In Assassins Creed, scientists used a device the animus so the main character could relive events of his descendants in a dreamlike environment.

I remember seeing something on a talk show involving people who kept having weird dreams that couldn't possible fit there lives...as if it was something from the past.

They got DNA tests, and it revealed that they could have been having dreams linked to someone from that persons ancestry. Has anyone else heard about this? And are there any helpful links or terms that I can use to further research?