Gianni Golfera is in front of a group of people. His eyes are covered, but he can still show these people something that's amazing. First, the people choose sixty numbers as they like. After that, a helper reads the numbers to Gianni. Then, after hearing them just a single time, Gianni repeats the numbers in the correct order from memory. Then, he does it again—backwards!
Gianni has a very special kind of memory. He explains in his own words, "It's a kind of memory that is connected to what I see. It means that every idea I learn, everything I read, becomes a part of me."
Memory is very difficult to understand. Scientists don't really know how it works, yet. The Golfera family genes (基因) may hold important information about Gianni's memory. A scientist called Antonic Malgaroli plans to compare the Golfera family's genes with the genes of more forgetful families. "The question," says Dr. Malgaroli. "is how much it's really because of the Golfera family genes, and how much comes from his practice."
Researchers are now studying how memory and learning change the brain. They are also trying to match those changes to genes. Some research already shows that a great memory may not depend on the right DNA only. According to Dr. Malgaroli, "If you really need to use your brain to store some kind of information, you have this ability. It's just a matter of exercise." That is, practice and exercising the brain can improve the memory!
The same idea is true for Gianni. His genes are only part of the story. Since the age of 11, he's been training his brain to remember more and more. He practices continuously to improve the power of his memory. Gianni thinks about memory, and works on it, all the time. However, Gianni's life is not all about science. He has a normal life, just like other people. So, researchers think Gianni's memory is mainly because of his very hard work. Gianni agrees.
Gianni believes if there is a memory gene, he probably has it. But the success of Gianni may be more about practice and hard work than DNA. At the same time, he might just be showing scientists that a great memory can be made and not just born!
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