A controversial idea from the mid-20th century is attracting renewed attention from researchers developing theories for how cognition arises with or without a brain.
Two research groups demonstrate that in Caenorhabditis elegans, behavioral traits can be passed down through the germline to future generations, even though they aren’t hard-wired.
Unsuccessful attempts to reproduce the results of a 2015 study reporting that C. elegans orient themselves by Earth’s magnetic field spark debate among researchers.