TWiEVO 127: The barley knew what to mildew

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 [email protected]

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 [email protected]

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 [email protected]

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 [email protected]

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 [email protected]

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 [email protected]

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 [email protected]

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 Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server A small polymerase ribozyme (Science) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels – The University of Illinois Just Released a Popcorn So Good It Doesn't Need Butter Vincent – Waste Wars: The Wild Afterlife of Your Trash by Alexander Clapp Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to [email protected]

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): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server Defensive fungal symbiosis on insect hindlegs (Science) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels – Meet the Olympic superstar who trains under the radar in Utah Vincent – The Discovery That Changed the Universe Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to [email protected]

Nels and Vincent explain how selfishness evolved multiple times from an essential tRNA synthetase gene in a nematode. 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 Evolution of selfishness from a tRNA synthetase gene (Nat Ecol Evol) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels - From Where Does it STEM? Vincent - An Act of Cosmic Sabotage Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to [email protected]