Genetics Unzipped

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 spokesperson for Cancer Research UK. Her book Rebel Cell, on the evolution of cancer, has just been released. Dr Mariam Jamal-Hanjani is a Clinical Associate Professor/Honorary Consultant at the Research Department of Oncology at UCL and a visiting scientist at the Francis Crick Institute’s Cancer Evolution and Genome Instability Laboratory. And Dr Samra Turajlic is a clinical group leader and oncologist studying cancer evolution at the Francis Crick Institute.

To view previous episodes in the Genetics Shambles series head to Cosmicshambles.com

Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip

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 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 oldest learned societies in the world dedicated to supporting and promoting the research, teaching and application of genetics.

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 at the University of Washington School of Medicine and is one of the world’s pioneers in exome sequencing. Dr Lucy Van Dorp is a Senior Research Fellow at the University College London Genomic Institute working on infectious diseases and ancient DNA. And Professor Mark Blaxter is an evolutionary biologist at the Sanger Institute where he’s the Leader of the Tree of Life Project.

To view previous episodes in the Genetics Shambles series head to Cosmicshambles.com

Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip

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 oldest learned societies in the world dedicated to supporting and promoting the research, teaching and application of genetics.

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, writer and expert in Neanderthals. And Dr Aida Andres Moran is an Associate Professor in Genetics, Evolution & Environment at University College London.

To view previous episodes in the Genetics Shambles series head to Cosmicshambles.com

Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip

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 Varrall. [ADJUST CREDITS AS REQUIRED eg With additional research and scripting by Emily Nordvang, reporting by Georgia Mills]

This podcast is produced by First Create the Media for the Genetics Society - one of the oldest learned societies in the world dedicated to supporting and promoting the research, teaching and application of genetics.

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 best selling books on the subject, Dr Adam Rutherford, one of the founders of the Human Cell Atlas Group and the Head of Cellular Genetics at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Dr Sarah Teichmann and co-chair of the 1000 Genomes Project and founder of Genomics plc, Professor Gil McVean.

To view previous episodes in the Genetics Shambles series head to Cosmicshambles.com

Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip

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 Genetics Society - one of the oldest learned societies in the world dedicated to supporting and promoting the research, teaching and application of genetics.

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 us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip

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 Molecular Medicine at the University of Edinburgh.

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 reporting by Georgia Mills, and audio production by Hannah Varrall and transcription by Viv Andrews. This podcast is produced by First Create the Media for the Genetics Society - one of the oldest learned societies in the world dedicated to supporting and promoting the research, teaching and application of genetics.