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Re:RNA Memory Hypothesis by dekhn on Thursday February 04, 2021 @10:49AM (#26026344)
Of course you can. See, for example, the Lambda switch. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambda_phage#Induction Yeast modifies its own DNA by copying one of two passive templates into an active region to switch its own internal mating state.

Viruses integrate into the human genome, then decay and eventually become fodder for new regulatory regions and genes.

During human life, your genome is mutated, and your body repairs it, sometimes making mistakes, which are permanent (and passed down to your children if it happens to the germ line).

I could go on...

Re:RNA Memory Hypothesis by dm319 on Friday February 05, 2021 @08:52AM (#26036274)
Ok, DNA changes occur, but physiological writing to the DNA does not happen in humans. I'll give you DNA repair, BCR/TCR rearrangement, meiosis, and also the more recently discovered LINE-1 retrotransposons - but they occur at specific times and usually in a random fashion. I don't think this fits any idea of what memory is.

If you're saying it's theoretically possible, I would agree that it might be, and that there is a potential for DNA to be memory. But to claim that DNA is memory without a known write process is premature I think.

Re:RNA Memory Hypothesis by dekhn on Friday February 05, 2021 @10:01AM (#26036999)
Yeah, I agree- you have to stretch the concept of "brain memories" pretty far to accomodate epigenetics.