We look at the genetics of societies, exploring how genes underpin the rigid social structures and roles in bees.
S5.16 Hap-pea 200th birthday, Mendel!
We celebrate the 200th birthday of Gregor Mendel and learn about the latest genetics research that would have blown his mind.
S5.15 Does size matter when it comes to your genes?
In this episode we’re discovering whether size really does matter - when it comes to your genes and genome, that is. Dr Kat Arney gets to grips with why the human genome has so few genes, why some species have more junk DNA than others, and whether you should avoid eating anything with more genes than you.
S5.14 Genes, brains and the mind: How much of your personality is encoded in your DNA?
In this episode we’re exploring genes, brains and the mind, as we ask how much of our personality is innate, and whether anything we do as adults can change who we fundamentally are. Presenter, Dr Sally Le Page, sits down with Kevin Mitchell, an Associate Professor of Genetics and Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin and author of the book Innate: How the wiring of our brains shapes who we are.
S5.13 Genetics at your fingertips: stories from the science of identity
We’re looking at the stories at your fingertips. Dr Sally Le Page uncovers how excrement espionage could bring down a superpower, and unearths a 100 year old family secret. But it’s not just genetic fingerprinting we’re interested in. We also grasp the genetics of fingerprints, and what they tell us about our early life in the womb.
S5.12 In the blood: using circulating DNA to detect and monitor cancer
We’re taking a closer look at the red stuff, finding out what a few millilitres of blood can reveal about the development, progression and treatment of cancer within the body.
*Repost* Strands of life
The episode we had planned for this week has been held up, so we thought we’d take the opportunity to dip into the archive and reshare one of Kat’s favourite episodes, exploring the discovery of chromosomes - the strands of genetic material within every living cell - taking a look at Lyonisation, and solving the case of the missing chromosomes.
S5.11 When should you eat your relatives?
In this episode of Genetics Unzipped, presenter Dr Sally Le Page explores the gruesome side of family life in the natural world, getting stuck into a spot of cannibalism and asking: “When exactly should you eat your relatives?”
S5.10 Squid Game: the strange science of cephalopods
We're exploring the genetic secrets of squid. Dr Sally Le Page chats with Dr Sarah McAnulty to find out what has made squid so difficult to genetically manipulate and how they do unusual things with their RNA. We then sit down with Professor Jamie Foster who has been sending glow-in-the-dark squid into space to find out more about our microbiome.