# Are Memories Transferable? Meet the Scientists Replicating an Infamous Study to Find Out

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/are-memories-transferable-meet-the-scientists-replicating-an-infamous-study-to-find-out/
- Published: 2026-10-31T09:30:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-31T10:40:37+00:00
- Original publisher: Wired
- Original article: https://www.wired.com/story/are-memories-transferable-meet-the-scientists-replicating-an-infamous-study-to-find-out/
- Topics: Americas, Research, Science, World

## Key points

- Harvard researchers are revisiting claims that worms can learn.
- Earlier studies said memories transferred through cannibalism.
- Modern attempts have not reproduced the reported learning.

## Summary

Harvard neuroscientist Sam Gershman’s lab is trying to reproduce 1960s experiments that appeared to show planarian flatworms could be trained and pass memories to other worms through cannibalism. The work matters because confirming those claims could offer clues about memory beyond the brain, while repeated failures raise questions about the original findings.

Research assistant Kelso collected wild worms from rivers and lakes after laboratory-supplied specimens proved unsuitable, but none learned to associate a bright light with an electric shock as earlier studies reported. Planarians can regenerate from tiny fragments, and past researchers said trained worms’ memories could transfer when they were eaten; the article describes a mystery that has persisted for about 60 years.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.