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.

We’re exploring the epic life of Alfred Russel Wallace; adventurer, naturalist and co-discoverer of natural selection. Biologist and author, Jim Costa, recounts the life of this often forgotten founding father of evolution.

We look at the science behind DNA and RNA vaccines - How do they work? What can they do? And how can they be made at scale so that more people around the world can benefit from them? With John Tregoning from Imperial College London, Christian Ottensmeier from the University of Liverpool, and Lisa Caproni from Touchlight.

Kat Arney chats with Professor Matthew Cobb about what really happened between James Watson, Francis Crick and Rosalind Franklin during the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA.

We’re going behind the scenes at the Sanger Institute with Cordelia Langford, Director of Scientific Operations, to find out what it takes to make Big Science happen, and hear the stories behind the sequencing.

We’re chatting with two of this year’s Genetics Society award winners - Cecilia Lindgren, who’s an expert on the genetics of obesity and metabolic disorders, and Lucy van Dorp, who has spent the past three years tracing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 around the world.

We’re venturing into ancient territory and archaeological digs, excavating the complex ethics of extracting and sequencing DNA from human remains. We chat to Prof. Turi King about her role uncovering the body King Richard III and who decides which research gets done.

We’re taking a journey into the world of art and artefacts, unearthing the genetic secrets of long-dead legends like Da Vinci, Van Gogh and Beethoven.

We’re chasing down the perpetrator of a scientific Whodunnit, joining the DNA detectives on the hunt for the causes of cancer.

In this episode we’re going microscopic, exploring what tiny tardigrades can teach us about DNA damage, vaccine distribution and even astronaut health in space.

In this episode we’re becoming chromosomal criminals and learning about how researchers are stealing genes from the animal kingdom and using them to improve human health. From 13-lined ground squirrels teaching us how to recover from heart attacks, to bowhead whales showing us how to avoid cancer, there’s a lot geneticists can learn from Mother Nature.