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Genetics Unzipped

The Genetics Society

From Mendel's peas to personal genome sequencing, Genetics Unzipped brings you stories from the world of genes, genomes and DNA. In association with The Genetics Society.

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  • 167 episodes
  • Updated Jan 25, 2024

Episodes167

Newest first
  • Oct 29, 2020 · 53 min

    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. In this show Robin chats to two experts in the field. Dr Sarah Chan is Chancellor’s Fellow in Ethics and Science Communicator in The Usher Institute at the University of Edinburgh. Professor Anna Middleton leads the Society and Ethics Research Group in Connecting Science. She is also Professor/Affiliate Lecturer at Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge. To view previous episodes in the Genetics Shambles series head to Cosmicshambles.com Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip

  • Oct 15, 2020 · 50 min

    Genetics Shambles 8: New genetic technologies

    Genetic technologies are improving all the time. Not just in sequencing, but in ways that improve our lives. From better crops to curing diseases. 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 work with CRISPR and the technology of genome editing. Robin Ince chats to two experts in the field. Professor Alison Bentley leads the National Institute of Agricultural Biology’s genetics and breeding department within Cambridge Crop Research and Dr Tony Nolan is a molecular biologist at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine working with Target Malaria.

  • Oct 1, 2020 · 1 hr 16 min

    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 and viewers, get a change to ask a panel of experts directly and unfiltered. For this, volume 3 of our COVID-19 Q&As Robin is joined by three experts. Dr Emma Hodcroft is a researcher at the University of Basel in Switzerland working on sequencing and builds of SARS-CoV-2. Dan Davis is a Professor of Immunology at the University of Manchester and the best selling author of The Beautiful Cure. And Dr Nisreen Alwan is an epidemiologist and Associate Professor of Public Health at the University of Southampton. To view previous episodes in the Genetics Shambles series head to Cosmicshambles.com Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip

  • Sep 17, 2020 · 55 min

    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. And are we in danger of a new age of antibiotic resistance? Robin Ince is joined by three experts in the field. Dr Siouxsie Wiles is a microbiologist specialising in infectious diseases at the University of Auckland and has been one of the most prominent public faces of New Zealand’s world leading COVID-19 response. Dr Jenny Rohn is a cell biologist at UCL where she runs a research lab looking at microbiological infections, particularly in the urinary tract. And Lavanya Mane is the final year of her PhD research at the Francis Crick Institute looking into the metabolic interactions between bacterial pathogens. To view previous episodes in the Genetics Shambles series head to Cosmicshambles.com Follow us on Twitter @GeneticsUnzip

  • Sep 3, 2020 · 59 min

    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 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

  • Aug 20, 2020 · 54 min

    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 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

  • Aug 6, 2020 · 53 min

    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 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

  • Jul 23, 2020

    Genetics Shambles 2: A guide to the human genome

    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

  • Jul 9, 2020 · 51 min

    Genetics Shambles 1: COVID-19 and Learning from the Past

    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