This Week in Evolution

By Vincent Racaniello

What's This Week in Evolution about?

This Week in Evolution is a podcast on the biology of what makes us tick. Hosts Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello take you through the new evolution that has been revolutionized by the field of genomics and molecular biology.

Download our free app to listen on your phone

This Week in Evolution episodes:

02.27.2024
TWiEVO 98: The worms strike back!
Nels and Vincent discuss how behavioural individuality determines infection risk in clonal ant colonies. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server Infection risk in clonal ant colonies (Nat Comm) Timestamps...
02.26.2024
TWiEVO 97: Germs trapping worms
Nels and Vincent review a study of the key processes required for the different stages of fungal carnivory by a nematode-trapping fungus. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord...
12.26.2023
TWiEVO 96: Going bananas over the origins of corn
Nels and Vincent discuss the origins of two modern day agriculturally important plants: a role for two different wild teosintes in making modern maize, and the origin and evolution of the triploid cultivated banana genome. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe...
11.14.2023
TWiEVO 95: Watering the viruses until they bloom
Nels and Vincent discuss how the rewetting of seasonally dried soils, a critical event in Mediterranean grasslands that reactivates dormant soil microorganisms, leading to pulses of carbon and nitrogen mineralization, and is accompanied by a bloom of viral diversity, followed by extensive...
09.29.2023
TWiEVO 94: A bacteria, a phage, and a selfish element walk into a cryptomonad
Nels and Vincent take apart an amazing symbiosis consisting of two bacteria, one bacteriophage, and seven different genomes all within a single-celled alga. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode •Join...
08.25.2023
TWiEVO 93: Faster than a speeding bacteria
Nels and Vincent review a collision of synthetic biology and experimental evolution, using a minimal synthetic bacterial cell with only 473 genes, the smallest genome of any known organism that can be grown in lab culture. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe...
07.21.2023
TWiEVO 92: There's algae in the jar
Nels and Vincent explain a study of how interspecies competition between two algae influences evolution of metabolism and size. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode •Join the MicrobeTV Discord server • Metabolic...
07.17.2023
TWiEVO 91: Meet your very distant cousins
Nels and Vincent discuss new findings using phylogenetic approaches about how complex eukaryotic cells emerged from prokaryotic ancestors, which firmly place eukaryotes as a clade nested within the Asgard archaea. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent RacanielloS Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become...
05.12.2023
TWiEVO 90: The mystery of the mouse mummies
Nels and Vincent provide insights into the mystery of mouse mummies on the summits of >6000 m Andean volcanoes, including whether they were living there and if so why? Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS, email...
04.25.2023
TWiEVO 89: On the outer rim of tumor evolution
Nels and Vincent discuss the observation that cells on a boundary of a solid tumor have higher growth rates compared to those in the center and how to model this difference using genome sequencing data. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free):...
03.26.2023
TWiEVO 88: Dog days of evolution in the shadows of Chernobyl
Nels and Vincent review a study of the dogs of Chernobyl which reveals that genetically distinct populations with different amounts of western breed contributions to their genomes, the first step in assessing the effects of exposure to long-term ionizing radiation....
02.21.2023
TWiEVO 87: Nathan Clark's revolutionary hair care advice
Nathan joins Nels and Vincent to discuss his approach to understanding how species adopt novel traits to overcome challenges, and its application to identifying coding and noncoding sequence changes that underlie mammalian hairlessness. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Guest: Nathan Clark Subscribe (free):...
02.05.2023
TWiEVO 86: Pulling out the stops in genetic code evolution
Nels and Vincent discuss how evolution of changes in stop codon assignment might occur, and a novel mechanism for altering the meaning of translation stop codons discovered in a trypanosomatid with the apropos name, Blastocrithidia nonstop. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe...
12.21.2022
TWiEVO 85: Teaching old dogs new genetic tricks
Nels and Vincent discuss the use of genome sequence data for over 4,000 domestic, semi-feral, and wild canids to understand the genetic drivers of canine behavior. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode...
11.08.2022
TWiEVO 84: Decoding our defenses to the Black Death
Nels and Vincent review the use of ancient DNA to identify loci that may have been under selection during the Black Death by studying populations before, during, and after the pandemic. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS, email...
10.24.2022
TWiEVO 83: Evolution spreads its wings (and then loses them)
Florian Maderspacher from Current Biology joins Nels and Vincent to discuss a special issue of the journal on birds. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Guest: Florian Maderspacher Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Current...
09.25.2022
TWiEVO 82: A genetic hack for the human brain
Nels and Vincent consider evidence that a single amino acid change in the TKTL1 gene might have led to greater neurogenesis in the frontal cortex of modern humans compared with Neanderthals. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS, email...
08.24.2022
TWiEVO 81: Evolution's new and improved slime molds
Nels and Vincent discuss how duplication of a gene encoding a transcription factor led to evolution of a novel cell type in the slime mold Dictyostelium. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for...
08.01.2022
TWiEVO 80: Viruses of a feather bottleneck together
Louise Moncla joins Nels and Vincent to review her use of genomics to understand emergence, evolution, and transmission of respiratory viruses including influenza virus H5N1, mumps virus, and SARS-CoV-2. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Guest: Louise Moncla Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google...
07.02.2022
TWiEVO 79: When the immune system is away, SARS-CoV-2 will play
Nels and Vincent discuss an analysis of the drivers of evolution of SARS-CoV-2 during chronic infections, indicating that a tradeoff exists between antibody evasion and fitness. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Click arrow to play Download TWiEVO 79 (103 MB .mp3, 86 min)...
05.26.2022
TWiEVO 78: The virus daily double
Nels and Vincent provide an update on cases of monkeypox, and summarize a biochemical view of three changes in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that may balance positive and negative selection. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become...
04.26.2022
TWiEVO 77: The mutations of our lives
Alex joins Nels and Vincent to discuss his work which demonstrates that somatic mutation rates scale with lifespan in mammals. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Guest: Alex Cagan Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode ...
03.22.2022
TWiEVO 76: One-step symbiosis
Nels and Vincent describe how a single amino acid change can allow E. coli to replace the essential gut symbiont of the stinkbug Plautia stali. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Click arrow to play Download TWiEVO 75 (103 MB .mp3, 86 min) Subscribe...
02.24.2022
TWiEVO 75: Even the BANAL coronaviruses are interesting
Nels and Vincent review isolation of SARS-CoV-2-like viruses from bats in Laos that can replicate in human cells. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode SARS-CoV-2 like viruses in bats...
02.03.2022
TWiEVO 74: On racism, not race with Joe Graves
Joe Graves joins Nels and Vincent to discuss his career in evolutionary biology and his recent book that answers questions about race and racism. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Guest: Joe Graves Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links...
12.28.2021
TWiEVO 73: With a little help from your hosts
Nels and Vincent review three aspects of SARS-CoV-2: phylogenetics of Omicron, a two-step fitness selection for variants, and putative RNA insertions from host genomes. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode ...
10.26.2021
TWiEVO 72: Echoes of evolution both shallow and deep
Nels and Vincent discuss evolutionary evidence for an epidemic of coronavirus infection over 20,000 years ago in East Asia, and reconstruction of the membrane differences between bacteria and Archaea reveals unexpected differences in permeability. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): iTunes, ...
09.27.2021
TWiEVO 71: Faster than a speeding coronavirus
Nels and Vincent explain a method to calculate the mutation rate of SARS-CoV-2, and the role of a single amino acid change in spike in enhancing fitness of the delta variant and enabling it to out-compete the alpha variant. Hosts: Nels...
08.03.2021
TWiEVO 70: On Life's Edge with Carl Zimmer
Carl Zimmer joins Nels to talk about science writing, science communication, viruses, and his new book, On Life’s Edge. Host: Nels Elde Guest: Carl Zimmer Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode On Life’s Edge...
06.30.2021
TWiEVO 69: Swimming in SARS-CoV-2 sequences
Nels and Vincent discuss the identification of novel bat coronaviruses that shed light on the evolution of SARS-CoV-2, dating the first cases of COVID-19 to mid-November 2019, and recovery of deleted genome sequences from early in the Wuhan outbreak. Hosts: Nels...
05.29.2021
TWiEVO 68: Stepping through time with SARS-CoV-2
Nels and Vincent explain a new method for calculating the most recent common ancestor of SARS-CoV-2, which concludes that the ancestral virus was circulating in October/November 2019, before its first detection in China. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google...
04.22.2021
TWiVEO 67: Corona chameleon
Nels and Vincent review evidence for recombinant SARS-CoV-2 genomes arising in the B.1.1.7 lineage within the United Kingdom. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Recombination in B.1.1.7 lineage (Virological)...
03.25.2021
TWiEVO 66: SARS-2-mouse
Nels and Vincent review a preprint demonstrating that changes in the genomes of the SARS-CoV-2 variants B1.351 and P.1 allow the viruses to reproduce in mouse cells in culture and in laboratory mice. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google...
02.25.2021
TWiEVO 65: Variants in the mist
Nels and Vincent review evidence that a single amino acid change in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein has driven adaptation to humans, followed by an update on the status of variants of concern. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email...
01.22.2021
TWiEVO 64: Seeing the lineages for the variants
Nels and Vincent consider evolution of antibody immunity to SARS-CoV-2, and update the situation on novel virus variants of concern with potentially altered fitness and reactivity with antibodies. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links...
12.31.2020
TWiEVO 63: Year of the coronavirus
Nels and Vincent wrap up 2020 with a discussion of novel variants of SARS-CoV-2 that have emerged in the United Kingdom and South Africa, how to interpret the rapidly emerging genome sequence data and what to look for in...
12.07.2020
TWiEVO 62: Army ants with Daniel Kronauer
Daniel joins Nels and Vincent to discuss his new book on army ants, the wickedest insects ever to roam the planet, and his research on them and clonal raider ants. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Guest: Daniel Kronauer Subscribe (free): iTunes, ...
10.31.2020
TWiEVO 61: Shot and chaser of SARS-CoV-2 evolution
Nels and Vincent discuss an opinion piece on 12 evolutionary insights into how the COVID-19 pandemic is shaping human nature, and prolonged SARS-CoV-2 reproduction in an immunosuppressed patient. Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode...
09.25.2020
TWiEVO 60: Five years of TWiEVO on the future of our past
On the fifth anniversary of TWiEVO, Nels and Vincent invite 12 evolutionary biologists to describe exciting future directions for the field and their laboratory in the next five years. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Guests: Lillian Fritz Laylin, Talia Karasov, Andrew Kern,...
08.28.2020
TWiEVO 59: The hypothesis giving tree
Nels and Vincent answer listener questions and discuss a newly discovered virus of amoeba with a nearly complete ORFan genome: none of the proteins encoded in the viral genome look like any other proteins. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): iTunes, ...
08.13.2020
TWiEVO 58: Not all coronaviruses ACE2 the test
Simon and Heather join TWiEVO to discuss their analysis of the evolutionary history of ACE2 usage by coronaviruses in the Sarbecovirus genus. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Guests: Simon Anthony and Heather Wells Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links...
06.24.2020
TWiEVO 57: SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding evolution blooms
Jessie, Allie and Tyler join Nels and Vincent to describe their work on deep mutational scanning of the SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Guests: Jesse Bloom, Allie Greaney, and Tyler Starr Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a...
05.20.2020
TWiEVO 56: Revising the drafts of coronavirus evolution
Nels and Vincent continue their discussion of SARS-CoV-2 evolution, including understanding recurrent mutations in the viral genome, and the potential for re-emergence of the virus from an animal reservoir. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO ...
05.06.2020
TWiEVO 55: Coronavirus evolution from soup to nuts
Nels and Vincent continue their discussion of SARS-CoV-2 evolution, with a report that the coronavirus proofreading enzyme stimulates RNA recombination, and debunking the conclusion that a change in the viral spike glycoprotein is associated with increased human to human transmission....
04.25.2020
TWiEVO 54: Rough drafts of SARS-CoV-2 science
Nels and Vincent continue their discussion of SARS-CoV-2 from an evolutionary viewpoint, including function of the furin cleavage site, whether Vervet cells are an informative system, another bat isolate, and a nomenclature to assist genomic epidemiology. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe...
04.04.2020
TWiEVO 53: Virus evolution by land and by sea and by CoV, part II
Nels and Vincent continue their discussion of SARS-CoV-2 from an evolutionary viewpoint, focusing on what the genome sequences tell us about the virus. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Clement Chow with COVID-19 (Salt...
02.26.2020
TWiEVO 52: Virus evolution by land and by sea and by CoV
Nels and Vincent examine SARS-CoV-2 from an evolutionary viewpoint, examining what the spike glycoprotein sequence informs us about the origin of the virus. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Distinct CoV name needed (Lancet)...
01.22.2020
TWiEVO 51: The starting point paradox
Nels and Vincent dive deep into evolution and consider how new proteins emerged billions of years ago, when there were no other proteins to serve as starting material. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Primordial...
12.24.2019
TWiEVO 50: I'm dreaming of a Y chromosome
Nels and Vincent discuss signatures of sex chromosome evolution revealed by assembly of a young vertebrate Y chromosome from 3-spined stickleback fish. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Assembly of a young vertebrate Y chromosome...
11.29.2019
TWiEVO 49: A giant podcast on giant viruses
Rich joins Nels and Vincent for a debriefing on the 4th Ringberg Symposium on Giant Virus Biology in Tegernsee, Germany. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Guest: Rich Condit Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Endless giant virus forms most...

What's This Week in Evolution about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

This Week in Evolution episodes:

TWiEVO 98: The worms strike back!

TWiEVO 97: Germs trapping worms

TWiEVO 96: Going bananas over the origins of corn

TWiEVO 95: Watering the viruses until they bloom

TWiEVO 94: A bacteria, a phage, and a selfish element walk into a cryptomonad

TWiEVO 93: Faster than a speeding bacteria

TWiEVO 92: There's algae in the jar

TWiEVO 91: Meet your very distant cousins

TWiEVO 90: The mystery of the mouse mummies

TWiEVO 89: On the outer rim of tumor evolution

TWiEVO 88: Dog days of evolution in the shadows of Chernobyl

TWiEVO 87: Nathan Clark's revolutionary hair care advice

TWiEVO 86: Pulling out the stops in genetic code evolution

TWiEVO 85: Teaching old dogs new genetic tricks

TWiEVO 84: Decoding our defenses to the Black Death

TWiEVO 83: Evolution spreads its wings (and then loses them)

TWiEVO 82: A genetic hack for the human brain

TWiEVO 81: Evolution's new and improved slime molds

TWiEVO 80: Viruses of a feather bottleneck together

TWiEVO 79: When the immune system is away, SARS-CoV-2 will play

TWiEVO 78: The virus daily double

TWiEVO 77: The mutations of our lives

TWiEVO 76: One-step symbiosis

TWiEVO 75: Even the BANAL coronaviruses are interesting

TWiEVO 74: On racism, not race with Joe Graves

TWiEVO 73: With a little help from your hosts

TWiEVO 72: Echoes of evolution both shallow and deep

TWiEVO 71: Faster than a speeding coronavirus

TWiEVO 70: On Life's Edge with Carl Zimmer

TWiEVO 69: Swimming in SARS-CoV-2 sequences

TWiEVO 68: Stepping through time with SARS-CoV-2

TWiVEO 67: Corona chameleon

TWiEVO 66: SARS-2-mouse

TWiEVO 65: Variants in the mist

TWiEVO 64: Seeing the lineages for the variants

TWiEVO 63: Year of the coronavirus

TWiEVO 62: Army ants with Daniel Kronauer

TWiEVO 61: Shot and chaser of SARS-CoV-2 evolution

TWiEVO 60: Five years of TWiEVO on the future of our past

TWiEVO 59: The hypothesis giving tree

TWiEVO 58: Not all coronaviruses ACE2 the test

TWiEVO 57: SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding evolution blooms

TWiEVO 56: Revising the drafts of coronavirus evolution

TWiEVO 55: Coronavirus evolution from soup to nuts

TWiEVO 54: Rough drafts of SARS-CoV-2 science

TWiEVO 53: Virus evolution by land and by sea and by CoV, part II

TWiEVO 52: Virus evolution by land and by sea and by CoV

TWiEVO 51: The starting point paradox

TWiEVO 50: I'm dreaming of a Y chromosome

TWiEVO 49: A giant podcast on giant viruses