Snails get memory implant

[Brian G Turner]

'Memory transplant' achieved in snails

A team successfully transplanted memories by transferring a form of genetic information called RNA from one snail into another.

The snails were trained to develop a defensive reaction.

When the RNA was inserted into snails that had not undergone this process, they behaved just as if they had been sensitised.

Another interesting aspect to this experiment is it tests the idea that memories are not actually stored by the connections between neurons, but instead within the RNA of the neurons themselves. Unless memories are formed both ways - which might explain the difference between short-term and long-term memory?

Either way, intriguing.