 To the extent that the DNA transmitted to the next generation has been shielded from most of the interactions that occur during the organism’s lifetime (both within the organism and with the environment), there is a barrier to “peculiar” traits (Johannsen’s label for traits acquired during the specific development of the parents) being passed on to their offspring. (A key part of this shielding is the one-way transcription of DNA to RNA [which then codes for the amino acids that make up proteins], not, in general, transcription in the other direction.) While the genotype-phenotype distinction can be seen to signify the existence of this barrier, there is a long history of researchers claiming to show ways around it. Most notably, the modern science of epigenetics, building on ever-increasing information about DNA sequences and how genes function, shows how chemicals from outside the cell can modify the activity of genes for the rest of an organism’s life and sometimes even into subsequent generations (Stotz 2006). 