Nels and Vincent review the use of ancient DNA to identify loci that may have been under selection during the Black Death by studying populations before, during, and after the pandemic.
Nels and Vincent discuss how duplication of a gene encoding a transcription factor led to evolution of a novel cell type in the slime mold Dictyostelium.
Louise Moncla joins Nels and Vincent to review her use of genomics to understand emergence, evolution, and transmission of respiratory viruses including influenza virus H5N1, mumps virus, and SARS-CoV-2.
TWiEVO 77: The mutations of our lives
- April 26, 2022
- Tagged as: age, cancer, evolution, germline mutation, mammal, mutation, mutation rate, natural selection, somatic mutation
Alex joins Nels and Vincent to discuss his work which demonstrates that somatic mutation rates scale with lifespan in mammals.
Nels and Vincent review evidence for recombinant SARS-CoV-2 genomes arising in the B.1.1.7 lineage within the United Kingdom.
TWiEVO 59: The hypothesis giving tree
- August 28, 2020
- Tagged as: amoeba, COVID-19, evolution, giant virus, mutation, natural selection, ORFan, pandemic, SARS-CoV-2
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.
Jessie, Allie and Tyler join Nels and Vincent to describe their work on deep mutational scanning of the SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain.
Matt joins Nels and Vincent to discuss the neutral theory of evolution and its rejection in light of genome-scale data.
Nels and Vincent discuss a genomic analysis of the passenger pigeon, which shows that species with large and stable populations may be at risk of extinction after a sudden environmental change.
TWiEVO 2: Faster than a speeding virus
- December 26, 2015
- Tagged as: APOBEC, enzyme, evolution, HIV, human immunodeficiency virus, mutation, mutation rate, viral, virology, virus, viruses
Nels and Vincent talk about how a cellular enzyme contributes to the very high mutation rate of human immunodeficiency virus type 1.