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by SunSparc 3884 days ago
More proof that genetics is not read-only.
1 comments

No, this doesn't permanently alter the DNA sequence.
Doesn't matter. It's the "reflections on trusting trust" kind of thing - we, our parents, grandparents, etc. form a chain; some runtime modifications to replication mechanism could propagate forward indefinitely, without changing the DNA in the process.
Nice insight. To save a few clicks to those remembering this classic (or reading for the first time!):

https://www.ece.cmu.edu/~ganger/712.fall02/papers/p761-thomp...

But, it is like commenting out regions in code. You are factually right, in that there is no editing of the DNA sequence i.e. no mutations. But this phenomenon exerts a similar end effect.
Not "end", exactly - at least, not if you look past N generations.

The question is, how many generations does it take for this to wear off? Or is it "good until cancelled"?