Nice Genes!
by Genome BC
From healthcare and biotechnology to forests and fisheries, the evolving study of genomics is leading to some of the most exciting and world-changing discoveries in science and medicine. Like – did you know that your individual genomic signature can help determine the healthcare treatment you receive? Or that mapping the genomes of trees can inform forest management? But while the study of genomics holds great promise for the health of people, animals, and the environment, it also confronts us with big questions: How do we study genetic patterns in a way that respects sensitive genetic information, history, and equity? How do we use the power of genomic research to fight climate change? Save the salmon? Join Dr. Kaylee Byers – a self-described “rat detective” and science communicator as she guides you through fascinating conversations about the what, the why, and the how of genomics.
Episodes
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Cracking KRAS: Can We Finally Treat Pancreatic Cancer?
Pancreatic cancer has notoriously been hard to detect and treat. Changes in the KRAS gene cause cells to make a protein that make pancreatic cancer grow. And that protein has been notoriously difficult to target. But now, a promising new class of drugs is boldly going where no drug has gone…
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GENomics-AI: Are We Moving Too Fast?
Artificial Intelligence has gone from science fiction to something that is almost impossible to avoid in the day-to-day. But what happens when AI intersects with our DNA? On this episode we learn about a tool called CRISPR-GPT, which uses AI to help scientists design gene edits and tackle some of...
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It’s Prime Time: Can New Gene Editing Technologies Re-write the Future of Health?
Many rare genetic diseases are caused by a “typo” in our DNA. For most, fixing that spelling mistake has been out of reach. But a recent clinical trial has changed everything, opening up the door for possible cures we never thought were possible through a cutting-edge gene-editing tool called…
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Shoot Your Shot: Is Male Birth Control Finally Here?
For the past 25 years, we’ve been hearing that male contraceptives are just a few years away. And then a few more… and then some more after that. So for something that has been in development for such a long time, what is with the hold up? In this episode, Dr. Kaylee Byers takes us through the...
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Survivor - Animal Edition: How are some species adapting to a human-altered world?
If you’ve ever watched the TV show Survivor, you know the rules: outwit, outplay, outlast. But in the animal kingdom, Survivor isn’t a game– in a very real way, it’s adapt, or… And as climate change intensifies and human disasters reshape the environment, animals are being forced to come up with...
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Welcome to ‘Nice Genes!’ Season 6
Have you heard about the radioactive wolves in Chernobyl? Or the latest gene-editing tech that’s curing rare diseases? Or that male birth control might be on the horizon? No?! Well, get ready, because while we’ve been busy living our lives, genomics has been moving – fast! Things that once read...
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Genomic Repeat: Nodding our Tusks to Heroic Mutations
This episode was originally released on August 2, 2022 Just like any good superhero comic, we start this episode with the science going incredibly wrong. Think: vats of toxic waste producing evil mutants that ravage the city. Or maybe not so evil. It really depends on your perspective. Just like...
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Why Orange Cats Are Orange
Have you ever wondered why most orange cats are male? Scientists have been scratching their heads over this for decades, and now we finally have answers. In our final Gene Short of the season, Sarah Lando and Dr. Kaylee Byers explain the surprising new evidence that finally explains this...
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Genomic Repeat: Calls from the Deep - A genomic whale of a story
This episode was originally released on November 15, 2022 Things aren’t always what they seem on the surface, especially when it comes to our oceans. So many mysteries hum below its watery surface. So, you may just have to use your ears when it's too dark to see exactly what's going on down…
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Spit Happens! The History of 23andMe
The story of 23andMe has more twists than a soap opera. Spit parties, ghosting the FDA, unicorn valuations, and massive data breaches—this company has done it all. In this Gene Short, Sarah Lando walks Dr. Kaylee Byers through the drama behind the headlines, and what it all means if you’re…
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Genomic Repeat: Slipping Through the Spectrum - Rethinking the Divide in Autism Diagnoses
This episode was originally released on November 5, 2024 Dr. Hannah Belcher was already studying autism she found out she herself was Autistic. Getting her diagnosis felt like everything suddenly clicked… but why did it take so long to get answers? In this episode, Hannah shares her journey and...
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The 200-Year Old Whale
Bowhead whales can live for nearly 2 centuries, weigh as much as 22 elephants, and– surprisingly– rarely get cancer. So what’s their sea-cret? Sarah Lando from Genome BC brings us the splashy new genomic research behind these Arctic giants’ longevity, and what it could mean for the future of…
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Genomic Repeat: Germ Spotting - Tracking diseases using genomics
This episode was originally released on December 13, 2022 Stop the presses! New research shows that viruses locked in the Arctic permafrost for thousands of years have the potential to infect present-day organisms. Accompanied with a warming planet, this issue is really starting to thaw out. So...
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The Music That Moves Us
Listening to and creating music is one of the most universal human experiences. It gets stuck in our heads, makes us cry in the car, and has the power to bring people together – sometimes without even a single word. So for something so deeply ingrained in us - IS IT... ingrained in us? like, in…
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TB Trails and Tails
Why Tuberculosis is still the most deadly infectious disease. Attention, DNA detectives! We’ve got a rat on the loose – but don’t worry, not the snitching, double-agent kind. We’re talking about the whiskered, hyper-skilled, tiny agents who aren't snitching - they're sniffing out one of the…
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Leave Us a Review
Got a sec? Kaylee’s popping into your feed with a teensy, weensy favour to ask: if you’re a fan of the podcast, would you do us the honour of leaving Nice Genes! a review? Not only does it help the show, but it could also score you some very fun, one-of-a-kind prizes (details below). How to leave…
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Menopause Mysteries
Turning up the heat on a life stage science is still catching up to. Ok, most of us may have gotten “the period talk.” But the “menopause talk?” Not so much. For something that half the world will experience, menopause and perimenopause are still wildly misunderstood. Luckily, the DNA detectives...
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Gut Check
What genomics can tell us about food safety, the microbiome, and the mind. You’ve heard the saying, “you are what you eat”... Well, our gut microbes take that very literally. If you’ve ever gone on vacation, eaten something tasty, and next thing you find yourself bonding with a bathroom floor,...
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Bite Club
How vector-borne diseases spread– and the critters that carry them Malaria, Lyme disease, dengue, Zika… what do they all have in common? They’re what we call vector-borne diseases– spread to us by tiny, bite-happy arthropods. These little troublemakers are responsible for 17% of all infectious...
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Why Athletes Collapse
The genetic clues behind sudden cardiac arrest in young individuals Every so often, we see headlines about an elite athlete collapsing mid-game. The crowd goes silent, emergency crews rush to the field, and everyone’s left wondering: how could this happen? The truth is, sometimes a hidden heart...
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Genetics and the Silver Screen
How medical dramas shape the way we think about genomics Medical dramas have been a staple of television for decades, from iconic primetime hits like Grey’s Anatomy and HOUSE, to newer favorites like The Pitt. It’s easy to get swept up in the high-stakes surgeries, love triangles, and…
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Babies and Breakthroughs
How new genomic approaches are helping diagnose and treat our tiniest patients Welcoming a new baby brings boundless love, joy, and the usual sleepless nights of early parenthood. But in the NICU, when a newborn is unexpectedly sick, it’s the uncertainty that keep parents awake. In this episode,...
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Poo Dunnit
How wastewater surveillance is tracking diseases outbreaks When you flush your toilet, where does the waste go? Down the pipes, through the sewers, and into a… lab? That’s right, hidden in our collective waste is a archive of genomic clues revealing our health, habits, and maybe even happiness...
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Welcome to ‘Nice Genes!’ Season 5
Every mystery leaves a trail of clues. Fingerprints, call logs, maybe some tire tracks… or, of course, DNA. And when it comes to mysteries about our health, there are no shortages of leads to chase. This season, join host, Dr. –or Detective– Kaylee Byers and the Nice Genes! CSI unit as we...
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Spaced Out!
Houston, we have… a microbe? A mysterious bacterial species has shown up aboard China’s Tiangong Space Station, and Dr. Kaylee Byers and Sarah Lando are hopping into the Nice Genes! mothership to investigate. Where did this intriguing new organism come from? Did it evolve in orbit? And what does…
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Roach Encroach: How we made cockroaches the ultimate pest
German cockroaches are notorious for making themselves at home in our kitchens and bathrooms, but how did they become such persistent pests? Dr. Kaylee Byers and Sarah Lando explore the fascinating genomics behind this unwanted guest—and why we’re partly to blame. Resources: 1.Solving the...
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Genomic Repeat: The Devil’s In the Details - The Importance of Biodiversity
The Importance of Biodiversity Description: This episode was originally released on October 31, 2022 Conservation is often about protecting the species that still wander around our Earth. But what about those that once did but have gone extinct? In this Halloween-inspired episode, we take a look...
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Mutton, the Woolly Dog: How one dog's DNA is stitching together history
Mutton was one of the last of the Salish Woolly Dogs– a breed raised by Indigenous Coast Salish communities before colonization led to its disappearance. Sarah Lando and Dr. Kaylee Byers delve into how genome sequencing is helping uncover the Woolly Dog’s legacy—and could even lead to its…
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Genomic Repeat: Bananageddon - Challenging assumptions around food security
This episode was originally released on September 19, 2023 Is the world running out of bananas? Well, no. Not…yet — but nature is flashing a big, yellow, squishy "caution" sign. In this episode, Dr. Kaylee Byers peels away our assumptions about food security by looking at bananas. Venturing Down...
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The Vitamin Verdict: How multivitamins affect your health
The food supplement industry rakes in billions of dollars every year. So with so much money being spent on things like vitamins, they must be worth it, right? Right?! Dr. Kaylee Byers and Sarah Lando give you the down low on what’s good for you– and what’s just good for business. Resources: 1. Is...
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Genomic Repeat: The Circadian Rhythm - Challenging our assumptions about sleep
This episode was originally released on November 14, 2023 Sleep is essential to our lives, but our perception of how it functions in our non-waking life is not always well understood. So in the mires of our busy daily lives do we overlook sleep by seeing it as a means of refilling our energy for…
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More cheese, please! Cheese cravings explained
We’ve all been there— tempted by the irresistible smell of hot, melty cheese. So what is it about this perfect blend of milk and microbes that keeps us coming back for more? What does cheese do to our brain? Dr. Kaylee Byers and Sarah Lando slice through the science. Resources: 1. Is cheese...
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Genomic Repeat: Cold Case - Solving murder mysteries with genomics
This episode was originally released on August 16, 2022 In order to seek genomic justice, you have to get out of the lab and into the field. Dr. Kaylee Byers grabs a magnifying glass and a deerstalker cap as she goes to the scene of one of North America’s oldest cold case murder mysteries, the...
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Life in the Fast Lane
Rapid Evolution in the Modern Age Evolution is like the ultimate slowburn, unfolding over millennia. And in our modern society, where things move so fast, it’s easy to miss this incremental but constant transformation. Not only is evolution happening all around us, in some cases it’s even picking...
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The Wasting Game
Managing an Invisible Disease Is there a Zombie moose on the loose?! Not quite... But there is something lurking in the woods that has our “deer” friends shakin' in their hooves. Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a 100% fatal illness that’s creeping its way through cervid populations, and it’s...
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Lost but Found
Forensic Methods in Disaster Recovery Content warning: this episode discusses forensic science and the identification of human remains that may not be suited for all audiences. Natural disasters can strike without warning. And when they do, they can leave destruction, displacement, and loss of…
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Slipping Through the Spectrum
Rethinking the Divide in Autism Diagnoses Dr. Hannah Belcher was already studying autism she found out she herself was Autistic. Getting her diagnosis felt like everything suddenly clicked… but why did it take so long to get answers? In this episode, Hannah shares her journey and talks about how...
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Fatal Attraction: Insect Edition
The Deceptive Seduction of Femme Fatale Fireflies In the buzzin’ firefly nightlife scene, neon lights glow bright and sparks fly. But, there’s murder on the dancefloor… The infamous 'Femme Fatale' firefly has mastered the ultimate bait-and-switch seduction strategy, and these sly flies (that are...
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Testing, Testing HPV
How genomics is shaping the future of cervical cancer screening [Content Warning: This episode mentions sexual assault and medical trauma.] Nearly 80% of people will get Human Papillomavirus (HPV) at some point in their lives. Even though HPV is super common, the symptoms are often subtle or...
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The Antibiotic Debacle
The hidden battle between medicine and microbes Since the discovery of penicillin in 1928, antibiotics have been our frontline defence against bacterial infections. But this revolutionary medicine is losing ground in the fight. Today, Antimicrobial resistance has become one of the biggest threats...
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Cosmetic Clarity
Separating Skincare Science Fact from Fiction Could your skincare be hiding more than just a few blemishes? Or, is the word “toxic” getting a li’l too much attention these days… You may have heard the buzz about endocrine-disrupting compounds that silently interfere with our hormones. But with so...
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Welcome to ‘Nice Genes!’ Season 4
…98, 99, 100! Ready or not, here we come with a brand new season of 'Nice Genes!' Science is like a game of hide and seek, and genomics is one of its stealthiest players, challenging us to uncover its "see-crets". Join host Dr. Kaylee Byers for Season 4 of Nice Genes! where we shine an…
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Three Blind Mice
How Mice and CRISPR are Reversing Blindness One small step for science, one furry leap for mousekind. Scientists have found a way to reverse a common mutation that causes blindness in both people and mice using gene editing technology. References: In Mouse Study, Scientists Use Gene Editing to...
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Are You Smarter Than a Chimp?
How Deleted DNA Reveals the Origins of Humanity In 2007, researchers pitted humans against chimpanzees in a memory test competition. Who was the victor of this mental jungle gym? Phoebe Melvin and Dr. Kaylee Byers delve into Yale University research that reveals what DNA humans share with our...
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Jackalopes, Mythical Critters and the Cure for Cancer
How an Oddball Bunny Saved Millions of Lives Can a make-believe tale have real-life consequences? Perhaps a 1930s legend from a snowy town in Wyoming illustrates signals just how the strange things found in nature can become life-saving treatments. References: Are jackalopes real? | Live Science...
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All the Colours of the Rainbow
Meet the Magic of Mushrooms on Colour Blindness Roughly 300 million people have a colour vision deficiency. But with a few mushrooms and some magic, those who experience colourblindness might be able to see a whole range of colors for the first time. References: Magic Mushrooms seem to have a...
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Reconciling the Truth
Indigenous Environmental Stewardship Description: The Indigenous peoples of what’s now known as Western Canada had a relationship of reciprocity with the land. But when explorers from Europe arrived eager to tame the land and absorb its vast natural resources these two world views came to a head....
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Probing Pain
Challenging our assumptions about pain When Jackie Gonzalez was just young, doctors assumed that she was pining for attention when she restlessly tried to rub her feet and describing that she was in constant pain. It wasn’t until she was a teenager that doctors and scientists diagnosed her with...
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The Circadian Rhythm
Challenging our assumptions about sleep Sleep is essential to our lives, but our perception of how it functions in our non-waking life is not always well understood. So in the mires of our busy daily lives do we overlook sleep by seeing it as a means of refilling our energy for a productive day?…
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The Dose Makes the Poison
Challenging our assumptions on toxins What’s more terrifying than the true life tales of bloodcurdling and breathstopping toxins? This Hallows' Eve we're taking a page from the history books to make sense of puzzling poisons of our past and present. Dr. Kaylee Byers speaks with Toxicologist Dr....
About this show
From healthcare and biotechnology to forests and fisheries, the evolving study of genomics is leading to some of the most exciting and world-changing discoveries in science and medicine. Like – did you know that your individual genomic signature can help determine the healthcare treatment you receive? Or that mapping the genomes of trees can inform forest management?
But while the study of genomics holds great promise for the health of people, animals, and the environment, it also confronts us with big questions: How do we study genetic patterns in a way that respects sensitive genetic information, history, and equity? How do we use the power of genomic research to fight climate change? Save the salmon?
Join Dr. Kaylee Byers – a self-described “rat detective” and science communicator as she guides you through fascinating conversations about the what, the why, and the how of genomics.
Hosted by
Genome BC