Listening to and creating music is one of the most universal human experiences. It gets stuck in our heads, makes us cry in the car, and has the power to bring people together – sometimes without even a single word. So for something so deeply ingrained in us - IS IT... ingrained in us? like, in our DNA? it raises a big question: is our connection to music something we learn… or something written into our DNA?

In this special bonus live episode, host Dr. Kaylee Byers takes the pod on stage for the very first time to explore the science of music. Joined by neuroscientist Dr. Lara Boyd, clinical geneticist Dr. Alison Castle, and (virtually) behavioural geneticist Dr. Miriam Mosing, our panel unpacks how music shapes and rewires our brains, why it can be such a powerful tool for therapy and lifelong learning, what genes can (and definitely can’t) tell us about musicality– and why music even exists in the first place.

So warm up those vocal cords, and get ready to sway in your seat… this is Nice Genes! live.

Special thanks to musician (and recovering physicist) Dr. Martin Austwick for the live musical magic throughout the show.

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Highlights

(7:24) How Opera Training Influences the Brain

(10:30) Music’s Role in Memory and Dementia Prevention

(22:27) Heritability of Musical Behaviour

(36:24) If we could identify specific musical genes, should we?

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Show Notes/Resources:

1. Twin modelling reveals partly distinct genetic pathways to music enjoyment- Nature Communications

2. New multi-faculty research initiative weaves notes and neurons- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health