Cellular/Tissue Memory

[Physiotherapist]

What do people think about this concept?

[axon]

It exists in the simple manner that if a cell receives an input, it can change it's state, and thus act as a pseudomemory. However, the term is usually banded about by people arguing for some sort of cellular consciousness which is where it all goes downhill.

[MichelQC]

Please bear with me because I am not much of a scientist but just for my own personnal knowledge, how do you define "memory"? Do you mean memory in the sense that a living cell will absorb some kind of information it didn't possess at the time it was formed and then be able to retain it and/or transmit it?

Just wondering,

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

The history gene, the history gene!

~~ Paul

[Flange Desire]

It all depends on what you mean by memory.
But if you mean memory as in the popular function of our brains, then ...

These memories are complex and require the participation of many individual cells working in concert.

This is a sufficient reason to posit that one cell does not have a 'memory'.

[Flange Desire]

But if you define memory to mean some informational content that records or describes (some part of) the history of the cells ancestors ...

The genetic information contained in the cell could be viewed as SOMETHING LIKE this type of memory, as it describes in a VERY abstract way the history of (some aspects of) the environments experienced by the ancestor cells.
But this information (memory) can only be interpreted (recalled) via reproduction; not by consumption.

Personally I would not use this definition of cellular memory, as it is an unnatural forcing of the reality to fit the concept.

[athon]

There's a whole thread on this topic that was discussed recently. I'll try to find it.

Athon

[El Greco]

I agree with axon. When muscle fiber typing changes in response to exercise this is a form of "memory". Nothing more, nothing less.

[SezMe]

In the USA the National Science Foundation has been running a series of public service announcements to highlight scientific progress that has been funded by YOU, the taxpayer. This alone raises many issues, but let me ignore them and focus on a single ad I have heard 2-3 times.

Basically, the ad says that grandparents can pass characteristics on to their grandchildren through means that are NOT contained in the genes of the intermediate generation. IOW, there is extra-genetic "memory".

Sorry for the lack of a cite. I will listen more closely next time I hear the advert and try to find some relevant (read, better) information.

[Mojo]

There's a whole thread on this topic that was discussed recently. I'll try to find it.This one, perhaps: http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=55635

[athon]

This one, perhaps: http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=55635

That's the one.

Ah, memories. From the corners of my cytoplasm.

Athon