Weismann's separation of germplasm ( genetic material ) from soma ( somatic cells ) was an idea which took many years before its significance was generally appreciated.

Since he could see no obvious means of communication between the two he asserted that the inheritance of acquired characteristics was therefore impossible ; a conclusion now known as Weismann's barrier.

Weismann's ideas preceded the rediscovery of Gregor Mendel's work, and though Weismann was cagey about accepting Mendelism, younger workers soon made the connection.

Lankester was one of the first to see its importance: his full acceptance of selection came after reading Weismann's essays, some of which he translated into English.

The part of Weismann's theory which proved most vulnerable was his notion that the germ plasm ( effectively, genes ) were successively reduced during division of somatic cells.

The story concerns a reunion in a crumbling Broadway theatre, scheduled for demolition, of the past performers of the " Weismann's Follies ," a musical revue ( based on the Ziegfeld Follies ), that played in that theatre between the World Wars.

In the late 19th century, in a dispute between supporters of the adequacy of natural selection and those who held for inheritance of acquired characters, one of the arguments made repeatedly by Herbert Spencer, and followed by others, depended on what Spencer referred to as co-adaptation of co-operative parts, as in: " We come now to Professor Weismann's endeavour to disprove my second thesis — that it is impossible to explain by natural selection alone the co-adaptation of co-operative parts.

Weismann's work on the demarkation between germ-line and soma can scarcely be appreciated without considering the work of ( mostly ) German biologists during the second half of the 19th century.

In Weismann's opinion the largely random process of mutation, which must occur in the gametes ( or stem cells that make them ) is the only source of change for natural selection to work on.

Cases such as Dolly ( the famous cloned ewe ) which, via somatic cell nuclear transfer, proved that adult cells retain a complete set of information – as opposed to Weismann's increasingly determined gradual loss of genetic information – putting this aspect of Weismann's theory to rest.

These two scientists ' complete rejection of Lamarckism came from Weismann's germ plasm theory.

" He reasoned that, if August Weismann's theory of germ plasm is correct, the nation is wasting money when it tries to improve people who come from poor stock.

He reevaluates August Weismann's model of the cell compartmentalization of somatic and germline cell lineages ( see Weismann barrier ), and argues that the vision of the individual taken by the modern synthesis is insufficient to explain the early evolution of development or ontogeny.

Though contrary to Darwin's view, Weismann's belief that determinants shape the body, and never vice versa, has long been known as the central dogma of modern biology.

Weismann's position towards mechanism of inheritance and its role for evolution changed during his life.

On the soon-to-be demolished stage of the Weismann Theatre, a reunion is being held to honor Weismann's " Follies " shows past, and the beautiful chorus girls who once performed there.

Lamarckism fell from favour after August Weismann's research in the 1880s indicated that changes from use ( such as lifting weights to increase muscle mass ) and disuse ( such as being lazy and becoming scrawny ) were not heritable.

A foundation from the inheritance of Weismann's mother allowed him to take up studies in Göttingen.

At the beginning of Weismann's preoccupation with evolutionary theory is his grappling with Christian creationism as a possible alternative.

During the winter of 1896, while quarantined in a sanitarium recovering from tuberculosis, Spemann read August Weismann's book The Germ Plasm: A Theory of Heredity.

A new generation, nostalgic for the spectacle and perceived glamour of the classic American burlesque, developed a cult following for the art in the early 1990s at Billie Madley's " Cinema " and later at the " Dutch Weismann's Follies " revues in New York City, " The Velvet Hammer " troupe in Los Angeles and The Shim-Shamettes in New Orleans.

" Weismann's brief contained an appendix providing statistics showing that bakers ' mortality rates were comparable to that of white collar professionals.

Other evidence against Weismann's barrier is found in the immune system.

`` It was Brenner's idea '', Jess mumbled, dabbing at his nose.

He had no idea which was up and which was down.

Beyond the two basic tasks mentioned above, no attention was paid by statesman or scholar to an idea of state responsibility, either internally or externally.

Despite the clarity of his presentation, his idea was not of Einsteinian calibre.

To get an idea of the embarrassment and chagrin that was heaped upon Wright and Olgivanna, we should bear in mind that the raids were sometimes led by Miriam in person.

Apparently still sensitive about the idea with which General Gates had approached him at Saratoga, namely, that George Washington be replaced, Morgan was vehement in his support of the commander-in-chief during the campaign around Philadelphia.

Their policy ran counter to the traditional idea that a good fighter was usually a libertine, and that in sex affairs `` God-given passion '' was a proof of manliness.

Yet, the idea imbedded in each was identical: to surround the unknown with mystery and to isolate that class which had been given special dominion over the secrets of God.

The idea was not even suggested because political expediency prevailed over wisdom.

He had no idea where he was.

He realized that he had no idea where the telephone was.

Although Mr. Brown was not himself its inventor ( it was a French idea ), it is typical that his intuition first conceived the importance of mass producing this basic tool for general use.

While Mr. Blatz was putting up the pegboards and starting the workbench, Mr. Crombie told him of this idea about paneling the whole end of the cellar.

Instructions to relax, i.e., to be `` spontaneous '', and react immediately to whatever impulse they might have, was not sufficiently reassuring until some idea of the possibilities of normal reactions had been given.

By this time Churchill was not so cordial toward moving Poland westward as he had been at Teheran, where he and Eden had both heartily approved the idea.

The dated poems also give us an idea of the degree to which Hardy drew upon past productions for his various volumes, and therefore probably are an indication of the amount of poetry he was writing at the time.

For weeks he had been saying that Hudson's idea of sailing through to Java was absurd.

And it was Lucy Upton who first started the idea of a regular course in Music at Spelman College.

That, incidentally, might give you some idea of what Felix was like.

Well, it hadn't been what it seemed, he'd had no idea the girl was in there.

This was senseless -- he had no idea what to look for.

`` I'll get my references in order '', Needham said, and though he spoke with a smile, Casey somehow got the idea that he was not particularly amused.