The Weissman barrier is the idea, put forth by August Weissman, that mutations in a person’s somatic cells (cells except for egg and sperm cells) would not be passed on to germ cells (egg and sperm cells) and therefore would not be acquired by successive generations. This was largely accepted wisdom until researchers discovered that jumping genes and retroviruses are able to write themselves into the DNA of germ cells, thereby affecting later generations, and that methylation can also change the expression of genes in germ cells.
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Weissman barrier Term Timeline in Survival of the Sickest
The timeline below shows where the term Weissman barrier appears in Survival of the Sickest. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 6: Jump Into the Gene Pool
...cells) and somatic cells (all other kinds of cells). Weissman’s theory, now known as the Weissman barrier , holds that information in somatic cells is never passed on to germ cells. Thus,...
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...if we develop antibodies, we can’t pass them on to our children because of the Weissman barrier . Babies are born with a small number of antibodies, which is why breast milk...
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