In this episode of Naked Genetics: How much of your personality is down to your DNA; we also look at synthetic DNA, and why we'd want to make it; plus, the spiders that turn one species of insect against its own kind... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In this episode of Naked Genetics: A mammoth discovery in ancient DNA structure; on the subject of ancient DNA, what can we sequence for a centuries old body? And, in quirks of evolution, the animal that drinks its own offspring's blood... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Do our genes control how we respond to COVID? The question has been nagging at the world since the pandemic began. Now we have the answer - and it's yes. In this programme, geneticist Nathan Pearson uncovers the specific bits of DNA that make you more likely to catch coronavirus, as well as the bits that might make you sicker.... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We'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 about older fathers and autism, find out what chimps can tell us about our cancer risk, and our gene of the month might be mistaken for a heavy metal band. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

It'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 finding out about fish with skin cancer. And our gene of the month is one for the Trekkies out there - it's Tribbles. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Every 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. Plus, we find out what happens when music has sex, discover why the X chromosome is more than just a number, and our gene of the month is the unfortunate Ken and Barbie. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Complex, 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 somewhat premature, discover how a 16th century mummy has revealed the history of hepatitis B, and investigate whether your genes could predispose you to life in orbit. And our gene of the month is the hollow-sounding Tinman. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This 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 bears, the extinction of Tasmanian tigers, fitter frogs with faster-changing genomes and promiscuous bees. And move over Beyonce, because our gene of the month is the curvaceous Callipyge - Greek for beautiful buttocks. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This 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 sticklebacks can tell us about evolution, ponder the purpose of keeping 9,000 placentas, and ask whether we can ever genetically engineer humans to drink seawater. And the monster raving loony gene of the month is the wacky-sounding Lunatic Fringe. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

From 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's Sonic, Desert or Indian, we'll be carefully getting to grips with the prickly persona of the hedgehog gene. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

How do we cope at the extremes of low temperature? Across the world, groups of people have historically made their home in icy and inhospitable landscapes... and even today, groups of thrill seekers push their bodies to the limits by going swimming in water close to freezing. In this month's programme, genes that help us handle - and even enjoy - being very cold. We've got two stories from the ancient ice, including the oldest ever DNA; plus, two modern genes found to be helping us out in interesting ways, whenever things get particularly chilly... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We're looking at the most critical variants of the coronavirus, and finding out how to tell whether they're flummoxing COVID vaccines. Plus: the cost of catching a serial killer; DNA with four strands instead of two; and a mutant fish whose fins have started turning into limbs! Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Meet the small DNA differences that make their mark by existing in the magical period of early development. We'll hear how mutations in the very first stages of human embryos have bizarre consequences for identical twins; and how even earlier in the process, sperm use selfish genes to get ahead of the competition. Plus, an immunologist untangles mRNA COVID vaccines, from efficacy numbers to delayed booster shots... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The first group of people in the world have received a 'genetic' vaccine against the coronavirus. What is it, and how does it work? Naked Scientist Chris Smith breaks it down and addresses your concerns. Plus, why some genes have to change rapidly just to stay the same; a new way to keep functional genetic information private; and three new species of penguin arrive on the scene... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

It's a regular Noah's Ark: from the coronavirus strains that have been spreading through minks, to a new DNA test that can track poached elephant ivory, to the genetics of a very useful - and very inbred - cat. Plus: scientists have discovered a brand new genetic disease, via an unlikely approach and an even unlikelier coincidence... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week: a risk factor for severe COVID that comes from Neanderthals; using genes to track the millions transported as slaves across the Atlantic; a doctor runs through the list of what coronavirus mutations are worth watching out for; and learning population genetics from a video game... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This week, a message from Naked Scientists listener Loretta. "I'm curious if your show might cover some of the most interesting case studies of organisms developing tolerance to severe toxins, what genetic insight this gives us about adaptation and natural selection more broadly, and what some of the tradeoffs might be when evolving to have such tolerances." We're answering her question: how do animals - and even humans - eat poison, and get away with it? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Tweet tweet! We're talking birds, and the incredible things they can do. Today we're spotlighting five of the coolest recent stories in bird genetics: hummingbirds powering their lightning-fast flight; a gene that controls migration; why males have different colours to females; how light pollution makes sparrows sicker; and the bird trapped for thousands of years under the Siberian ice... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The same thing that makes the patchwork colours on a tortoiseshell cat, also - according to some - is why human females live longer, see colour better, and even more often survive the coronavirus. It's all thanks to having two X chromosomes. Females compensate by switching one of them off, and the result is two distinct groups of cells in the body, each preferring one of the two X's. Welcome to the weird world of female mosaicism... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In this episode of Naked Genetics: The risk factors between schizophrenia and substance use disorder have had a fresh genetic examination; I put Illumina to the test and ask, 'what difference does washing our hands really make?' And, the the extraordinary way in which dung beetles use the night sky to orientate themselves... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We take a look at the trendy world of fermented foods. Are they actually good for you? And if so, why? Plus, the latest genetics news: from bacteria that live inside cancer cells, to gene sequencing the dead sea scrolls... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Are you one of the many people who take ACE inhibitors or ARBs to treat high blood pressure? Or to help with heart issues or diabetes? In the UK, this is about one in seven people, making these are some of the most common prescription drugs out there; and recently there have been worries that they might make a coronavirus infection worse. The link between the drugs and the virus is a molecule inside everyone's bodies called ACE2. On today's show, meet ACE2, the protein in the spotlight: the bastion of our defenses, that's become the very breach in our walls. Protector, turned betrayer... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In this episode we're taking apart the tiny creature behind this global pandemic. From how looking at the genes of the coronavirus can help figure out the animal it comes from; to the exact ways it's spreading around the world; and even how a hidden mutation is threatening to lead vaccine-makers on a wild goose chase. Plus, Gins & Genes goes virtual; stay tuned to hear what's inside our guest's downstairs toilet... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

One of the biggest tech booms of the past half decade has been direct to consumer DNA tests. The results come in the post, and with them come both answers and new questions: questions that tens of thousands of people now have to figure out how to ask. In this episode, a new book from journalist Libby Copeland about a sociological phenomenon and its effects, both grand and intimate... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Listener Vivek got in touch with a question about a rare genetic disease his son has, called FOXG1 Syndrone. In fact, it's so rare - and so newly-discovered - that only about six hundred people in the world have been diagnosed. Kids with FOXG1 have severe developmental delays; in Vivek's words, "everything that can go wrong - it's gone wrong with him." But the parents of FOXG1 children have been unusually tenacious when it comes to shaping the course of science. In this programme we meet those people blurring the line - metaphorically speaking - between the brain and the heart. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We got a Christmas present from listener Anna: a small plastic tube full of dead flies. They've recently been infesting the hospital where she works. She wants us to figure out what they are, and what caused the infestation. Can DNA crack the case? Plus, the return of Gins & Genes... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

There are very few African studies in genetics. And on the whole, there is a big European bias in the field. In Europe there are resources of hundreds of thousands of individuals' data, like the UK Biobank, and so that's where most research take place. But there's a potential problem: the subtle differences in DNA may start to make a difference the more genetics is used to diagnose and treat diseases. All this is why a number of institutions have collaborated to survey thousands of people's genomes in rural Uganda. In this episode we cover the results of Africa's biggest ever genetics study;... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This month we're diving into the stuff that makes up two thirds of the Earth's surface. Can you use genetics to figure out what's in the water? We put the science to the test by making a geneticist guess our mystery fish. Plus, a story about whales and dolphins: what do you lose when you leave the land? Jump in, the water's fine. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Half a million genomes. That's how many the UK Biobank has, stored as blood samples in freezers up in Manchester. And in September 2019 they announced a project to sequence every single one of them. It's the obvious next step for the UK Biobank, the research study that began in 2006 and now consists of an enormous biological database: the personal and medical information of its 500,000 volunteers. That data is available to any researcher who applies to use it. But how is this, the biggest whole-genome sequencing project ever, going to work? Who's coughing up the hundreds of millions of pounds... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

It's a doggy dog world... in this episode we're talking pugs, bulldogs, and French bulldogs. They've all been bred for flat faces, but their airways haven't shrunk alongside their skulls - meaning that they often struggle to breathe. How has this happened? After evolving for millions of years, why are their airways literally too big to fit into their heads? Have they been betrayed by their own genes? Naked Genetics is on the case. Plus, the origin of puppy dog eyes, and we sequence the genome of Bruce the black lab puppy... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In this episode of Naked Genetics: What the latest genetics research has to say about restless leg syndrome; I put Illumina to the test and ask, 'what really grows on our food?'; And, what makes a tardigrade so tough? Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Naked Genetics is back with new episodes every month! Today we're taking a step back. Where does genetics actually come from? How did we get to today's world of genome sequences and gene editing? It all started with a 19th-Century monk, working in his garden - but who was he really, and how did it take thirty years for him to be recognised? If you think you know this story, you might be surprised. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Join Harvard DNA pioneer George Church and Chris Smith in conversation as they discuss gene cloning, DNA sequencing, decoding the mammoth genome, the risks posed by fossil viruses lurking in extinct genomes, the prospects of xenotransplantation and safety of gene therapy, and the risks of human CRISPR. The discussion was recorded on March 15th, live in front of a studio audience at the Hello Tomorrow Summit, in Paris, 2019... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In November, He Jiankui claimed that two genetically engineered children have been born. Did he really do it? And if so, what are the ramifications for the babies and for the field? Georgia Mills explores the controversy in a special edition of Naked Genetics. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We're returning to the scene of the crime with another look at the latest techniques in the world of forensic genetics - can we really predict physical features or even ethnicity from your DNA, and what does this mean for our criminal justice system? Plus, is the 'CSI effect' real? And our gene of the month would be more at home at a rave than a lab. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We're off to a festival - but before you worry about where your tent and wellies are, it's the Festival of Genomics, held at a clean and dry conference centre in London rather than a muddy field full of rock bands and dodgy burgers. Plus, what does the public really think of genetic technology? And a fiery gene of the month. This is the Naked Genetics podcast for March 2018, brought to you in association with The Genetics Society. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

It's CSI Naked Genetics, as we find out how genetic technology is used to solve crimes. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We take a trip back to the womb and before, to find out about early development. Plus, the importance of placentas, why the age of your womb rather than your eggs matters, and a video game-inspired gene of the month. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This month we're finding out how genetic advances are shaping the future of healthcare at the Genetics Society autumn meeting. Plus, signposts for bees and an operatic gene of the month. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This month we're off to the zoo to meet some lovelorn laughing thrushes, endangered snails, and the Cilla Black of Sumatran Tigers. Plus, a sneak preview of this year's Genetics Society JBS Haldane lecture, and a gene of the month that likes a tipple. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

You're a mammal. I'm a mammal. Your pet cat or dog is a mammal, as are whales, lemurs, pandas and polar bears. But what exactly is a mammal, and what can our genes tell us about our evolution? Plus, school students take on the whipworm genome, the surprising genetic diversity of Papua New Guinea, and a gene of the month that's up all night. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

In this month's edition of Naked Genetics: Why a genetic bottleneck created decades ago means some whales are in deep water; how wastewater is helping genetic sequencer track down deadly diseases; And, surf's up! how one beach dwelling creature is shredding the gnar in order to find food... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Would you ever consider donating your genome to research? We meet a man who has, and find out why. Plus, we get our hands dirty in the search for new antibiotics, take a look at the ethics of human gene editing, and our gene of the month is getting ahead in life. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

As scientists announce that they have used CRISPR technology to fix a faulty gene in a human embryo - not for the first time, but more accurately than ever before - we take a look at storing, writing and editing in DNA. Plus, our gene of the month is all ears. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This month we're taking a look at the role that genes play in dementia, and finding out how researchers are using this knowledge to develop urgently-needed treatments. Plus, a big release of big data from the UK Biobank, and our gene of the month is an expert swordsman. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This month we're literally getting inside our genes, as we explore chromosomes through a 3-dimensional virtual reality art, music and science project. Plus, researchers are turning to bees, trees and more in search of new genetic systems, and our gene of the month has been around for a while. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

This month we're zooming in on cancer, finding out how researchers are tackling tumours in unprecedented detail. Plus, our gene of the month is the guardian of your genome, rather than the galaxy. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

We might joke about the battle of the sexes, but it turns out that this is actually true - at least for a hundred or so imprinted genes. Plus, what opossums can teach us about sex, reporting back from a very special scientific meeting, and a superhero-styled gene of the month. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

The DNA sequencing revolution is providing ever more data about genomes from all kinds of species, from humans to bacteria. But how do we make sense of it all? Who gets their hands on it? And how do we use it to benefit patients? We meet the scientists developing new computer tools to analyse and democratise global genomics. Plus, how your partner's genes affect you - assuming you're a mouse - and a shrunken gene of the month. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Our bodies are made up of trillions of cells - but these aren't mere biological building blocks, as inert as bricks. They're constantly communicating and changing. So how do scientists measure this? Plus, you can now take part in an international survey about genetics knowledge, a GIANT study throws up new genes linked to height, and a romantic gene of the month. Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists