We take a look at the history of mRNA, and the story behind the development of mRNA vaccines and how they’ve been pressed into service at breakneck speed to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip Genetics Unzipped is written and presented by Kat Arney with audio production by Hannah Varrall. This podcast is produced by First Create the Media for the Genetics Society - one of the ol...
Jan 14, 2021•37 min•Season 4Ep. 1
In this reposted episode from March 2019, we bring you a very special interview with Mary-Claire King - one of the world’s leading geneticists, whose work has spanned everything from comparing chimps and humans to finding the first breast cancer gene to reuniting families that have been torn apart. Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip Genetics Unzipped is written and presented by Kat Arney with audio producti...
Jan 07, 2021•33 min•Season 3Ep. 28
We’re reposting some of our favourite episodes over the holiday period. In this episode from March 2019, we told the often-overlooked stories of four women who helped to shape the science of life: Esther Lederberg, Harriet Creighton, Tsuneko Okazaki and Martha Chase. Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip Genetics Unzipped is written and presented by Kat Arney with audio production by Hannah Varrall and additio...
Dec 31, 2020•32 min•Season 3Ep. 27
Audio EDIT REMOVE The last episode of Genetics Shambles comes from the Cosmic Shambles 25-hour marathon event, 9 Lessons and Carols for Socially Distanced People , broadcast live on Saturday 12th through to Sunday 13th December 2020. Shambler-In-Chief Robin Ince chats with geneticist Emma Hodcroft, medical doctor Kevin Fong and immunology expert Dan Davis about what we’ve learned over the past year about COVID-19, vaccines and the way ahead. To view previous episodes in the Genetics Shambles ser...
Dec 24, 2020•40 min
Repost from October 2019. The history of genetics has a few famous partnerships - such as James Watson and Francis Crick or Francois Jacob and Jacques Monod. But there’s one pair without whom this podcast wouldn’t exist at all, and that’s Edith Rebecca Saunders and William Bateson, who founded The Genetics Society one hundred years ago. But while Bateson tends to get the glory, particularly for his popularisation of Gregor Mendel’s ideas about heredity, much less is heard about Saunders - the ‘m...
Dec 17, 2020•33 min•Season 3Ep. 26
Repost from November 2019 We’re uprooting the tree of life - asking whether we should believe our eyes or our sequencing machines when it comes to deciding what makes a species. Plus, the greatest comebacks of all time - we look at the science of de-extinction and find out whether Jurassic Park could ever become a reality. Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com [UPDATE LINK to URL for latest episode] Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip Genetics U...
Dec 10, 2020•30 min•Season 3Ep. 25
We bring you a sneak peek of a new science podcast that you might also enjoy, brought to you by the Society for Endocrinology and produced by First Create the Media - the team behind Genetics Unzipped. Presented by Georgia Mills, Hormones: The Inside Story uncovers the truth about how hormones affect stress, sleep, body fat, fertility and almost every aspect of our daily lives and health in this new, expert-led, myth-busting show. Available now on Podbean , Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spoti...
Dec 03, 2020•29 min
Robin Ince sits down for a chat with Steve Jones, Emeritus Professor of Human Genetics at UCL. Steve is one of the foremost and most popular science writers on the subject of evolution and genetics and is also a world-leading expert on snails. To view previous episodes in the Genetics Shambles series head to Cosmicshambles.com Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip
Nov 26, 2020•43 min
We look back over our favourite bits from the podcast over the year, from dark family secrets revealed by genetic testing to the secret scientific history of bird poop. Jack Nunn - hidden family secrets revealed Listen to the full episode The bird poop boom Listen to the full episode Ewen’s angry birds Listen to the full episode Darwin’s finches Listen to the full episode Sarah Tishkoff Listen to the full episode Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzippe...
Nov 19, 2020•32 min•Season 3Ep. 24
Robin Ince sits down for a chat with Aoife McLysaght, Professor in the Molecular Evolution Laboratory of the Smurfit Institute of Genetics, University of Dublin, Trinity College and one of the 2018 Royal Institution Christmas Lecturers. This series of Genetics Shambles is presented in association with The Genetics Society and The Milner Centre for Evolution. Find out more at CosmicShambles.com . To view previous episodes in the Genetics Shambles series head to Cosmicshambles.com Follow us on Twi...
Nov 12, 2020•50 min
Anyone who has worked with DNA in the laboratory is undoubtedly familiar with the polymerase chain reaction - PCR, as it’s usually known. Invented in 1985, PCR is an indispensable molecular biology tool that can replicate any stretch of DNA, copying it billions of times in a matter of hours, providing enough DNA to use in sequencing or further research, or for applications like forensics, genetic testing, ancient DNA analysis or medical diagnostics. It’s hard to overstate the transformation that...
Nov 05, 2020•30 min•Season 3Ep. 23
Whenever the topic of genetics is mentioned this is always a question of ethics not far behind. Whether that is in Stem Cell research, genetic modification or even basic healthcare. In this show Robin chats to two experts in the field. Dr Sarah Chan is Chancellor’s Fellow in Ethics and Science Communicator in The Usher Institute at the University of Edinburgh. Professor Anna Middleton leads the Society and Ethics Research Group in Connecting Science. She is also Professor/Affiliate Lecturer at F...
Oct 29, 2020•53 min
Thirty years ago this month saw the birth of one of the most audacious research programmes in biology: The Human Genome Project, an ambitious plan to read the DNA sequence of the entire human genome. Ten years later, in June 2000 - after billions of dollars, countless hours of DNA sequencing, and a huge amount of effort from an international collaboration from 20 institutions in six countries - the first draft of the Human Genome was unveiled. Dr Eric Green has seen the Human Genome Project thro...
Oct 22, 2020•31 min•Season 3Ep. 22
Genetic technologies are improving all the time. Not just in sequencing, but in ways that improve our lives. From better crops to curing diseases. And, by pure chance, just hours before we went live with this show it was announced that Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna had won the 2020 Nobel Prize for chemistry for their work with CRISPR and the technology of genome editing. Robin Ince chats to two experts in the field. Professor Alison Bentley leads the National Institute of Agricultur...
Oct 15, 2020•51 min
In this episode we’re taking a road trip from Philadelphia to Baltimore, exploring stories of chromosomal cut-and-paste, cancer cures and Henrietta Lacks’ incredible cancer cells. Studying human cells in the lab allows us to understand more about how they work, investigate the causes of disease, and design new treatments. But growing cells in the lab isn’t as easy as you might think. We explore the story of how Henrietta Lacks’s immortal cells (known today as HeLa cells) became the go-to human c...
Oct 08, 2020•33 min•Season 3Ep. 21
Every couple of months we gather a new panel of experts for a Q&A on where things are at with our current understanding of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. With so much misinformation out there it’s important that you, the public and viewers, get a change to ask a panel of experts directly and unfiltered. For this, volume 3 of our COVID-19 Q&As Robin is joined by three experts. Dr Emma Hodcroft is a researcher at the University of Basel in Switzerland working on sequencing and builds of SA...
Oct 01, 2020•1 hr 16 min
In this episode, sponsored by Thermo Fisher Scientific, we’re taking a look at how genomic technologies are transforming cancer care - now and in the future, and the importance of making sure that these advances are available to all. With: - Greg Simon, past president of the Biden Cancer Initiative and former executive director of the White House Cancer Moonshot Task Force. - Jim Downing - president and CEO of St Jude Children’s Research Hospital - Dr Marianne Grantham, Head of Cytogenetics and ...
Sep 24, 2020•45 min•Season 3Ep. 20
Bacteria are all around us, and inside us. Some of these of these are fine, even good, but others are pathogens and cause disease. How do they evolve and how are we learning to cope with them through new research. And are we in danger of a new age of antibiotic resistance? Robin Ince is joined by three experts in the field. Dr Siouxsie Wiles is a microbiologist specialising in infectious diseases at the University of Auckland and has been one of the most prominent public faces of New Zealand’s w...
Sep 17, 2020•55 min
In this episode we’re going back to the very beginning, telling the stories of the midwives of the field of developmental genetics, two talented researchers whose work helped to reveal the secrets of life in its very earliest stages: Hilde Mangold and Salome Gluecksohn-Waelsch. The tale of developmental genetics is a thrilling one, with everything you need for a good story. There’s politics, drama, upheaval, prejudice, and even a suspicious death. So hold on tight, this is a good one. Full show ...
Sep 10, 2020•27 min•Season 3Ep. 19
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in humans globally. But the catch all term of ‘cancer’ is often misunderstood. So what exactly is this cell disease that impacts so many of our lives? How long has it been around? How does it spread? What is our current understanding of its evolution and genetics? And the big question many of us have, where are we at with our fight against it? Robin Ince is joined by three experts in the field. Dr Kat Arney is a writer and presenter and former spokespe...
Sep 03, 2020•59 min
We take a look at the progress that’s been made in tackling rare genetic disorders (and the challenges that remain) and we hear from a prenatal genetic counsellor about how new tests are helping people carrying genetic variations make decisions about starting a family. With Dr Ron Jortner (founder and CEO of Masthead Biosciences and trustee of the Cambridge Rare Disease Network ) and Genetic counsellor Kira Dineen. Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzip...
Aug 27, 2020•35 min•Season 3Ep. 18
Over the first four episodes of this series we’ve looked at COVID-19, historic epidemics, human evolution and the human genome and in each episode we’ve invariably talked about ‘sequencing’. Sequencing genomes and DNA of living things. So we thought it time to discuss the very act of sequencing itself. What is it, how do we do it, why do we do it and how can we get better at as technology improves. Robin Ince is joined by three experts in the field. Professor Jay Shendure is a human geneticist a...
Aug 20, 2020•55 min
We bring you exclusive excerpts from my new book, Rebel Cell: Cancer, evolution and the science of life, exploring where cancer came from, where it’s going, and how we might beat it. Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com . Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip Genetics Unzipped is written and presented by Kat Arney with audio production by Hannah Varrall. This podcast is produced by First Create the Media for the Genetics Society - one of the olde...
Aug 13, 2020•38 min•Season 3Ep. 17
Over millions of years Humans have evolved into becoming quite the dominant species on the planet. So, how did we get to now? What have we come from and how are we still evolving as a species? And what changes can we expect in the future in terms of diet, life span and population? Robin Ince is joined by three experts in the field. Professor Chris Stringer is an anthropologist and Research Leader in Human Evolution at the Natural History Museum in London. Dr Becky Wragg Sykes is an archaeologist...
Aug 06, 2020•54 min
We look at the ancient war between our genes and the pathogens that infect us, going back thousands of years to the Black Death and before, through to our very latest foe. With Claire Steves (King’s College London), Christiana Scheib (University of Tartu) and Lucy van Dorp (UCL). Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip Genetics Unzipped is written and presented by Kat Arney with audio production by Hannah Varral...
Jul 30, 2020•35 min•Season 3Ep. 16
The Human Genome Project has been referred to as one of the great feats of scientific exploration and discovery in human history. But what was it, and, more to the point, what is the human genome and why was sequencing it such a big deal? And in 2020, some 17 years after it was deemed completed, what has it helped us with in the fields of biology and medicine, and what is there still to discover? Robin Ince is joined by three experts in the field. Geneticist, broadcast and author of a number of ...
Jul 23, 2020•Ep. 2
We take a look at the world of epigenetics - finding out if more than DNA passes on to the next generation, whether Darwin was wrong and Lamarck was right, and how to pimp your genome. Plus - meet the Mickey Mouse Mice. Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip Genetics Unzipped is written and presented by Kat Arney with audio production by Hannah Varrall. This podcast is produced by First Create the Media for the...
Jul 16, 2020•32 min•Season 3Ep. 15
What can research into past viruses and epidemics tell us about this new pandemic of COVID-19? What has changed in the world of genetics research since the time of HIV for example? Robin Ince chats to Dr Emma Hodcroft, a phylogenetics researcher from the University of Bath and Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, pharmacologist, geneticist and the NHS Chair of Pharmacogenetics at the University of Liverpool. To view previous episodes in the Genetics Shambles series head to Cosmicshambles.com Follow u...
Jul 09, 2020•51 min
In this episode, supported by the Medical Research Council, we discover how researchers are letting the light shine in, literally, by bringing discoveries about the underlying genetic faults that cause eye diseases all the way through to game-changing clinical trials of gene therapy designed to save sight. With RP patient advocate and fundraiser Ken Reid , Robin Ali from Kings College London , and Roly Megaw and Chloe Stanton from the MRC Human Genetics Unit, in the Institute of Genetics and Mol...
Jul 02, 2020•37 min•Season 3Ep. 14
In this episode we tell the stories of two women - one a scientist fascinated by dancing mice, the other a seamstress with a deadly family legacy - who made significant contributions to our understanding of cancer as a disease driven by genetic changes, paving the way for lifesaving screening programmes for families. Over the past year or so I’ve been writing a new book, Rebel Cell: Cancer, Evolution and the Science of Life , exploring what we’ve learned so far about where cancer comes from, whe...
Jun 18, 2020•33 min•Season 3Ep. 13
