S5.09 Nature, Nurture and 'The Wobble'
Hello, and welcome to Genetics Unzipped - the Genetics Society podcast, with me, Dr Kat Arney. In this episode we’re getting to grips with the fundamental forces that shape life: nature, nurture, and ‘the Wobble’.
The Wobble of Life
You’re a unique human being – a combination of the genetic material from your parents, mixed together with the influence of the world around you, from the very first moments of your existence through to whatever you’re up to right now as you listen to this podcast.
Over the past century, the field of genetics has got the hang of the idea that it’s not nature OR nurture that shapes us, but nature AND nurture. But as we move into the next era of biology, it’s time to add something else to the mix. Click here to listen to Kat’s explanation…
That’s all for now. If you want to find out more about how our genes work to make us who we are, check out my book Herding Hemingway’s Cats: understanding how our genes work, available from all good and evil bookshops, in paperback, ebook and audiobook. You can also listen to our previous episodes, Pimp my Genome, about the wonderful world of epigenetics, and How to be a Genetic Superhero, if you’re curious to learn more about how variations in our genes might keep us well when we should be getting ill.
We’ll be back next time talking about the weird and wonderful world of squid - from their strange biology to their glow in the dark symbiotic inhabitants to sending them into space.
For more information about this podcast including show notes, transcripts, links, references, music credits and everything else head over to geneticsunzipped.com You can find us on Twitter @geneticsunzip and please do take a moment to leave us a rating in the Spotify app or review us on Apple podcasts - it really makes a difference and helps more people discover the show.
Genetics Unzipped is written and presented by me, Kat Arney. It is produced by First Create the Media for The Genetics Society - one of the oldest learned societies in the world dedicated to supporting and promoting the research, teaching and application of genetics. You can find out more and apply to join at genetics.org.uk. Our theme music was composed by Dan Pollard, and the logo was designed by James Mayall, and audio production was by Sally Le Page. Thanks for listening, and until next time, goodbye.
References:
Herding Hemingway’s Cats: Understanding how our genes work – Kat Arney (Bloomsbury Sigma, 2016)
Genetics Unzipped – Pimp my genome: the wonderful world of epigenetics
Fitness Trade-Offs and Environmentally Induced Mutation Buffering in Isogenic C. elegans Casanueva, M. O., Burga, A., and Lehner, B. (2011) SCIENCE 335: 82-85 DOI: 10.1126/science.1213491
Francesconi, M., Lehner, B. The effects of genetic variation on gene expression dynamics during development. Nature 505, 208–211 (2014). DOI: 10.1038/nature12772
Kimsey, I., Petzold, K., Sathyamoorthy, B. et al. Visualizing transient Watson–Crick-like mispairs in DNA and RNA duplexes. Nature 519, 315–320 (2015). DOI: 10.1038/nature14227
'Quantum jitters' could form basis of evolution, cancer – Phys.Org
Kærn, M., Elston, T., Blake, W. et al. Stochasticity in gene expression: from theories to phenotypes. Nat Rev Genet 6, 451–464 (2005). DOI: 10.1038/nrg1615
Image credit: C. elegans image by ZEISS Microscopy
