Written by Aashritha Ramesh.
Today’s world is highly technology-oriented. As each day passes we come up with a new digital innovation that might change our lives for good.
We have been building supercomputers and devices that could store huge amounts of data. What we fail to realize is that our human body, itself is one of the most complex data storage systems ever created.
The human body is constructed piece by piece starting from the smallest unit called a gene. Our gene is capable of holding generations of information in its microscopic unit which has enabled us to learn from our ancestors, adapt and evolve according to the environment around us, and propagate the human population in their image.
Genetic memory is something of extreme scientific importance. It is implied evidence of the fact that the cells are constantly learning and altering their composition to ensure the survival of the body. A good example of this could be vaccines. Vaccines induce a small, non-lethal dose of the pathogen inside the body so that the immune system can familiarize itself with the pathogen and create antibodies to destroy it if it affects the body again.
On a big picture scale, the son of a cook might naturally inherit his father’s skill of cooking. Or a grandson might inherit his grandfather’s skill of pottery. This is a commonly observed notion, but it cannot be supported by a scientific basis since cooking, pottery or any other skill might be an acquired trait.
Let’s look at a very important example that clarifies our knowledge about genetic memory.
Example — Viruses: They are one of the most peculiar creatures in the biological world. They don’t have their own genetic structure but they use the genetic structure of the host to reproduce. Now what is curious about viruses is that they adapt and mutate according to their surroundings.
Say, for example, a virus A has been affecting a certain population. Now scientists discover a vaccine for it which destroys the virus’s protein coat rendering it dead. Once the host cell for the virus familiarizes itself with the vaccine, the viral protein mutates to a different strain that slowly over time becomes immune to the vaccine! This is what makes viruses so deadly. They have precise, sharp, and accurate genetic memory that enables the strain to mutate to ensure its survival even in hostile conditions.
Another angle to look at genetic memories from. Now, this segment may not be experimentally proven, but it’s just a thought.
Have you heard people come up to you and tell you that they saw themselves in an alternate life? Have you ever wondered how a birthmark occurs? Have you known something that you have had no chance of ever knowing?
Scientific theory states that the neurons in your subconscious brain might be showing you flashes of your ancestor’s memories which is why people claim that they saw themselves in an alternate life when it’s just mere figments of memory from five or six generations before you!
Hinduism calls it rebirth or reincarnation, science calls it genetic memory.
Again, this hasn’t been experimentally proven, just a hypothesis.
Birthmarks are nothing but the pigmentation of your skin at different places. But a genetic memory theory states that your cells contain information from your previous generations about them getting hurt somewhere, or getting a scar from some injury. Your birthmark might be a testament to their injuries! Again, doesn’t have scientific backing. But it is interesting if you think about it!
If we can unlock the key to accessing genetic memory stored inside our body we might open a whole new Pandora’s Box of possibilities. We might actually know what history was actually like, and the truth about genetic memory.
Then again, we need to build another supercomputer to map the trillion bytes of unstructured data inside our genes!
