Genetics Unzipped

By The Genetics Society

Natural Sciences Medicine

What's Genetics Unzipped about?

From Mendel's peas to personal genome sequencing, Genetics Unzipped brings you stories from the world of genes, genomes and DNA. In association with The Genetics Society.

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S5.19 Let there be light: t...

09.22.2022

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.

Genetics Unzipped episodes:

09.22.2022 S5.19 Let there be light: the origins of photosynthesis 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.
09.08.2022 S5.18 The Genesis Machine 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 ...
08.25.2022 S5.17 Genetics of Society: How to be a queen bee We look at the genetics of societies, exploring how genes underpin the rigid social structures and roles in bees, and how they can rise up the ranks to become queen bee.
08.11.2022 S5.16 Hap-pea 200th birthday, Mendel! We celebrate the 200th birthday of Gregor Mendel and learn about the latest genetics research that would have blown his mind.
07.28.2022 S5.15 Does size matter when it comes to your genes? 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 ...
07.14.2022 S5.14 Genes, brains and the mind: How much of your personality is encoded in your DNA? 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 ...
06.30.2022 S5.13 Genetics at your fingertips: stories from the science of identity 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 ...
06.23.2022 S5.12 In the blood: using circulating DNA to detect and monitor cancer 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. What if we could simply take a small tube of ...
06.16.2022 Repost Strands of life 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 ...
06.02.2022 S5.11 When should you eat your relatives? 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?”
05.19.2022 S5.10 Squid Game: the strange science of cephalopods 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 ...
05.05.2022 S5.09 Nature, Nurture and 'The Wobble' 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.
04.21.2022 S5.08 Have a heart: the science of xenotransplantation 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 ...
04.07.2022 S5.07 Face to face: The viruses that made us human 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.
03.24.2022 S5.06 Introducing exosomes: exciting ideas for biological mailbags We’re unpacking the science behind exosomes: one of the hottest new areas of research for both diagnosing and treating diseases.
03.10.2022 S5.05 Sex and the Single Cell 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.
02.24.2022 S5.04 Genetics of the Americas: from migration to the modern day Jennifer Raff discusses her new book, Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas, telling the story of how humans first populated the American continents.
02.10.2022 S5.03 On Growth and Form: The extraordinary life and work of D'Arcy Thompson We’re exploring the life and work of D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson - one of the first scientists to bring together the worlds of mathematics and biology in the quest to understand how living things are built.
01.27.2022 S5.02 Breeding better humans: Exposing the dark legacy and troubling present of eugenics We sit down with geneticist and author Adam Rutherford for a chat about his new book, Control, which explores the horrific legacy of eugenics and its present-day manifestations.
01.13.2022 S5.01 How the zebra got its stripes: When maths and molecules collide We find out how one of the world’s greatest minds, Alan Turing, revealed the maths behind the stripes on a zebra to the spots on a leopard, and even the pattern of bones in your own body.
01.06.2022 S4.26 Repost Sex and death In this episode from our very first series, published in August 2019, we’re telling tales of the genetics of sex and death, from the evolutionary origins of sex to Francis Galton's dark eugenic fantasies.
12.16.2021 S4.25 Best of 2021 We’re bringing you our favourite bits from 2021, from the history of mRNA to canine superheroes, brilliant bats to the world’s most adventurous palaeontologist. Enjoy!
12.02.2021 S4.24 The Natural Lottery: How our genes shape our lives We’re chatting with Professor Paige Harden from the University of Texas about her new book, The Genetic Lottery, how genetic variations might affect our chances in life, and what - if anything - we should do with this information.
11.18.2021 S4.23 A menagerie of malignancy: Cancer across the animal kingdom We’re taking a trip to the zoo, to find out how studying tumours across the animal kingdom in species like elephants and naked mole rats can reveal insights into cancer in our own species.
11.11.2021 Bonus: Hormones: The Inside Story - Will taking hormones make me taller? A taster episode of Hormones: the Inside Story. Ever had a moment at a crowded gig or in a cramped airplane seat when you wished you could change your height? Georgia Mills investigates how hormones affect our height destinies, and ...
11.04.2021 S4.22 Wired for sound: The genetics of music We’re getting in harmony with the science of music. Is there a music gene? Does musical talent really run in families? And how does the inability to perceive music, known as amusia, impact on daily life?
10.21.2021 S4.21 Rarities and Oddities: the strangest genetics stories of 2021 We’re squelching through Californian mud, swimming with platypuses, bearing witness to daylight robbery and even finding time to catch an episode of Star Trek as we look back on the strangest genetics stories of 2021.
10.07.2021 S4.20 Baby boom: The surprising science of the placenta We’re exploring the science behind one of the most remarkable but often overlooked organs in the mammalian body - the placenta - and its role in maternal mental health.
09.23.2021 S4.19 Reading the book of life: A brief history of DNA sequencing We’re taking a look at how we learned to read the book of life, from the earliest days of DNA sequencing to the very latest futuristic technologies.
09.09.2021 S4.18 Meet the Robinson Crusoe Islanders: the genetic roots of speech and language development Dianne Newbury discusses the story of the Robinson Crusoe islanders and what their genes can teach us about speech and language development.
08.26.2021 S4.17 Back to the beginning: Exploring the origins of life We discover the origins of DNA, find out where genes come from, and explore what’s next for the genetic code with Hachimoji XNA.
08.12.2021 S4.16 Direwolves and Denisovans: Uncovering the stories in ancient DNA We delve back into the past discover the stories of Denisovans and direwolves that researchers are now able to read in ancient DNA left in bones and cave dirt.
07.29.2021 S4.15 Catching cancer: A story of devils, dogs and cannibal hamsters We tell the story of transmissible tumours, looking at the history of contagious cancers in dogs, devils, clams and cannibal hamsters. Plus, the man who caught cancer from his tapeworm.
07.15.2021 S4.14 Genes for all: Making sure everyone benefits from genetics research We’re meeting some of the researchers who are working to make sure that everyone gets the benefits of genetic research - from underserved, indigenous and tribal communities to entire continents.
07.01.2021 S4.13 Six toed cats and cyclops lambs: The story of Sonic Hedgehog From six-toed cats to cyclops lambs, Kat Arney and Professor Bob Hill from the Institute of Genetics and Cancer at the University of Edinburgh explore the fascinating story and science behind the Sonic Hedgehog gene.
06.17.2021 S4.12 Why me? Searching for genetic susceptibility to chronic fatigue syndrome and pain We discover how researchers are using genetics to understand more about what’s going on in long-term debilitating conditions including myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and chronic pain.
06.03.2021 S4.11 From genes to drugs to bugs: How genetic engineering is used to make medicines We discover how researchers have used genetic engineering to create lifesaving drugs such as insulin and monoclonal antibodies that are used to treat autoimmune conditions, cancer and infectious diseases like COVID-19.
05.20.2021 S4.10 Creatures of the night: the genetics of bats We’re taking to the night skies with a closer look at the genetics of bats and what they can tell us about evolution, longevity and susceptibility to infections like coronaviruses.
05.06.2021 S4.09 Genes and giants - the science of big and small We’re taking a look at the genetics of giants and the science of small. Why do some species grow so large? Who was the ‘Irish Giant’? And why did life on a Mediterranean island miniaturise a mammoth?
04.22.2021 S4.08 Making better medicines: unlocking the promise of genomics for drug discovery We find out how researchers are unlocking the information hidden within the human genome using new technologies like CRISPR gene editing and artificial intelligence to develop better drugs and get them faster to patients.
04.08.2021 S4.07 A brief history of CRISPR: how we learned to edit the genome We take a look at the history of gene editing, from the early days of restriction enzymes in the 1960s through to the CRISPR revolution and the very latest base editing techniques.
04.01.2021 Suffrage Science: Dr Tamsin Edwards An interview with climate scientist Dr Tamsin Edwards from the Suffrage Science podcast: How women are changing science, from the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences Suffrage Science scheme.
03.25.2021 S4.06: Giving nature a helping hand: how humans are shaping species We take a look at how humans have shaped animal species all over the world with author Helen Pilcher. Alex Ball from the Wild Genes project explains how genetics helps conservation, and we meet Bill Ritchie, the man who cloned ...
03.11.2021 S4.05: How to be a superhero: the hidden powers within your genes We’re exploring the idea of genetic superheroes, and why you might have hidden health powers within your genes.
02.25.2021 S4.04 - Dogology: The genetics of our four-legged friends Is there a gene for being a Very Good Dog or having a boopable snoot? And how do you turn a fearsome wolf into a pug in a party hat?
02.11.2021 S4.03 - A dominant character: The life of JBS Haldane Kat Arney and Samanth Subramanian look at the extraordinary life of JBS Haldane, whose work, writing and political leanings made him one of the most interesting characters of 20th century genetics.
01.28.2021 S4.02 - 100 not out? Genes and ageing Andrew Steele, author of Ageless, and researcher Raheleh Rahbari talk about the genetic changes that underpin ageing, and how we can use this knowledge to live longer, healthier lives.
01.14.2021 S4.01 Genes and Vaccines: Where mRNA COVID-19 vaccines came from and how they work In this episode we’re taking a look at 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.
01.14.2021 S4.01 Genes and Vaccines: Where mRNA COVID-19 vaccines came from and how they work 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.
01.07.2021 S3.28 Repost Chimps, cancer genes and missing kids: An interview with Mary-Claire King 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 ...

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