Latest Heredity Podcast Episodes
Doing the twist - packing DNA
Naked Genetics, from the Naked Scientists - April 13, 2013 23:00 - 30 minutes ★★★★ - 84 ratingsAlmost every single cell of your body is packed with more than two metres of DNA, containing your genes. But not only does it have to be packed up to fit in there, it also has to be organised and read. Plus, how genetic variations are linked to cancer risk,analysing dinosaur DNA, and an adventuro...
Beautiful otherness - autism genetics
Naked Genetics, from the Naked Scientists - March 14, 2013 00:00 - 30 minutes ★★★★ - 84 ratingsIt's thought that around one in a hundred children in the UK is somewhere on the autistic spectrum - a complex range of disorders that can be challenging to understand and live with. But recent advances in genetics are bringing hope for new therapies that might help. Plus, we look at the genes un...
The wonderful world of RNA
Naked Genetics, from the Naked Scientists - February 14, 2013 00:00 - 30 minutes ★★★★ - 84 ratingsYou've probably heard of DNA, but what do you know about RNA? As well as being the molecule that shuttles information from our genes into our cells, it also plays a huge number of other roles in all cells, from bacteria and viruses to tiny worms, plants and humans. Plus we delve into quadruplex D...
Fitting into your genes - the genetics of obesity
Naked Genetics, from the Naked Scientists - January 14, 2013 00:00 - 30 minutes ★★★★ - 84 ratingsThe gym is full, the pubs are empty - it can only be January, as a good proportion of the population resolves to shape up and lose weight. But are your efforts going to help you fit into your jeans (with a J), or are you just fighting against your genes (with a G)? Plus, we discuss how genes migh...
Cancer genetics - When good cells go bad
Naked Genetics, from the Naked Scientists - December 14, 2012 00:00 - 30 minutes ★★★★ - 84 ratingsCancer is literally the enemy within us -it starts when our own cells get damaged and go rogue, multiplying out of control and spreading around body. But how can we use new genetic knowledge to beat it? Plus, decoding the wheat genome, finding out where birds came from, and our gene of the month ...
The genetics of germs
Naked Genetics, from the Naked Scientists - November 14, 2012 00:00 - 30 minutes ★★★★ - 84 ratingsOur world - and our bodies - are teeming with bacteria. And although some of them are friendly, many of them are not. Plus, electrifying news about bacterial nanowires, cuddly koalas, and counting chromosomes, and our gene of the month is the mindblowing Mind Bomb. Like this podcast? Please help ...
Stop bugging me! The genetics of bedbugs and other insects
Naked Genetics, from the Naked Scientists - October 13, 2012 23:00 - 30 minutes ★★★★ - 84 ratingsThey suck your blood, hitch-hike on your luggage, and are a growing threat to the hotel industry. Bedbugs are a growing problem in the modern jet-set world, and scientists are using genetic techniques to try and understand why. Feeling itchy yet? Plus, we look at the genetics of some other annoyi...
Epigenetics and reprogramming - turning back the clock
Naked Genetics, from the Naked Scientists - September 13, 2012 23:00 - 30 minutes ★★★★ - 84 ratingsWe've all heard of the genetic code - the letters that spell out the instructions in our DNA. But that's not the whole story. Researchers are increasingly digging into the epigenetic code - the marks that tell cells which genes to use and which to ignore. Plus, we take a look behind the headlines...
Genes and genomes
Naked Genetics, from the Naked Scientists - August 13, 2012 23:00 - 30 minutes ★★★★ - 84 ratingsIt's now over a decade since the human genome was first sequenced, costing over a billion pounds and taking 13 years. Today, we're close to the thousand dollar genome. But what's in a genome, and what can it tell us about our risk of disease? Plus we'll be arguing the age of polar bears, and find...
Hacking biology - synthetic DNA and experimental evolution
Naked Genetics, from the Naked Scientists - July 13, 2012 23:00 - 30 minutes ★★★★ - 84 ratingsEvery biology student is familiar with DNA - the ladder-like blueprint of life built on a backbone of the sugar deoxyribose. Scientists are now hacking this structure to make entirely new DNA-like molecules built on different sugar skeletons, opening an exciting new world of synthetic genetics. P...
Tackling neurodegenerative diseases
Naked Genetics, from the Naked Scientists - June 13, 2012 23:00 - 30 minutes ★★★★ - 84 ratingsComplex, mysterious and currently incurable - the challenge for researchers working on neurodegenerative diseases is huge. We'll be finding out how scientists are using genetic approaches to understand these distressing illnesses. Plus we find out why claims of a male contraceptive pill are somew...
The world of top (genetics) models
Naked Genetics, from the Naked Scientists - May 13, 2012 23:00 - 28 minutes ★★★★ - 84 ratingsThis month we're taking a look at the world of top models - not the kind that won't get out of bed for less than ten grand, but the model organisms used by researchers all over the world to answer some of the most challenging questions in biology. We'll also be hearing about the origins of polar ...
Developmental genetics - from one cell to many
Naked Genetics, from the Naked Scientists - April 13, 2012 23:00 - 32 minutes ★★★★ - 84 ratingsThis month we're taking a trip into the world of developmental genetics, finding out how an animal grows from one cell into many millions as it develops from a fertilised egg, and discovering how it knows when it's grown enough. We also hear about the hunt for genes involved in autism, see what s...
Genes and evolution - from populations to tumours
Naked Genetics, from the Naked Scientists - March 14, 2012 00:00 - 32 minutes ★★★★ - 84 ratingsFrom whole populations to individual cancers, we're taking a look at genes and evolution. We're also talking about dogs and their diseases, shining a light on Van Gogh's sunflowers, and wondering whether the USB-sized DNA sequence is hope or hype. Plus we've got our gene of the month - whether it...
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