Cellular Memory

One of my hobbies is to think about lots of obscure things that most people don't really care about.
A recent line of thought I got into is in regards to cellular memory. I got to wondering where things like intuition and instinct come from. Have you ever been trying to figure something out, and the answer leaps out at you? Especially in an area you might not have a lot of experience?
Years ago I had read a paper that discussed instinct in animals. Why do animals know how to do some things, if they have not been taught, that sort of thing. The discussion was about memories being passed on from generation to generation in the cells of the animals. I thought about it on and off for years and finally got around to looking it up. Turns out there really is such a thing. It has been noticed in heart transplant patients in regards to the new heart. Too much detail to go into here about that so I won't.

I wonder though, if it could be possible that our cells carry at least partial memories of previous generations. That maybe it would be possible to access them, if they exist, by meditation or some other form of effort.

I haven't found a lot of info on the subject.

Any thoughts?

 

What do you mean by previous generations? Like, you having memory of 1538?

This might be what you're looking for: Akashic Records. Better link: http://www.crystalinks.com/akashicrecords.html

 

Possibly. I was thinking more along the lines of an imprint in the cells.
Kind of difficult to explain what I am trying to say, but it goes something like this;
Each person's knowledge up to any given point in their lives is imprinted in the cells of their body, along with their brain. Like attachments to their DNA, RNA, etc., sort of along the lines of computer memory, it is just imprinted there. WHen two people get together and produce a child, their combined memories, knowledge, etc., is carried into the mixing of the cells which create a child. The child then carries that record of the parents within it's own cells, and the process goes on and on.
I looked into reincarnation years ago but never really formed an opinion on it, although there is evidence that it does really exist. I think though, that what I am thinking about is different, as the memories would be transferred from generation to generation, and reincarnation doesn't seem to follow a pattern where people always reincarnate into the same families.
It is a good idea though, I will have to look into that again.

 

the passing of genetic material in the form of DNA is pretty amazing in its own right, without further speculation.

however, there have been recent studies showing that actions taken by one individual can have lasting effects on their offspring, or even their grandchildren in the form of DNA modifications.

this is not exactly "memory" in the form of knowledge as we think of it.
but it is "cellular memory" - it's not really a thought - but an actual molecule that exists as a marker for a specific "memory"

i don't think it works on the level that you're thinking of though...
just my opinion

 

I wonder if epigenetics is more of what you're thinking of? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetics

I read a story about generational disease. I forget where it was .. a European country. It was believed that famine and starvation of prior generations was the cause of obesity in the studied generation.

Yep, "Moreover, the children of the women who were pregnant during the famine were smaller, as expected. However, surprisingly, when these children grew up and had children those children were also smaller than average.[7] These data suggested that the famine experienced by the mothers caused some kind of epigenetic changes that were passed down to the next generation." Dutch famine of 1944

 

It sure sounds promising though, I will have to look into that for sure, thanks!

 

Too cool! Gotta look into this more too. Great stuff, thanks guys!

 

we are actually talking about the same thing - sheela nailed it - it's called epigenetics

 

After reading the article sheela posted, it appears to be very much related, but it does take into account outside influences that affect cell changes.
From the article:
"Robin Holliday defined epigenetics as "the study of the mechanisms of temporal and spatial control of gene activity during the development of complex organisms."[18] Thus epigenetic can be used to describe anything other than DNA sequence that influences the development of an organism.
The more recent usage of the word in science has a stricter definition. It is, as defined by Arthur Riggs and colleagues, "the study of mitotically and/or meiotically heritable changes in gene function that cannot be explained by changes in DNA sequence."[19] The Greek prefix epi- in epigenetics implies features that are "on top of" or "in addition to" genetics; thus epigenetic traits exist on top of or in addition to the traditional molecular basis for inheritance."

It surely does seem to say though, that instructions are passed on by the parents, so it is definitely a step in the right direction. I'll have to look at more of the articles this one quotes. Fascinating what nature can do.

 

You might want to check out Bruce Lipton. I listened to a webtalk a while back and was just blown away. This guy is fantastic. Even if he doesn't offer exactly what you're looking for, you might find a few bits of information.

https://www.brucelipton.com/about

 

I surely will check him out. Doesn't matter if it is exactly what I am looking for or not, anything close to the subject is worth looking into, and I enjoy learning new things anyway. Thanks!

 

to me i cannot fathom it being anything other than genetically coded... consider things that do not need specific 'learning'

i.e blinking

we naturally do it.. right from the moment we are born.

so just apply that across the spectrum of more complicated behaviours.

 

some things are hard wired into brains. when you are born, your brain already has many connections between neurons. strengthening certain connections and growing new connections is learning new things.

 

Bruce Lipton says that genes themselves don't control anything. He says that the environment controls the genes. That speaks directly to your words, "outside influences that affect cell changes." He gives his definition of epigenetics at about 11 minutes.

Beyond Awakening

 

well genes can't really do anything unless they are transcribed into RNA first. this requires a lot of cellular factors and transcriptional activators. so in that sense, the (cellular) environment really does control the genes.

 

Yes but what Bruce is saying is that the environment determines all of that. As it applies to the human body itself, he calls blood the environment. He goes much further, saying that our beliefs are a huge part of the equation.

 

I do believe that outside influences work in the manner sheena is discussing. I wonder, though, how much is passed down through generations via a "recording" somehow, that stays with the cells as they pass on from generation to generation. I think the info posted so far hits on that pretty good, I just need to understand it better. Lots of reading to do now. Interesting subject.

 

This touches on the subject I am trying to understand very well. I think it goes without saying that automatic functions are present (or not, in some instances of disease, etc.) in the cells when a new life is forming, I wonder though, if more than just those functions are recorded in the cells. Say, for instance, an ancestor of mine three hundred years ago knew how to sculpt marble, and, I find that I do the same thing very well (I don't, at all) without any training at all. I wonder if that sort of thing is passed down via some sort of code in the cells, and it crops up from time to time. Like instinctual things, I wonder if various talents are the result of the same sort of thing.

 

Inheritance of blessings and curses?

 

I don't really believe in either, but I suppose a person could inherit bad traits along with any good ones.