Nels and Vincent look at how plant prickles, sharp epidermal projections that provide defense from predators and other advantages, arose by convergent evolution, the emergence of analogous traits in distantly related species. Hosts: Nels Elde and…
Nels and Vincent discuss the genome sequence of an ancient wooly mammoth, which shows that the three-dimensional architecture of the DNA can persist after 50,000 years.
Nels and Vincent explore a direct experimental test of Ohno’s Hypothesis, which states that gene duplication can help genes tolerate new mutations and thus facilitates the evolution of new phenotypes.
TWiEVO 102: Kelp gets some viral help
- May 1, 2024
- Tagged as: brown algae, evolution, green algae, macroalgae, multicellularity, mutation, natural selection, red algae
Nels and Vincent explain how deep genomics of macroalgae illuminate multiple paths to aquatic, photosynthetic multicellularity.
TWiEVO 101: 99 problems but a tail ain’t one
- April 3, 2024
- Tagged as: evolution, hominoid, mutation, natural selection, tail loss
Nels and Vincent review the genetic basis for tail-loss evolution in humans and apes.
TWiEVO 100: Spaces that celebrate science
- March 10, 2024
- Tagged as: evolution, mutation, natural selection, Science Mill, science museum, scientist, STEM program
Rich Condit joins Nels and Vincent at the Science Mill in Johnson City, Texas, where Director of STEM Education Jeehyun Park talks about the goals of the childrens’ museum.
Nels and Vincent reveal how electric organ discharge from the electric eel facilitates the introduction of DNA into teleost larvae.
TWiEVO 97: Germs trapping worms
- January 31, 2024
- Tagged as: adhesive net, ecosystem, evolution, fungus, mutation, natural selection, nematode, predator, prey
Nels and Vincent review a study of the key processes required for the different stages of fungal carnivory by a nematode-trapping fungus.
TWiEVO 94: A bacteria, a phage, and a selfish element walk into a cryptomonad
- September 29, 2023
- Tagged as: algae, cryptomodad, cryptomonad, endosymbiont, evolution, mutation, natural selection, nucleomorph, plastid
Nels and Vincent take apart an amazing symbiosis consisting of two bacteria, one bacteriophage, and seven different genomes all within a single-celled alga.
Nels and Vincent explain a study of how interspecies competition between two algae influences evolution of metabolism and size.
