: "By 1 May 2029, given the genome of a fertilised egg of an animal or plant, we will be able to predict in at least one case all the details of the organism that develops from it, including any abnormalities.”

At the half-way point, with a case of fine port at stake, Rupert is confident. “It’s increasingly likely that Wolpert’s bet will fail. Heredity is not only the result of genes, but also of the effects of parents’ adaptations, inherited epigenetically. These differences are not predictable on the basis of the genome alone.”

more...
https://www.sheldrake.org/reactions/the-genome-wager

Unfortunately for Wolpert's trust in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, it seems epigenetic inheritance has indeed been observed in that species.

Epigenetic Inheritance in Nematodes
The memory of a temperature spike can persist for as many as 14 generations in C. elegans.
https://www.the-scientist.com/the-litera...odes-31228

(2019-05-01, 09:31 PM)Chris Wrote: [ -> ]Unfortunately for Wolpert's trust in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, it seems epigenetic inheritance has indeed been observed in that species.

Epigenetic Inheritance in Nematodes
The memory of a temperature spike can persist for as many as 14 generations in C. elegans.
https://www.the-scientist.com/the-litera...odes-31228

Relevant.
Can stress in the womb lead to mental resilience later in life?