Genetics Unzipped

Please fill out our listener survey at geneticsunzipped.com/survey before January 31st This episode is all about the next generation, as we meet three up-and-coming scientists who have been supported by the Genetics Society, and learn all about Bermuda skinks, the Black Death and life after a genetics PhD.

We explore the impact that Gregor Mendel and his populariser William Bateson have had on the past century of genetics, and ask whether there could have been a more Weldonian view of the world.

As 2023 draws to a close, we’re bringing you a smorgasbord of previously unaired clips from some of our favourite interviews this year.

We discover how 500,000 whole genomes will help medical research, plumb the depths of the ‘dark genome’, and ponder how much of our DNA is just junk.

With 2023 marking 40 years since the discovery of HIV, we're looking back over four decades of AIDS, from the earliest whispers of a mysterious new disease to fighting back against this deadly virus

Author and science journalist Rebecca Coffey chats with us about some amazing adaptations and Darwinian delights from her book, Beyond Primates. She tells us about wasp facial recognition genes, how yeast epigenetics explain the Dutch Hunger Winter and a dinner party tale of spider cannibalism

In this episode we’re clocking in to chat about the genetics of circadian rhythms. How can molecules tell the time, why don’t we have drugs for jet lag yet and could a midnight snack stop malaria in its tracks?

We explore the weird and wonderful world of extrachromosomal DNA - what it is, what it does, and why it breaks the normal rules of inheritance.

We’re finding out how plants adapt to a changing environment, and how we might be able to give them a helping hand.

It’s a special bonus episode this week as we wanted to showcase another podcast we think you’ll like, Hormones: The Inside Story, and an episode about the genetics of type 2 diabetes.