A new study in the United States has found that bacterial cells are able to "remember" brief changes in themselves and their surrounding environment, and pass on the "memory" of these changes to their offspring. This discovery can be used for new medical applications, such as altering pathogenic bacteria to prevent the emergence of drug resistance in their offspring. A core assumption in bacterial biology is that heritable physical characteristics are primarily determined by deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). However, from the perspective of complex systems, information can also be stored at the network level that regulates relationships between genes. This regulatory network is similar to the "communication network" that genes use to influence each other. To test this hypothesis, researchers from institutions such as Northwestern University in the United States focused their attention on Escherichia coli. Escherichia coli is a single cell that has been extensively studied as a biological model. It has fewer genes than human cells, and the scientific community has a certain understanding of the organizational structure of its gene regulatory network. The research team used mathematical models of regulatory networks to simulate the temporary inactivation and reactivation of individual genes in Escherichia coli. They found that these brief disturbances can produce lasting changes, which are expected to be inherited over multiple generations. The team stated that this temporary deactivation and reactivation (i.e. reverse perturbation) will trigger irreversible chain reactions in the regulatory network. The relevant connections may play an important role in the process of bacterial cells passing on the memory of changes to multiple generations. The team believes that this study also suggests that this effect may be widespread in other organisms, as the regulatory network of other organisms is similar to that of Escherichia coli, and even more complex and sensitive. The research team is currently verifying their simulation results in the laboratory. The research results were published in the latest issue of the American journal Science Advances. (New Society)