Why does immunity to pathogens that our parents are already immune to have to still be aquired later on in life through infections and shots and not just be inherited through genetics?
In: 20
Because (acquired) immunity isn’t carried by a gene. It’s carried by a bunch of white blood cells that and antibodies that “match” a specific protein in such a way that they can bind to it. They can stick around in your body after an infection, but they aren’t written into your genetic code. (You do, however, get some of them via breastmilk from your mother if you’re breastfed as an infant, though those usually do not stick around for very long.)
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