Question about worms... learning.

[money]

My fifth grade teacher told the class of a science experiment done on some kind of worm. Meal worms, I think. (It's been a while since 5th grade.)

It involved the first generation being fed ground up hamburger, then put in some sort of terrarium where part of the ground was electrified. Eventually, the worms learned not to hang out in the electrified area.

According to my teacher, these worms were ground up and added to the hamburger mixture and fed to a new batch of worms. This new batch of worms learned by way of nutrition (supposedly) that they should not venture to the electrified side of their habitat.

This sounded like horse manure to me then, and now, but I was wondering if anyone else had heard of (or has more info on) this subject.

I think I only remembered it as it was the first time I ever stumped a teacher. I asked him what the first batch of worms had learned about cows by eating hamburger.

[AnotherSillyAlias]

I don't know what he answer to your question is but I'm impressed with the result of your anti gravity experiment as shown in your avatar.

[Jeff Corey]

You should have asked if they ground up your teacher and fed him to you if you would have ended up as smart (Doh!) as he was.
This is a garbled version of James McConnell's work with flatworms. It was not replicated.
Case closed.

[Kopji]

The paper below has a list of research papers. This is from 2002, is there still interest in the subject?

http://www.drmichaellevin.org/Planaria/prelimdata/CMueller.pdf


...Smallheiser, N. R., Manev, H., Costa, E. (2001). “RNAi and brain function: was Mc-
Connell on the right track?” TRENDS in Neurosciences 24.4:216–218.

[Starthinker]

Reminds me of the 50 monkey theory, or what ever it was called. Where, if you take a population of, say, 1000 monkeys on an island and teach 50 of them to (for example) use a rock to break open a coconut, then somehow the whole population knows and they will all start doing it, even if parts of the population have never seen or come in contact with the 50 monkeys. 49 or less and only those will do it, 50 or more and suddenly, through a process not yet known, they all do. I think the actual number was a ratio of some kind. No really, I read this somewhere and I'm sure people believe it.

[Ed]

My fifth grade teacher told the class of a science experiment done on some kind of worm. Meal worms, I think. (It's been a while since 5th grade.)

It involved the first generation being fed ground up hamburger, then put in some sort of terrarium where part of the ground was electrified. Eventually, the worms learned not to hang out in the electrified area.

According to my teacher, these worms were ground up and added to the hamburger mixture and fed to a new batch of worms. This new batch of worms learned by way of nutrition (supposedly) that they should not venture to the electrified side of their habitat.

This sounded like horse manure to me then, and now, but I was wondering if anyone else had heard of (or has more info on) this subject.

I think I only remembered it as it was the first time I ever stumped a teacher. I asked him what the first batch of worms had learned about cows by eating hamburger.

I forget the reference but it was never replicated and the critters were planaria (flatworms).

Your teacher is correctly describing the first experiment though.

[Ed]

You should have asked if they ground up your teacher and fed him to you if you would have ended up as smart (Doh!) as he was.
This is a garbled version of James McConnell's work with flatworms. It was not replicated.
Case closed.


Damn, I should have read the thread before I posted.

[dogjones]

Damn, I should have read the thread before I posted.

Why did You even need to read the thread? Am I wrong in attributing omnisicience to You?

[Dogdoctor]

It's the brains. You need to eat the brains to get smart so hamburger would only make you stronger. Seriously I think the original flatworm experiment has been disproven (is that a word?)

[dogjones]

It's the brains. You need to eat the brains to get smart...

Are worms immune to kuru (http://www.as.ua.edu/ant/bindon/ant570/Papers/McGrath/McGrath.htm) then?

[dogjones]

Or perhaps Mad Worm Disease. They already seem pretty silly to me though.

[RayG]

Questionable experimental methods and results.

http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=826389

RayG

[money]

Einstein on Pumpernickel.... lol.


Thanks everyone, for your replies!