This Week in Evolution

TWiEVO 128: Ready, set, cell

Nels and Vincent discuss a chemically defined synthetic cell capable of growth and replication. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcas

TWiEVO 127: The barley knew what to mildew

Nels and Vincent discuss molecular mimicry of a pathogen virulence target by a plant immune receptor. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple

TWiEVO 126: Beyond Inheritance with Roxanne Khamsi

TWiEVO 126: Beyond Inheritance with Roxanne Khamsi June 1, 2026 Science journalist Roxanne Khamsi joins Nels and Vincent discuss her first book, Beyond Inheritance, which

TWiEVO 125: Evolution's egg timer

Nels and Vincent discuss the development of a comprehensive transcriptomic atlas of early embryogenesis from 61 animal species to understand the control of gene expressi

TWiEVO 124: The little ribozyme that could

Nels and Vincent discuss the discovery of a short RNA with the ability to catalyze its own synthesis. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple

TWiEVO 123: Stinkbug eggs with a schmear of fungus

Nels and Vincent explain how stinkbug females smear fungus on their eggs to protect them from wasp parasitism. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free

TWiEVO 122: The evolution of selfishness

Nels and Vincent explain how selfishness evolved multiple times from an essential tRNA synthetase gene in a nematode. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscrib

TWiEVO 121: AI imagines viruses

Nels and Vincent examines the use of AI and genome language models to design novel derivatives of bacteriophage phiX174. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subsc

TWiEVO 120: Sparkle pony

Nels and Vincent explain research which shows that insertion of a retrovirus into the genome regulates a novel color trait in swordtail fish. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vince

TWiEVO 119: Drive fast, take chances, and encode a Y chromosome

Nels and Vincent explain research attempting to explain why among humans, females around the world live on average 5 years longer than males, but the trend is reversed in

TWiEVO 118: Mother of an unrelated brother

Nels and Vincent discuss research which shows a shift from the rule that living organisms produce same-species offspring: an ant that produces individuals from two distin

TWiEVO 117: Genes that don't leave

Nels and Vincent discuss research on hidden evolutionary constraints that dictate the retention of coronavirus accessory gene, which was flagged by NIH as potentially dan

TWiEVO 116: An ant and two fungi walk into a bar and meet a naked mole rat

Nels and Vincent review research on how neuropeptides influence the behavior of leafcutter ants, and regulate the different caste behaviors such as defenders, leaf forage

TWiEVO 115: Even the archaea are going viral

Nels and Vincent discuss an ultra reduced archaeal genome, the closest cellular entity to date that approaches a viral strategy of existence. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vince

TWiEVO 114: The best experiments ever done

Nels and Vincent review the properties of Mendel's pea genes through the lens of modern genetic analysis. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Ap

TWiEVO 113: A wolf in wolf's clothing

Nels and Vincent explain the ancestry and evolution of the extinct dire wolf. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Bec

TWiEVO 112: Sex-Z cephalopods

Nels and Vincent explain the ancient evolutionary origin of sex in cephalopods. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email B

TWiEVO 111: Copy that, genome

Nels and Vincent explain how template switching during DNA replication is a widespread source of adaptive gene amplification. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello

TWiEVO 110: Ants go from carpenters to surgeons

Nels and Vincent reveal that worker ants amputate their colleagues injured leg to prevent infections. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple

TWiEVO 109: On the origins of orange

Nels and Vincent discuss the molecular and genetic origins of sex-linked orange coat color in cats. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Po