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

Huberman Lab

Scicomm Media

Science, Health & Fitness, Life Sciences

4.8 • 26.2K Ratings

🗓️ 27 February 2023

⏱️ 152 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, my guest is Oded Rechavi, Ph.D., professor of neurobiology at Tel Aviv University and expert in how genes are inherited, how experiences shape genes and remarkably, how some memories of experiences can be passed via genes to offspring. We discuss his research challenging long-held tenets of genetic inheritance and the relevance of those findings to understanding key biological and psychological processes including metabolism, stress and trauma. He describes the history of the scientific exploration of the “heritability of acquired traits” and how epigenetics and RNA biology can account for some of the passage of certain experience-based memories. He discusses the importance of model organisms in scientific research and describes his work on how stressors and memories can be passed through small RNA molecules to multiple generations of offspring in ways that meaningfully affect their behavior. Nature vs. nurture is a commonly debated theme; Dr. Rechavi’s work represents a fundamental shift in our understanding of that debate, as well as genetic inheritance, brain function and evolution. For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our sponsors AG1 (Athletic Greens): https://athleticgreens.com/huberman ROKA: https://roka.com/huberman HVMN: https://hvmn.com/huberman Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/huberman InsideTracker: https://www.insidetracker.com/huberman Supplements from Momentous https://www.livemomentous.com/huberman Timestamps (00:00:00) Dr. Oded Rechavi (00:02:08) Sponsors: ROKA, HVMN, Eight Sleep (00:06:04) DNA, RNA, Protein; Somatic vs. Germ Cells (00:14:36) Lamarckian Evolution, Inheritance of Acquired Traits (00:22:54) Paul Kammerer & Toad Morphology (00:28:52) AG1 (Athletic Greens) (00:30:06) James McConnell & Memory Transfer (00:37:31) Weismann Barrier; Epigenetics (00:45:13) Epigenetic Reprogramming; Imprinted Genes (00:50:43) Nature vs. Nurture; Epigenetics & Offspring (00:59:06) Generational Epigenetic Inheritance (01:09:03) Sponsor: InsideTracker (01:10:20) Model Organisms, C. elegans (01:21:50) C. elegans & Inheritance of Acquired Traits, Small RNAs (01:26:02) RNA Interference, C. elegans & Virus Immunity (01:34:13) RNA Amplification, Multi-Generational Effects (01:38:41) Response Duration & Environment (01:47:50) Generational Memory Transmission, RNA (01:59:36) Germ Cells & Behavior; Body Cues (02:04:48) Transmission of Sexual Choice (02:11:22) Fertility & Human Disease; 3-Parent In Vitro Fertilization (IVF); RNA Testing (02:17:56) Deliberate Cold Exposure, Learning & Memory (02:29:26) Zero-Cost Support, Spotify & Apple Reviews, YouTube Feedback, Sponsors, Momentous, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac Disclaimer

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Uberman Lab podcast where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life.
0:08.8	I'm Andrew Uberman and I'm a professor of neurobiology and
0:12.4	Ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. Today my guest is Dr. Oded Rakhavi.
0:17.4	Dr. Oded Rakhavi is a professor of neurobiology at Tel Aviv University in Israel. His laboratory studies genetic inheritance.
0:24.8	Now everybody is familiar with genetic inheritance as the idea that we inherit genes from our parents
0:30.1	and indeed that is true.
0:32.1	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 inherit or pass on to our children.
0:44.9	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.
0:53.9	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.
1:04.6	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.
1:13.2	Both in terms of modifying the biological circuits of the brain and body and the psychological consequences of those biological changes.
1:21.5	During today's episode, Dr. Rakhavi gives us a beautiful description of how genetics work.
1:26.3	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.
1:36.8	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 transgenerational across multi-generations.
1:49.5	That is, one generation could experience something and their grandchildren would still have genetic modifications that reflect those prior experiences of their grandparents.
2:00.0	Dr. Rakhavi takes us on an incredible journey explaining how our genes and different patterns of inheritance shape our experience of life and who we are.
2:08.8	Before we begin, I'd like to emphasize that this podcast is separate from my teaching and research roles at Stanford.
2:14.4	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.
2:21.7	In keeping with that theme, I'd like to thank the sponsors of today's podcast.
2:25.6	Our first sponsor is Roka.
2:27.6	Roka makes eyeglasses and sunglasses that are the absolute highest quality.
2:31.7	The company was founded by two all American swimmers from Stanford and everything about Roka eyeglasses and sunglasses were designed with performance in mind.
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