ScienceNatural Sciences

This Week in Evolution

Vincent Racaniello

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.

Play

Open in

23 episodes
monthly
Avg 1 hr 23 min
English

Episodes 23

Newest Oldest Longest

All20 Unplayed20 In progress0 Played0

Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.

#131
October 30 · 1 hr 14 min
TWiEVO 131: Growing Your Genetic Vocabulary
Nels and Vincent explain a study showing that expansion of the genetic code in plants allows control of bacterial activity. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server Expanding plant genetic vocabulary for defense (Nat Biotech) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels – Gaia with 1,000 faces Vincent – A Brief History of Intelligence: Evolution, AI, and the Five Breakthroughs That Made Our Brains by Max S. Bennett Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv
#130
October 6 · 1 hr 14 min
TWiEVO 130: The Stickleback Shuffle
Nels and Vincent explain a study showing unique site-specific and shared habitat-level adaptation in a classic system of repeated evolution, stickleback fish. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server Shared and site-specific adaptation in stickleback fish (PNAS) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels – Wynton Marsalis on Playing When Nobody Is Listening Vincent – With US measles deaths on the rise, local officials are stepping in where RFK Jr won't Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv
#129
August 31 · 1 hr 27 min
TWiEVO 129: How avocados do it
Nels and Vincent discuss the finding that balanced polymorphism in a floral transcription factor underlies the ancient rhythm of daily sex alternation in avocado. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server A transcription protein underlies daily sex alteration in avocado (PNAS) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels – Hypothesis fund and Pretty Viruses Project on iNaturalist Vincent – Hot Tuna – Water Song | Live at 4 6th Street Rock Palace (1973) Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv
#128
July 23 · 1 hr 18 min
TWiEVO 128: Ready, set, cell
Nels and Vincent discuss a chemically defined synthetic cell capable of growth and replication. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server Chemically defined synthetic cell (bioRxiv) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels – Jimothy the short spined racoon in Seattle Vincent – Nitrogen-fixing organelle in a marine alga Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv
#127
July 23 · 1 hr 16 min
TWiEVO 127: The barley knew what to mildew
Nels and Vincent discuss molecular mimicry of a pathogen virulence target by a plant immune receptor. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server Molecular mimicry of a pathogen virulence target by a plant immune receptor (Science) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels – Plug-in solar Vincent – This Engine Will Reinvent Space Travel Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv
#121
June 1 · 1 hr 27 min
TWiEVO 126: Beyond Inheritance with Roxanne Khamsi
TWiEVO 126: Beyond Inheritance with Roxanne Khamsi June 1, 2026 Science journalist Roxanne Khamsi joins Nels and Vincent discuss her first book, Beyond Inheritance, which explores how DNA continuously mutates throughout our lives, challenging the idea that our genetic destiny is fixed at birth. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Guest: Roxanne Khamsi Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server Beyond Inheritance (Amazon) Timestamps by Jolene Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv
#125
April 26 · 52 min
TWiEVO 125: Evolution's egg timer
Nels and Vincent discuss the development of a comprehensive transcriptomic atlas of early embryogenesis from 61 animal species to understand the control of gene expression transitions from maternally deposited products to newly transcribed zygotic RNA. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server Evolutionary landscapes of zygotic genome activation across animals (bioRxiv) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels – Biologists Confirm Not Much Evolution Happened Today Vincent – How Trains Take Electricity from Wires Without Breaking Contact Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv
#124
March 19 · 1 hr 18 min
TWiEVO 124: The little ribozyme that could
Nels and Vincent discuss the discovery of a short RNA with the ability to catalyze its own synthesis. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server A small polymerase ribozyme (Science) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels – The University of Illinois Just Released a Popcorn So Good It Doesn't Need Butter Vincent – Waste Wars: The Wild Afterlife of Your Trash by Alexander Clapp Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv
#123
March 19 · 1 hr 21 min
TWiEVO 123: Stinkbug eggs with a schmear of fungus
Nels and Vincent explain how stinkbug females smear fungus on their eggs to protect them from wasp parasitism. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server Defensive fungal symbiosis on insect hindlegs (Science) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels – Meet the Olympic superstar who trains under the radar in Utah Vincent – The Discovery That Changed the Universe Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv
#122
February 2 · 1 hr 15 min
TWiEVO 122: The evolution of selfishness
Nels and Vincent explain how selfishness evolved multiple times from an essential tRNA synthetase gene in a nematode. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server Evolution of selfishness from a tRNA synthetase gene (Nat Ecol Evol) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels - From Where Does it STEM? Vincent - An Act of Cosmic Sabotage Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv
#121
January 8 · 1 hr 42 min
TWiEVO 121: AI imagines viruses
Nels and Vincent examines the use of AI and genome language models to design novel derivatives of bacteriophage phiX174. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server AI design of bacteriophage phiX174 derivatives (bioRxiv) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels – NIH official resigns after flap over risks of seasonal flu virus study and The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) requests input from all interested parties on Federal policy updates that aim to accelerate the American scientific enterprise, enable groundbreaking discoveries, and ensure that scientific progress and technological innovation benefit all Americans. Vincent – One Plus One Equals One: Symbiosis and the evolution of complex life by John Archibald Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv
#120
January 8 · 1 hr 46 min
TWiEVO 120: Sparkle pony
Nels and Vincent explain research which shows that insertion of a retrovirus into the genome regulates a novel color trait in swordtail fish. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server Retrovirus and swordfish scale color (bioRxiv) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels – Some like it hot! A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes and Kara Marshall's talk on history of science/science funding in the US, family connections to medical care, and her own lab's work at Baylor College of Medicine Vincent – NIH shake-up to grant decision-making draws concerns of political meddling Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv
#119
Nov 4, 2025 · 1 hr 21 min
TWiEVO 119: Drive fast, take chances, and encode a Y chromosome
Nels and Vincent explain research attempting to explain why among humans, females around the world live on average 5 years longer than males, but the trend is reversed in many birds, amphibians, and insects. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server Sexual selection drives sex difference in adult life expectancy (Sci Adv) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks 1:37:00 Nels – NIH Leadership Is Failing Early Career Researchers Vincent – Kennedy's Comments on Circumcision Are Only Going to Confuse and Shame Parents Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv
#118
Oct 14, 2025 · 1 hr 49 min
TWiEVO 118: Mother of an unrelated brother
Nels and Vincent discuss research which shows a shift from the rule that living organisms produce same-species offspring: an ant that produces individuals from two distinct species. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server David Baltimore interview (TWiV 100) One mother for two species (Nature) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels – Dr. Bill Rom, NYU canoes every lake connected by a portage trail in the Boundary Waters in Minnesota Vincent – Google just made photography obsolete Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv
#117
Aug 20, 2025 · 1 hr 38 min
TWiEVO 117: Genes that don't leave
Nels and Vincent discuss research on hidden evolutionary constraints that dictate the retention of coronavirus accessory gene, which was flagged by NIH as potentially dangerous gain-of-function research. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server Hidden evolutionary constraints and retention of coronavirus accessory genes (Curr Biol) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels – NIH suspends dozens of pathogen studies over 'gain-of-function' concerns and Mentorship and acts of kindness Vincent – Kennedy's case against mRNA vaccines collapses under his own evidence Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv
#116
Jul 23, 2025 · 57 min
TWiEVO 116: An ant and two fungi walk into a bar and meet a naked mole rat
Nels and Vincent review research on how neuropeptides influence the behavior of leafcutter ants, and regulate the different caste behaviors such as defenders, leaf foragers, brood care, and fungus farming. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server Neuropeptides and behavior of leaf cutter ants (Cell) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels – My academic job offer was rescinded. I'll keep going—but U.S. researchers are running out of road Vincent – There's a new acid in our rain — should we be worried? Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv
#115
Jun 18, 2025 · 1 hr 28 min
TWiEVO 115: Even the archaea are going viral
Nels and Vincent discuss an ultra reduced archaeal genome, the closest cellular entity to date that approaches a viral strategy of existence. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server Ultra-reduced archaeal genome (bioRxiv) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels – The Bethesda Declaration Vincent – US to Drop Guidance to Limit Alcohol to One or Two Drinks Per Day, Sources Say Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv
#114
May 21, 2025 · 1 hr 31 min
TWiEVO 114: The best experiments ever done
Nels and Vincent review the properties of Mendel's pea genes through the lens of modern genetic analysis. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server Insights into Mendel's pea genes (Nature) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels – Evolution related game Vincent – Should Unvaccinated Patients Get Organ Transplants? Ethicist Weighs In Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv
#113
Apr 23, 2025 · 1 hr 27 min
TWiEVO 113: A wolf in wolf's clothing
Nels and Vincent explain the ancestry and evolution of the extinct dire wolf. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server Evolution and ancestry of dire wolf (bioRxiv) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels – Navigating to the forefront of innovation: A celebration of immigrant scientists Vincent – Exclusive: a Nature analysis signals the beginnings of a US science brain drain Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv
#112
Mar 26, 2025 · 1 hr 27 min
TWiEVO 112: Sex-Z cephalopods
Nels and Vincent explain the ancient evolutionary origin of sex in cephalopods. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server Evolution of sex in cephalopods (Current Biol) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels – Speaking into a microphone? Your audio quality can impact the way people view you Vincent – Remedy Supported by Kennedy Leaves Some Measles Patients More Ill Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv

Showing 1–20 of 23 episodes