Speciation is often considered unidirectional: a continual process of divergence interrupted only by extinction events. However, this isn’t entirely true. In this episode Dr Jente Ottenburghs (Wageningen University) discusses the curious case of the bean geese: where speciation appears to have stopped and, perhaps, begun to reverse.

Associated article: Recent introgression between Taiga Bean Goose and Tundra Bean Goose results in a largely homogeneous landscape of genetic differentiation

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41437-020-0322-z

The antagonistic co-evolution that characterises host-parasite relationships is one of the most fascinating interactions in genetics. In this episode, Dr Gilberto Bento discusses one such interaction, the Daphnia–Pasteuria host–parasite system, and the discovery of an alternative route of bacterial infection associated with a novel resistance locus. Dr Bento also talks about his experience of leaving academia to find an alternative career in science.

Associated article: An alternative route of bacterial infection associated with a novel resistance locus in the Daphnia–Pasteuria host–parasite system

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41437-020-0332-x

In episode five of our editorial series we meet Dr Rui Faria from the Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources at the University of Porto (Portugal). Dr Faria’s research looks at the role of chromosomal inversions in the generation of biological diversity, focusing on Littorina snails as a model. And, in a more personal inversion, Dr Faria took his first steps behind a scientific journal when he joined the Heredity Editorial team in May 2019: tune in to discover how he made the leap and what he thinks makes a great paper submission.

The arms race between the highly toxic rough-skinned newts of North America and the garter snakes that prey upon them is a literal textbook example of evolution in action. However, it appears that a piece of the genetic puzzle underpinning this interaction has been overlooked, until now. In this episode, PhD candidate Kerry Gendreau (Virginia Tech) and Dr Michael Hague (University of Montana) discuss their recent work showing that toxin resistance in garter snakes is sex-linked, and the implications this has for a system that is taught to almost every biology student.

Associated article: Sex linkage of the skeletal muscle sodium channel gene (SCN4A) explains apparent deviations from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium of tetrodotoxin-resistance alleles in garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis)

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41437-020-0300-5

40% of infants with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) go on to develop long-term disability, despite receiving therapeutic hypothermia. Mounting evidence suggests that children with HIE are at a higher risk of both hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia, which may explain the variable outcomes to therapeutic hypothermia. In this episode, we meet this month's featured Early Career Investigator Dr. Paolo Montaldo, from Imperial College London, UK and the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Italy who used continuous glucose monitoring to assess the association between neonatal glucose control and neurological outcomes at 18-24 months.

Related Article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41390-020-0827-4

The COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented and clinicians have faced correspondingly unprecedented challenges in caring for patients in genetics and metabolic disease clinics who require routine check-ups and ongoing treatments. Yet, in overcoming these challenges, doctors have identified a few boons to patient care that may continue to benefit patients in the long run. Listen in to this month’s GenePod to hear how Dr. Nicola Brunetti-Pierri, a clinician at the Federico II University Hospital in Naples, Italy, and Dr. Elaine Pereira, a clinical geneticist at Columbia University in New York City, two of the areas hardest hit by the pandemic, adapted patient care amid government lock-downs and what silver linings they found.

Related Articles:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41436-020-0831-4

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41436-020-0857-7

There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that insufficient sleep can have detrimental effects on school-age children's cognitive, emotional and behavioural regulation. But there remains a lack of objectively measured data on the stability and prevalence of insufficient sleep.

In this episode, we meet Bror Ranum who is currently doing his PhD at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. He was involved in a large prospective study of almost 800 children between the ages of 6-12 years to objectively measure the prevalence and stability of insufficient sleep using actigraphy. The results suggest the importance of measuring the number of nights of insufficient sleep as opposed to only taking an average measure over a week.

Chimpanzees are humanities closest cousins, and they’re close to disappearing. In this episode we hear from Peter Frandsen (Copenhagen Zoo, University of Copenhagen) and Claudia Fontsere (Barcelona Biomedical Research Park), who are developing new genetic tools to aid in the conservation of this iconic species.

Associated article: Targeted conservation genetics of the endangered chimpanzee - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41437-020-0313-0

What impact does the initial size of a population have on an organism’s ability to adapt to its environment? In this episode we investigate this question with Dr Yashraj Chavhan and Prof. Sutirth Dey from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) in Pune, India. Their results hold important insights for many aspects of population genetics.

Associated article: Larger bacterial populations evolve heavier fitness trade-offs and undergo greater ecological specialization - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41437-020-0308-x

The world is currently gripped by COVID-19, but could an often overlooked population genetic theory hold one of the keys to defeating it? In this episode we speak to Prof. Michael Lynch (Arizona State University) about a recent Comment he penned with Prof. Jeffrey Jensen, where they consider mutational meltdown as a potential SARS-CoV-2 treatment strategy.

Associated article: Considering mutational meltdown as a potential SARS-CoV-2 treatment strategy - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41437-020-0314-z