Genetics (Audio)

Alysson Muotri and top geneticists Rusty Gage and Miles Wilkinson explore the fact that ninety-nine percent of human DNA doesn't code for anything used by the human body. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Science] [Show ID: 33492]

Tracing evolution through past genomic events. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 32974]

Exploring cellular features of human brain development that are not represented in animal models and may reflect human or primate-specific evolutionary adaptations and how they also provide a roadmap for interpreting laboratory models of human brain development and evolution. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 32972]

Sandrine Da Cruz, PhD and Jone López-Erauskin, PhD explain how ALS causing mutations in FUS inhibit intra-axonal protein synthesis and drive disease without nuclear loss of FUS function. This research appears in the journal Neuron. [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 34203]

Laurie A. Boyer, PhD, Associate Professor of Biology and Biological Engineering at MIT, discusses her work studying cell fate and cardiac regeneration. She shares how her lab is dissecting the gene regulatory mechanisms that control lineage commitment during heart development and congenital heart defects and applying this knowledge toward engineering cardiac tissues. Series: "Women in Science" [Health and Medicine] [Education] [Professional Medical Education] [Show ID: 33775]

Scientifically gifted, agile and charmingly quirky, Freja Ekman knows firsthand how it feels to win the genetic lottery. But UC Berkeley's top graduating senior is also painfully aware of how a single gene mutation can drastically alter the trajectory of ones life. Series: "UC Berkeley News" [Science] [Education] [Show ID: 34021]

Scientifically gifted, agile and charmingly quirky, Freja Ekman knows firsthand how it feels to win the genetic lottery. But UC Berkeley's top graduating senior is also painfully aware of how a single gene mutation can drastically alter the trajectory of ones life. Series: "UC Berkeley News" [Science] [Education] [Show ID: 34021]

By measuring patterns of species diversity in ecosystems that differ in age and human impact, insect ecologist Rosemary Gillespie says we can start to understand what features of a natural community provide stability in the face of intrusions driven by climate change and other threats from our own species. Series: "Cal Future Forum: Our Changing World" [Science] [Show ID: 33075]

Plants have evolved the capability to convert atmospheric CO2 into biopolymers and therefore represent distributed systems for carbon removal that are highly scalable. Wolfgang Busch, Ph.D., Associate Professor Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory, Salk Institute, explains the possibilities of efficient carbon storage in plants. Series: "Exploring Ethics" [Science] [Show ID: 33883]

Kim Cooper, Assistant Professor in the Cell and Developmental Biology Section of the UC San Diego Division of Biological Sciences, discusses the advantages and the potential risks of CRISPR/Cas9-based active genetic systems and ways to maximize benefits to society. How do we decide when not to do the things that we can? In the last couple of years, a new “active genetic” technology has been shown to promote efficient inheritance of desired gene modifications in insects. We have now shown that we can do this in rodents. This allows the assembly of complex genotypes that were once unthinkable due to cost, time, and more. Such applications could improve drug testing and mouse models of complex human genetic diseases. These same approaches could also be used to control invasive wild rodent populations and vectors of disease. Despite these benefits, many have raised concerns about unintended consequences of the release of transgenic organisms. Series: "Exploring Ethics" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 33672]