Nels and Vincent explain a new method for calculating the most recent common ancestor of SARS-CoV-2, which concludes that the ancestral virus was circulating in October/November 2019, before its first detection in China.

Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello

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Science Picks 1:24:20

Nels Ed Yong pandemic trauma and We’re Not Ready for the Next Pandemic
VincentFurin cleavage site is not a smoking gun

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Nels and Vincent review evidence for recombinant SARS-CoV-2 genomes arising in the B.1.1.7 lineage within the United Kingdom.

Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello

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Science Picks 1:30:33

Nels Mars rover helicopter flight!
VincentTWiN 17: Worms see the light with Michael Nitabach

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Nels and Vincent review a preprint demonstrating that changes in the genomes of the SARS-CoV-2 variants B1.351 and P.1 allow the viruses to reproduce in mouse cells in culture and in laboratory mice.

Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello

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Science Picks 1:26:14

Nels Billion years of plate tectonics
VincentSapiens a Graphic History by Yuval Noah Harari

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Nels and Vincent review evidence that a single amino acid change in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein has driven adaptation to humans, followed by an update on the status of variants of concern.

Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello

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Science Picks 1:21:23

Nels Radio Garden
VincentOur World in Data – Coronavirus

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Nels and Vincent consider evolution of antibody immunity to SARS-CoV-2, and update the situation on novel virus variants of concern with potentially altered fitness and reactivity with antibodies.

Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello

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Science Picks 1:41:02

NelsBiden Administration PCAST and The Hill We Climb
Vincent – Four inaugural quotations – Lincoln, Roosevelt, Kennedy, Biden

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Nels and Vincent wrap up 2020 with a discussion of novel variants of SARS-CoV-2 that have emerged in the United Kingdom and South Africa, how to interpret the rapidly emerging genome sequence data and what to look for in the coming weeks as these variants spread across the globe.

Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello

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Science Picks 1:21:47

NelsKatalin Karikos’ career and mRNA vaccines
VincentReverse Engineering of mRNA vaccine

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Daniel joins Nels and Vincent to discuss his new book on army ants, the wickedest insects ever to roam the planet, and his research on them and clonal raider ants.

Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello

Guest: Daniel Kronauer

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Science Picks 1:27:59

DanielDesert Navigator by Rüdiger Wehner and Insects of Suriname by Maria Sibylla Merian
NelsNPR Scicommers
VincentThe Vintage Beauty Of Soviet Control Rooms

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Nels and Vincent discuss an opinion piece on 12 evolutionary insights into how the COVID-19 pandemic is shaping human nature, and prolonged SARS-CoV-2 reproduction in an immunosuppressed patient.

Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello

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Science Picks 1:19:42

NelsScott Edwards bikes across US; support diversity in evolution
Vincent30 computers sculpture project

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On the fifth anniversary of TWiEVO, Nels and Vincent invite 12 evolutionary biologists to describe exciting future directions for the field and their laboratory in the next five years.

Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello

Guests: Lillian Fritz Laylin, Talia Karasov, Andrew Kern, Sarah Tishkoff, Dmitri Petrov, Nancy Chen, Amanda Larracuente, John McCutcheon, Ambika Kamath, Chip Aquadro, Rebekah Rogers, Yaniv Braindvain, and Harmit Malik

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Science Picks 1:45:21

NelsScience Mill Virtual Tour and Benefit
VincentDas Coronavirus summaries

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Nels and Vincent answer listener questions and discuss a newly discovered virus of amoeba with a nearly complete ORFan genome: none of the proteins encoded in the viral genome look like any other proteins.

Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello

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Science Picks 1:22:45

Nels – Blog by Ambika Kamath
Vincent – TWiVerse

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