Genetics Unzipped

Latest Episodes:

S3.18 Rare, Well Done: Progress and challenges in rare genetic disorders Aug 27, 2020

Show notes

We take a look at the progress that’s been made in tackling rare genetic disorders (and the challenges that remain) and we hear from a prenatal genetic counsellor about how new tests are helping people carrying genetic variations make decisions about starting a family.

With Dr Ron Jortner (founder and CEO of Masthead Biosciences and trustee of the Cambridge Rare Disease Network) and Genetic counsellor Kira Dineen.

Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com.

Genetics Unzipped is written and presented by Kat Arney with audio production by Hannah Varrall.

This podcast is produced by First Create the Media for the Genetics Society - one of the oldest learned societies in the world dedicated to supporting and promoting the research, teaching and application of genetics.

Genetics Shambles 4: The sequence of everything Aug 20, 2020

Show notes

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

S3.17 Rebel Cell: Cancer, evolution and the science of life Aug 13, 2020

Show notes

We bring you exclusive excerpts from my new book, Rebel Cell: Cancer, evolution and the science of life, exploring where cancer came from, where it’s going, and how we might beat it.

Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com.

Genetics Unzipped is written and presented by Kat Arney with audio production by Hannah Varrall.

Genetics Shambles 3: Humans - Evolved and evolving Aug 06, 2020

Show notes

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

S3.16 Sickness and susceptibility: The ancient war between genes and disease Jul 30, 2020

Show notes

We look at the ancient war between our genes and the pathogens that infect us, going back thousands of years to the Black Death and before, through to our very latest foe.

With Claire Steves (King’s College London), Christiana Scheib (University of Tartu) and Lucy van Dorp (UCL).

Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com

Genetics Unzipped is written and presented by Kat Arney with audio production by Hannah Varrall. [ADJUST CREDITS AS REQUIRED eg With additional research and scripting by Emily Nordvang, reporting by Georgia Mills]

Genetics Shambles 2: A guide to the human genome Jul 23, 2020

Show notes

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

S3.15 Pimp My Genome: the wonderful world of epigenetics Jul 16, 2020

Show notes

We take a look at the world of epigenetics - finding out if more than DNA passes on to the next generation, whether Darwin was wrong and Lamarck was right, and how to pimp your genome. Plus - meet the Mickey Mouse Mice.

Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com

Genetics Unzipped is written and presented by Kat Arney with audio production by Hannah Varrall. This podcast is produced by First Create the Media for the Genetics Society - one of the oldest learned societies in the world dedicated to supporting and promoting the research, teaching and application of genetics.

Genetics Shambles 1: COVID-19 and Learning from the Past Jul 09, 2020

Show notes

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

S3.14 The eyes have it: From genetics to gene therapy Jul 02, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, supported by the Medical Research Council, we discover how researchers are letting the light shine in, literally, by bringing discoveries about the underlying genetic faults that cause eye diseases all the way through to game-changing clinical trials of gene therapy designed to save sight.

With RP patient advocate and fundraiser Ken Reid, Robin Ali from Kings College London, and Roly Megaw and Chloe Stanton from the MRC Human Genetics Unit, in the Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine at the University of Edinburgh.

Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com

Genetics Unzipped is written and presented by Kat Arney with reporting by Georgia Mills, and audio production by Hannah Varrall and transcription by Viv Andrews. This podcast is produced by First Create the Media for the Genetics Society - one of the oldest learned societies in the world dedicated to supporting and promoting the research, teaching and application of genetics.

S3.13 The Cancer Ladies: Maud Slye and Pauline Gross Jun 18, 2020

Show notes

In this episode we tell the stories of two women - one a scientist fascinated by dancing mice, the other a seamstress with a deadly family legacy - who made significant contributions to our understanding of cancer as a disease driven by genetic changes, paving the way for lifesaving screening programmes for families.

Over the past year or so I’ve been writing a new book, Rebel Cell: Cancer, Evolution and the Science of Life, exploring what we’ve learned so far about where cancer comes from, where it’s going, and how we might finally beat it. It’s coming out in the UK on the 6th of August and in the US on the 29th September - and is available now to pre-order from rebelcellbook.com - and we’ll have some excerpts coming up in a future episode of the podcast.

UK Amazon link (affiliate) https://amzn.to/2BdT5zu

While I was researching the book, I came across the stories of two remarkable women - Maud Slye and Pauline Gross - who both made significant contributions to our fundamental understanding of cancer, but who have tended to be overlooked in many tellings of the history of cancer research. Here are their stories.

Thanks to Jenny Rohn for the voice of Maud Slye. If you want to read more about Pauline and Family G, and the impact that their genetic legacy has had on the family down the generations, check out Daughter of Family G, a memoir by Ami McKay, which we’ve drawn on heavily for this episode. Ami weaves together the strands of family history and science together with her own personal story to create a really compelling and emotional story.

Full show notes, transcript, music credits and references online at GeneticsUnzipped.com

Genetics Unzipped is written and presented by Kat Arney with additional scripting and research by Emily Nordvang and audio production by Hannah Varrall. This podcast is produced by First Create the Media for the Genetics Society - one of the oldest learned societies in the world dedicated to supporting and promoting the research, teaching and application of genetics.

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