

Memories may be stored on your DNA - maxwell
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20026845.000-memories-may-be-stored-on-your-dna.html

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DaniFong
They claim that how memories are stored in the brain over decades is a
mystery. But even simple Hopfield networks have stable fix-points to a few
gradual deletions, especially if new neurons come into replenish them. I very
much doubt that the major mechanism in the brain can be explained with this
phenomenon, though the protein mechanics of synapses could certainly be aided
or realized with this as a crucial component.

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HeyLaughingBoy
If true, doesn't this mean that you might possibly pass on memories to your
children?

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Retric
No, your not storing your memories in the cells that you use to have children.
They are suggesting nerons are using their DNA like a message board to store
information, but it's specific to each cell. I suspect like most processes in
our cells DNA is involved, but what's changing is the wrapper around the DNA
not the DNA's code.

Edit: think of DNA as program code, and what's wrapped around it as RAM.

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trapper
Of course, last year we thought introns we junk dna, a few years ago there was
no such thing as epigenetic information and rna was only an intermediary.

[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?tool=bookshelf&...](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?tool=bookshelf&call=bv.View..ShowSection&searchterm=methylation&rid=cell.figgrp.2114)

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mvid
So the game Assassin's Creed was correct..

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Anon84
Frank Herbert's Dune saga was correct much before that...

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unalone
And Jung's theory of the collective unconscious before Herbert was. (Jung was
a bit more boring about it, though.)

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tarkin2
And the Buddha had a few words to say on that, too.

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Retric
Ok, it's an old idea and that article is vague, but this is talking about
something else. Read the summary and focus on what _in the adult nervous
system_ means.

"DNA methylation is a covalent chemical modification of DNA catalyzed by DNA
methyltransferases (DNMTs). DNA methylation is associated with transcriptional
silencing and has been studied extensively as a lifelong molecular information
storage mechanism put in place during development. Here we report that DNMT
gene expression is upregulated in the adult rat hippocampus following
contextual fear conditioning and that DNMT inhibition blocks memory formation.
In addition, fear conditioning is associated with rapid methylation and
transcriptional silencing of the memory suppressor gene PP1 and demethylation
and transcriptional activation of the synaptic plasticity gene reelin,
indicating both methyltransferase and demethylase activity during
consolidation. DNMT inhibition prevents the PP1 methylation increase,
resulting in aberrant transcription of the gene during the memory-
consolidation period. These results demonstrate that DNA methylation _is
dynamically regulated in the adult nervous system and that this cellular
mechanism is a crucial step in memory formation._ " (added italics)

PS: Sorry, if you where all just joking, but the summary is worth a read.

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aseclear
So you're saying gene regulation controls cellular activity? Who knew.

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aswanson
Of course memories are stored in dna -- the successes, failures, stops, starts
etc of evolutionary history. I wish NS would kill these linkbait-style titles
and stick to disseminating information...but I suppose they have bills like
the rest of us...

