Genetics Unzipped

By The Genetics Society

Natural Sciences Medicine

What's Genetics Unzipped about?

Genetics Unzipped is a podcast from the UK Genetics Society - one of the oldest learned societies in the world dedicated to supporting and promoting the research, teaching and application of genetics. Find us online at genetics.org.uk

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S424 The Natural Lottery: H...

12.02.2021

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.

Genetics Unzipped episodes:

12.02.2021 S424 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 S408 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 S407: 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 S406: 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 S405: 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 ...
12.31.2020 S3.27 Repost Not just the wife 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.
12.24.2020 Genetics Shambles 12: 9 Lessons and Carols for Socially Distanced People 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 ...
12.17.2020 S3.26 Repost When 'Becky' met Bateson: Edith Rebecca Saunders, the mother of British plant genetics 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 ...
12.10.2020 S3.25 Repost Uprooting the tree of life: Darwin, DNA and de-extinction Reposted 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 ...
12.03.2020 Are my hormones making me fat? Hormones: The Inside Story We bring you a sneak peek of a new science podcast that you might also enjoy, brought to you by the Society for Endocrinology. Hormones: The Inside Story uncovers the truth about how hormones affect stress, sleep, body fat, fertility ...
11.26.2020 Genetics Shambles 11: In conversation with Prof Steve Jones 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 ...
11.19.2020 S3.24 Best bits of 2020 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.
11.12.2020 Genetics Shambles 10: In conversation with Prof Aoife McLysaght 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.
11.05.2020 S3.23 Heat, Stick, Duplicate, Repeat: The Story Of The Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) In this episode we’re taking a look at the story and the characters behind one of the most transformative - and ubiquitous - techniques in modern molecular biology: the polymerase chain reaction.
10.29.2020 Genetics Shambles 9: The ethics of genetics 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.
10.22.2020 S3.22 The Past, Present and Future of the Human Genome Project In this episode we bring you an in-depth interview with Dr Eric Green, director of the US National Human Genome Research Institute and one of the key instigators of the Human Genome Project, to talk about the past, present and ...
10.15.2020 Genetics Shambles 8: New genetic technologies Genetic technologies are improving all the time - 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 ...
10.08.2020 S321 From Philadelphia to Baltimore: Tales of Chromosomes, Cancer Cells and Henrietta Lacks 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.
10.01.2020 Genetics Shambles 7: COVID expert panel 3 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 ...
09.24.2020 S3.20 The Future of Cancer: How Genomics is Transforming Research and Treatment for All In this episode, sponsored by Thermo Fisher Scientific, we’re taking a look at how genomic technologies are transforming cancer care, and the importance of making sure that these advances are available to all.
09.17.2020 Genetics Shambles 6: Dealing with pathogens 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. ...
09.10.2020 S3.19 Making Babies and Getting Organised: Celebrating Hilde Mangold and Salome Gluecksohn-Waelsch 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 ...
09.03.2020 Genetics Shambles 5: The evolution of cancer 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 ...
08.27.2020 S3.18 Rare, Well Done: Progress and challenges in rare genetic disorders 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 ...
08.20.2020 Genetics Shambles 4: The sequence of everything 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 ...
08.13.2020 S3.17 Rebel Cell: Cancer, evolution and the science of life 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.
08.06.2020 Genetics Shambles 3: Humans - Evolved and evolving 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 ...

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