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

(instrumental music) Welcome to the Huberman Lab Podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life. I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. Today my guest is Dr. Oded Rechavi. Dr. Oded Rechavi is a professor of neurobiology at Tel Aviv University in Israel. His laboratory studies genetic inheritance. Now, everybody is familiar with genetic inheritance as the idea that we inherit genes from our parents, and indeed that is true. Many people are also probably now aware of the so-called epigenome, that is ways in which our environment and experiences can change our genome and therefore the genes that we inherent or pass on to our children. What is less known, however, and what is discussed today, is the evidence that we can actually pass on traits that relate to our experiences. That's right. There is evidence in worms, in flies, in mice, and indeed in human beings that memories can indeed be passed from one generation to the next. And that turns out to be just the tip of the iceberg in terms of how our parents' experiences and our experiences can be passed on from one generation to the next, both in terms of modifying the biological circuits of the brain and body and the psychological consequences of those biological changes. During today's episode, Dr. Rechavi gives us a beautiful description of how genetics work. So even if you don't have a background in biology or science, by the end of today's episode, you will understand the core elements of genetics and the genetic passage of traits from one generation to the next. In addition, he makes it clear how certain experiences can indeed modify our genes such that they are passed from our parents to us and even trans-generationally across multi generations. That is, one generation could experience something and their grandchildren would still have genetic modifications that reflect those prior experiences of their grandparents. Dr. Rechavi takes us on an incredible journey explaining how our genes and different patterns of inheritance shape our experience of life and who we are. Before we begin, I'd like to emphasize that this podcast is separate from my teaching and research roles at Stanford. It is, however, part of my desire and effort to bring zero cost to consumer information about science and science-related tools to the general public. In keeping with that theme, I'd like to thank the sponsors of today's podcast. Our first sponsor is ROKA. ROKA makes eyeglasses and sunglasses that are of the absolute highest quality. The company was founded by two all-American swimmers from Stanford, and everything about ROKA eyeglasses and sunglasses were designed with performance in mind. Now, I've spent a lifetime working on the biology of the visual system, and I can tell you that your visual system has to contend with an enormous number of challenges in order for you to be able to see clearly under any conditions. ROKA understands this and has designed their eyeglasses and sunglasses accordingly. Originally, ROKA eyeglasses and sunglasses were designed for sport, that is for things like running and cycling, and many of the features they have reflect that. So for instance, they are extremely lightweight, they won't slip off your face if you get sweaty, and they can indeed be worn for running and cycling and things of that sort. However, they also come in a number of different aesthetics and styles that make them perfectly suited not just for sport, but also for wearing to the office to work. If you'd like to try ROKA eyeglasses or sunglasses, go to ROKA, that's roka.com and enter the code Huberman to save 20% off your first order. Again, that's ROKA, roka.com, and enter the code Huberman at checkout. Today's episode is also brought to us by HVMN Ketone IQ. Ketone IQ is a ketone supplement that increases blood ketones. Now most everybody has heard of the so-called ketogenic diet. Most people, including myself, do not follow a ketogenic diet. That does not, however, mean that ketones cannot be valuable because ketones are one of the primary sources of brain fuel and body fuel that allows us to think clearly for long durations of time and to perform well physically. Which is all to say that even if you're somebody who's not on a ketogenic diet, such as myself, increasing your blood ketones can be immensely beneficial for cognitive and physical performance. Indeed, that's how I use Ketone IQ. I'll take one or two servings per day typically, sometimes before a workout, but most typically before doing a bout of cognitive work. 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And when you wake up in the morning, in order to do that feeling refreshed, your body temperature actually needs to increase by about one to three degrees. So it's critical that you control the temperature of your sleeping environment and that that temperature be controlled very specifically across the night and into the morning. With Eight Sleep mattress covers, that's all extremely easy to do. You can program the temperature of your mattress in the beginning, middle, and throughout the night and when you wake up. I've been sleeping on an Eight Sleep mattress cover for over a year now and it has greatly improved the quality of my sleep, and indeed I know that because Eight Sleep also includes a terrific sleep tracker built directly into that mattress cover. If you'd like to try Eight Sleep, you can go to eightsleep.com/huberman to save $150 off their Pod 3 cover. Eight Sleep currently ships in the USA, Canada, UK, select countries in the EU, and Australia. Again, that's eightsleep.com/huberman. And now for my discussion with Dr. Oded Rechavi. Oded, thank you so much for being here.