Weismann Barrier

Imagine someone you know was in an accident. Unfortunately, he lost a leg. Would this characteristic pass on to his offspring?

The question is a serious one.

Eminent scientists have given considerable thought to this matter. These questions led us to discover something known as the Weismann barrier, in honor of German scientist August Weismann.

If you look at the child of any parent, it is fairly apparent that they inherit characteristics. Not just appearance, even laughter or personality.

So, would it not be natural to assume that if the parent had a very particular characteristic or even experience, the child could inherit it?

To answer this question, Weismann developed the concept of a barrier between your cell and the germ cell.

The germ cells was the cell that replicated your DNA and carried the characteristics to your child but was independent of what happened to you after you were born.

Changes in somatic cells do not affect the genetic material passed on to the next generation, scientifically speaking.

The barrier effectively separated the inheritance of traits from the effects of environmental factors or individual experiences.

To demonstrate, Weismann cut off the tail of mice and showed how the offspring still had tails.

The work was revolutionary. It emphasizes the importance of genetic continuity and the stability of genetic information through generations.

So what was the important take away?

It was clear that species evolved and adapted. It was also clear that there was an interplay between the environment and evolution.

So then how was the species adapting and changing without inherting the lessons learned by the ancestor.

The answer lies in the understanding that while traits acquired during an individual’s lifetime are not inherited by their offspring, evolution and adaptation occur through a process called natural selection.

Charles Darwin pioneered the concept of natural selection, which states that genetic variations naturally occur within a population and are inherited if they confer survival or reproductive advantages and not otherwise.

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