In this episode we’re testing the air for tigers and digging up dead bodies as we explore the exciting new field of environmental DNA. Dr Sally Le Page chats with Prof. Elizabeth Clare about sampling the DNA of rare species from the air, and Dr Kirstin Meyer-Kaiser and Charles Konsitzke tells us about their project using eDNA to recover the missing bodies of fallen service personnel. Full show notes, transcript and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip Thi...
Dec 01, 2022•39 min•Season 5Ep. 24
This podcast is part of a miniseries of interviews with speakers from the 2022 annual conference of the Adelphi Genetics Forum - a learned society that aims to promote research and discussion concerning the scientific understanding of human heredity. Formerly known as the Galton Institute, and before that, the Eugenics Education Society, the society has changed its name to the Adelphi Genetics Forum to firmly reject and distance itself from the discredited and damaging ideas of its namesake, Fra...
Nov 27, 2022•18 min
This podcast is part of a miniseries of interviews with speakers from the 2022 annual conference of the Adelphi Genetics Forum - a learned society that aims to promote research and discussion concerning the scientific understanding of human heredity. Formerly known as the Galton Institute, and before that, the Eugenics Education Society, the society has changed its name to the Adelphi Genetics Forum to firmly reject and distance itself from the discredited and damaging ideas of its namesake, Fra...
Nov 26, 2022•16 min
This podcast is part of a miniseries of interviews with speakers from the 2022 annual conference of the Adelphi Genetics Forum - a learned society that aims to promote research and discussion concerning the scientific understanding of human heredity. Formerly known as the Galton Institute, and before that, the Eugenics Education Society, the society has changed its name to the Adelphi Genetics Forum to firmly reject and distance itself from the discredited and damaging ideas of its namesake, Fra...
Nov 25, 2022•14 min
This podcast is part of a miniseries of interviews with speakers from the 2022 annual conference of the Adelphi Genetics Forum - a learned society that aims to promote research and discussion concerning the scientific understanding of human heredity. Formerly known as the Galton Institute, and before that, the Eugenics Education Society, the society has changed its name to the Adelphi Genetics Forum to firmly reject and distance itself from the discredited and damaging ideas of its namesake, Fra...
Nov 24, 2022•15 min
This podcast is part of a miniseries of interviews with speakers from the 2022 annual conference of the Adelphi Genetics Forum - a learned society that aims to promote research and discussion concerning the scientific understanding of human heredity. Formerly known as the Galton Institute, and before that, the Eugenics Education Society, the society has changed its name to the Adelphi Genetics Forum to firmly reject and distance itself from the discredited and damaging ideas of its namesake, Fra...
Nov 23, 2022•17 min
CONTENT NOTE: This interview includes discussion of rape, forced sterilisation and first-hand experience of state-sanctioned eugenic policies. This podcast is part of a miniseries of interviews with speakers from the 2022 annual conference of the Adelphi Genetics Forum - a learned society that aims to promote research and discussion concerning the scientific understanding of human heredity. Formerly known as the Galton Institute, and before that, the Eugenics Education Society, the society has c...
Nov 22, 2022•17 min
This podcast is part of a miniseries of interviews with speakers from the 2022 annual conference of the Adelphi Genetics Forum - a learned society that aims to promote research and discussion concerning the scientific understanding of human heredity. Formerly known as the Galton Institute, and before that, the Eugenics Education Society, the society has changed its name to the Adelphi Genetics Forum to firmly reject and distance itself from the discredited and damaging ideas of its namesake, Fra...
Nov 21, 2022•11 min
In this episode we’re taking a look at the birds and the bees - not like that! - from the unusual migratory habits of European blackcaps and the ‘greatest shoal on earth’ to the division of labour in a beehive, we’ll be exploring the role that genetics plays in shaping animal behaviours. Full show notes, transcript and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip This episode of Genetics Unzipped was written and presented by Kat Arney with audio production by Emm...
Nov 17, 2022•25 min•Season 5Ep. 23
There’s something unnatural about carnivorous plants. We’re so used to plants being at the bottom of the food chain, that to see them trapping, killing and eating animals seems to go against the laws of nature. But of course, carnivory in plants is very real and has evolved multiple times in response to a lack of nutrients. In this episode we’re looking at how carnivorous plants work, what lives inside the digestive juices, and even a future with carnivorous crops. Full show notes, transcript an...
Nov 03, 2022•40 min•Season 5Ep. 22
We’re exploring what we can discover about our evolution from our DNA, and what evolutionary secrets might be contained in the ancient DNA of our ancestors. Kat Arney looks at why this year’s Nobel Prize awarded for the genomics of ancient humans, how genetic mutations allow Tibetans and their dogs to survive in high altitudes, and dispelling the myth about why many adults can drink milk. Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com Follow us on Twitte...
Oct 20, 2022•23 min•Season 5Ep. 21
It’s a special bonus episode this week, as we wanted to showcase another podcast we think you’ll like, Big Biology, and featuring their discussion about the domestication and genetic modification of rice. If you’re enjoying it, you can find more about them at bigbiology.org and on Twitter @Big_Biology
Oct 13, 2022•1 hr 15 min
In this episode we’re looking at the future of food. With climate change making crop harvests more unpredictable and fresh water becoming a more scarce resource, what are geneticists doing to make sure we will still have food on our plates? Dr Kat Arney chats with Dr Hannah Rees about giving wheat jet lag to create a more reliable crop, and Dr Sally Le Page talks to Dr Tarang Mehta about breeding genetically improved tilapia for fish farming. Full show notes, transcript, music credits and refere...
Oct 06, 2022•36 min•Season 5Ep. 20
We’re turning the lights on, looking back at the origins of photosynthesis and the mysteries of the chloroplast genome. From The King James Bible to The Great Oxygen Catastrophe, every lungful of air you breathe has a remarkable story. Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip This episode of Genetics Unzipped was written and presented by Kat Arney with audio production by Emma Werner and Sally Le Page. This podca...
Sep 22, 2022•26 min•Season 5Ep. 19
We’re exploring the frontiers of genetic engineering and synthetic biology with Amy Webb and Andrew Hessel, authors of the new book The Genesis Machine - taking a look at what’s possible now, what’s coming fast in the future, and what we as individuals and wider society should do about it. Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip This episode of Genetics Unzipped was written and presented by Kat Arney with audio ...
Sep 08, 2022•38 min•Season 5Ep. 18
As we always say, this is the podcast from the Genetics Society, but that’s more true than ever as today we’re looking at the genetics of societies. How can you find your place within a rigid social structure, and is it possible to rise up the ranks and become queen? Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip This episode of Genetics Unzipped was written, presented and produced by Sally Le Page. This podcast is pro...
Aug 25, 2022•26 min•Season 5Ep. 17
We celebrate the 200th birthday of Gregor Mendel and learn about the latest genetics research that would have blown his mind. Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip This episode of Genetics Unzipped was written and presented by Kat Arney with audio production by Sally Le Page. This podcast is produced by First Create the Media for the Genetics Society - one of the oldest learned societies in the world dedicated...
Aug 11, 2022•36 min•Season 5Ep. 16
In this episode we’re discovering whether size really does matter - when it comes to your genes and genome, that is. Dr Kat Arney gets to grips with why the human genome has so few genes, why some species have more junk DNA than others, and whether you should avoid eating anything with more genes than you. Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip This episode of Genetics Unzipped was written and presented by Kat ...
Jul 28, 2022•25 min•Season 5Ep. 15
In this episode we’re exploring genes, brains and the mind, as we ask how much of our personality is innate, and whether anything we do as adults can change who we fundamentally are. Presenter, Dr Sally Le Page, sits down with Kevin Mitchell, an Associate Professor of Genetics and Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin and author of the book Innate: How the wiring of our brains shapes who we are. Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com Follow us o...
Jul 14, 2022•34 min•Season 5Ep. 14
We’re looking at the stories at your fingertips. Dr Sally Le Page uncovers how excrement espionage could bring down a superpower, and unearths a 100 year old family secret. But it’s not just genetic fingerprinting we’re interested in. We also grasp the genetics of fingerprints, and what they tell us about our early life in the womb. Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip This episode of Genetics Unzipped was wr...
Jun 30, 2022•29 min•Season 5Ep. 13
We’re taking a closer look at the red stuff, finding out what a few millilitres of blood can reveal about the development, progression and treatment of cancer within the body. Rather than painful surgical biopsies, expensive scans or complicated screening tests, what if we could simply take a small tube of blood and discover a wealth of information, such as whether or not you have cancer in your body, where it started, how to treat it, and whether that treatment is actually working? Presenter Dr...
Jun 23, 2022•30 min•Season 5Ep. 12
Our next episode has been held up, so we're taking the opportunity to look back at our series exploring 100 ideas in genetics. This episode was one of Kat's favourites, where she explores the discovery of chromosomes - the strands of genetic material within every living cell. Take a look at Lyonisation, and solve the case of the missing chromosomes. Genetics Unzipped is written and presented by Kat Arney, and produced by First Create the Media for the Genetics Society - one of the oldest learned...
Jun 16, 2022
In this episode of Genetics Unzipped, presenter Dr Sally Le Page explores the gruesome side of family life in the natural world, getting stuck into a spot of cannibalism and asking: “When exactly should you eat your relatives?” Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip This episode of Genetics Unzipped was written, presented and produced by Sally Le Page. This podcast is created by First Create the Media for the G...
Jun 02, 2022•36 min•Season 5Ep. 11
We're exploring the genetic secrets of squid. Dr Sally Le Page chats with Dr Sarah McAnulty to find out what has made squid so difficult to genetically manipulate and how they do unusual things with their RNA. We then sit down with Professor Jamie Foster who has been sending glow-in-the-dark squid into space to find out more about our microbiome. Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip This episode of Genetics U...
May 19, 2022•34 min•Season 5Ep. 10
Presenter Dr Kat Arney explores the importance of randomness in genetics. How can we explain differences between individuals with identical nature and nurture? We look at how Ben Lehner’s worm-breaking research has changed our understanding of epigenetics. Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip This episode of Genetics Unzipped was written and presented by Kat Arney with audio production by Sally Le Page. This ...
May 05, 2022•21 min•Season 5Ep. 9
In this episode of Genetics Unzipped, Dr Sally Le Page is delving into the seemingly science fiction world of xenotransplantation, that is, taking organs from animals and using them as organ transplants for humans. We chat with cardiologist Rohin Francis about the groundbreaking operation this year transplanting a genetically modified pig heart into a human, and we chat with Professor Angelika Schneike about how we can avoid getting more than we bargained for from pigs. Full show notes, transcri...
Apr 21, 2022•28 min•Season 5Ep. 8
In this episode of Genetics Unzipped, Dr Kat Arney is looking at the monkey in the mirror, investigating how flipped genetic switches and long-dead viruses make all the difference between our human faces and those of our closest primate relatives. Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip This episode of Genetics Unzipped was written and presented by Kat Arney with audio production by Sally Le Page. This podcast i...
Apr 07, 2022•26 min•Season 5Ep. 7
We’re unpacking the science behind exosomes: one of the hottest new areas of research for both diagnosing and treating diseases. Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip This episode of Genetics Unzipped was written, presented and produced by Sally Le Page with Kat Arney. This podcast is created by First Create the Media for the Genetics Society - one of the oldest learned societies in the world dedicated to supp...
Mar 24, 2022•34 min•Season 5Ep. 6
In this week’s episode of the Genetics Unzipped podcast, we’re exploring groundbreaking discoveries about the secret sex lives of cancer cells, and what it means for our understanding of tumour growth, evolution and treatment. Dr Kat Arney tells the story of how we discovered cancer cells were having sex, plus we look into why female tumours and male tumours act so differently. Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com Follow us on Twitter @Genetics...
Mar 10, 2022•28 min•Season 5Ep. 5
In this week’s episode of the Genetics Unzipped podcast, we’re looking at a genetic history of the Americas. Professor Jennifer Raff discusses her new book, Origins: A Genetic History of the Americas, telling the story of how humans first populated the American continents. Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip This episode of Genetics Unzipped was written, presented and produced by Sally Le Page. This podcast ...
Feb 24, 2022•37 min•Season 5Ep. 4
