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This Week in Evolution: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Vincent Racaniello
This Week in Evolution is a podcast on the biology of what makes us tick. Hosts Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello take you through the new evolution that has been revolutionized by the field of genomics and molecular biology.
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- 5 days ago1h 14m
TWiEVO 131: Growing Your Genetic Vocabulary
Nels and Vincent explain a study showing that expansion of the genetic code in plants allows control of bacterial activity. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server Expanding plant genetic vocabulary for defense (Nat Biotech) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels – Gaia with 1,000 faces Vincent – A Brief History of Intelligence: Evolution, AI, and the Five Breakthroughs That Made Our Brains by Max S. Bennett Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv
- 4 weeks ago1h 14m
TWiEVO 130: The Stickleback Shuffle
Nels and Vincent explain a study showing unique site-specific and shared habitat-level adaptation in a classic system of repeated evolution, stickleback fish. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server Shared and site-specific adaptation in stickleback fish (PNAS) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels – Wynton Marsalis on Playing When Nobody Is Listening Vincent – With US measles deaths on the rise, local officials are stepping in where RFK Jr won't Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv
- Aug 31, 20261h 27m
TWiEVO 129: How avocados do it
Nels and Vincent discuss the finding that balanced polymorphism in a floral transcription factor underlies the ancient rhythm of daily sex alternation in avocado. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server A transcription protein underlies daily sex alteration in avocado (PNAS) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels – Hypothesis fund and Pretty Viruses Project on iNaturalist Vincent – Hot Tuna – Water Song | Live at 4 6th Street Rock Palace (1973) Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv
- Jul 23, 20261h 18m
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 Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server Chemically defined synthetic cell (bioRxiv) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels – Jimothy the short spined racoon in Seattle Vincent – Nitrogen-fixing organelle in a marine alga Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv
- Jul 23, 20261h 16m
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 Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server Molecular mimicry of a pathogen virulence target by a plant immune receptor (Science) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels – Plug-in solar Vincent – This Engine Will Reinvent Space Travel Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv
- Jun 1, 20261h 27m
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 explores how DNA continuously mutates throughout our lives, challenging the idea that our genetic destiny is fixed at birth. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Guest: Roxanne Khamsi Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server Beyond Inheritance (Amazon) Timestamps by Jolene Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv
- Apr 26, 202652 min
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 expression transitions from maternally deposited products to newly transcribed zygotic RNA. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server Evolutionary landscapes of zygotic genome activation across animals (bioRxiv) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels – Biologists Confirm Not Much Evolution Happened Today Vincent – How Trains Take Electricity from Wires Without Breaking Contact Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv
- Mar 19, 20261h 18m
TWiEVO 124: The little ribozyme that could
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About This Week in Evolution
This Week in Evolution is a podcast on the biology of what makes us tick. Hosts Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello take you through the new evolution that has been revolutionized by the field of genomics and molecular biology.
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