Weismann barrier

Topic

The Weismann barrier is the principle that hereditary information moves only from genes to body cells, and never in reverse. Proposed by evolutionary biologist August Weismann, it establishes a strict distinction between the "immortal" germ cell lineages that produce gametes and the "disposable" somatic cells in multicellular organisms. This concept effectively rules out the inheritance of acquired characteristics, serving as a foundational pillar of modern evolutionary biology.