Dr. Oded Rechavi: Genes & the Inheritance of Memories Across Generations

Andrew Huberman – Dr. Oded Rechavi: Genes & the Inheritance of Memories Across Generations

Dr. Rehavi explains how our genes and different patterns of inheritance shape our experience of life and who we are

DNA is the genetic instructions contained in every cell of the body, condensed into chromosomes
RNA is the instructions to make one particular protein based on the entire set of possibilities
Somatic cells are all the cells that are not germ cells and should not contribute to the next generation
Germ cells are the only cells that contribute to the next generation

McConnell was an American psychologist who studied Planaria, a type of flatworm
He claimed to be able to teach them certain things and transfer memories through feeding
His research was controversial and could not be replicated
Recently, a researcher from Boston replicated some of McConnell’s experiments
McConnell also claimed to be able to transfer memories through fractions of the worm, such as DNA, RNA, fats, proteins, and sugars
His research was popular knowledge and was considered pseudoscience for many years

Epigenetics is the interaction between genes and their products that bring about the phenotype or consequences and how genes influence development
DNA can be chemically modified, such as methylation, acetylation, and serotonin
Identical twins can look different due to epigenetic changes or other mechanisms
Epigenetics is the inheritance of traits across cell division or generations without changes to the DNA sequence

Model organisms are organisms that many people work on to learn about biology, including humans

C. elegans is a model organism that is a small worm, 1mm long, found in rotten fruits and leaves

It has a fixed number of cells, 302 neurons, and each neuron has a name
It has a connectome, a map of which neurons talk to each other
It is transparent, so neurons can be seen firing
It has a short generation time of 3 days and produces hundreds of progeny
It is easy to manipulate and study, and does not require a sensitive environment

Bandwidth of inheritance can be very specific or very general
Brain activity can be transferred to the next generation in worms, but not in mammals
Memories encoded in the brain cannot be transferred transgenerationally due to the different languages of the brain and inheritance
Memories that are very specific may be able to be transferred through the production of small RNAs