SPECIAL EPISODE! [We strongly recommend listening to Base Pairs episode 17 to contextualize this extended discussion.]Some of the most sought after gifts this holiday season are at-home DNA tests. These tests let anyone send a sample of his o

17 – Genomes, Justice, and the Journey Here

Sep 15th, 2018 29m 18s

Mail-order genetic testing —more accurately known as genotyping— is a growing trend. But what exactly is this data that's send back? And what can people (even law enforcement) DO with that data?We explore the tricky situation posed by private

16.5 – Fuels of the Future

Aug 15th, 2018 17m 46s

Biofuels are the wave of the future, and a small plant called duckweed could be a significant part of that. Hear more from Professor Rob Martienssen about how genetic modification and advances in genome mapping technology factor in to the futur

16 – Big Plans for a Tiny Plant

Jul 15th, 2018 28m 25s

As concentrations of greenhouse gasses continue to rise, scientists are working hard to develop ways to ween the world off our need for fossil fuels. Biofuels are one promising solution, and they're commonly made from food crops like corn, or e

15.5 – Cellular Hide and Seek

Jun 14th, 2018 14m 8s

Immunotherapy has been receiving much more attention over the past few years, but the history of this promising type of cancer therapy is a long one. Adding to the story of William Coley’s early immunotherapy from Base Pairs 15, “The Immune Sys

15 – The Immune System, Unleashed

May 15th, 2018 25m 21s

You may have heard of it; "immunotherapy" has started to appear in headlines over the last few years. In this episode, however, we reveal that the practice of cancer immunotherapy is actually far older than even our understanding of the immune

14.5 – Medicine and Mad Scientists

Apr 13th, 2018 15m 17s

It’s important to know that a drug works, but knowing how it works can be just as crucial. CSHL Fellow Jason Sheltzer discovered that the hypothesis explaining the action of a new cancer drug was incorrect, indicating that its beneficial effect

From the hosts: An exciting update!

Apr 6th, 2018 1m 22s

Base Pairs was just named among the 2018 Webby Award’s “five best podcasts in the world” for the subjects of science and education. Now, WE NEED YOUR HELP to take home the People's Voice award🏆Place your vote at: http://bit.ly/cshlwebby

14 - The Cancer Answer That Wasn't

Mar 15th, 2018 29m 37s

We look at the "reproducibility crisis" in science, and dive into a case in which cancer researchers discovered something completely unexpected while experimenting with a supposed drug target.

13 – A Lesson in Class

Dec 15th, 2017 21m 55s

No, we're not talking about high society or your biology class! In this episode, we share three distinct stories about classification in the life sciences and how genetic information is changing how we define important categories.

12.5 - Big Decisions

Nov 15th, 2017 13m 58s

Who will use CRISPR to alter their child's DNA? Who gets to decide which traits are desirable? Following up on our last episode, "Good Genes, Bad Science," we hear from David Micklos, executive director at CSHL’s DNA Learning Center, and Miriam

12 - Good Genes, Bad Science

Oct 13th, 2017 27m 7s

In the early 1900s, American science took a wrong turn toward eugenics. In this episode, we talk with experts in both science and history about what we can learn from this dark period in today’s age of unprecedented control over the genome.

11.5 - What Silicon Valley and Biology Research Share

Sep 15th, 2017 10m 42s

A few favorite moments from our talk with theoretical physicist and quantitative biologist, Associate Professor Gurinder "Mickey" Atwal, that touch on topics ranging from his stint in medical school to the job market in the age of big data to S

11 – Biology, Behind the Screens

Aug 14th, 2017 21m 57s

A "behind the screens" look at how biology is addressing its "most wonderful problem" – too much data. Associate Professor Gurinder S. "Mickey" Atwal joins us to explain the essential enigma that is quantitative biology.

10.5 – Tomato Baby and its Family

Jul 14th, 2017 10m 8s

Plant scientist Zachary Lippman tells stories from the field of bizarre tomatoes, intensely hot peppers, and giant pumpkins in this latest "chat" episode of Base Pairs.Hear more from Zack in episode 10 – CRISPR vs Climate Change.

10 – CRISPR vs Climate Change

Jun 14th, 2017 24m 40s

Much of the hype around the genome editing tool known as CRISPR focuses on its potential to cure genetic diseases. But our bodies need more than a healthy genome to survive and thrive—they also need food, and that’s where we may see CRISPR’s ea

9.5 – Redefining Biologists, Redefining Genes

May 15th, 2017 11m 2s

Set aside your notions of how biologists are born, or what the word “gene” means as you listen to our first chat episode. We talk with Assistant Professor Molly Hammell, a genome biologist who started out as an astrophysicist. She tells us what

9 – Dark Matter of the Genome (part 2)

Apr 14th, 2017 25m 17s

One scientist’s junk is apparently everyone’s treasure! They just haven’t realized it yet. . . In this episode of Base Pairs, we question the mythos that is “junk DNA” and explore how and why scientists are becoming enthralled by the mysteriou

8 – Dark Matter of the Genome (part 1)

Mar 14th, 2017 23m 55s

Could “genome” be a misnomer? The name implies that our genetic information is mainly genes, yet when the Human Genome Project was completed in 2003, it revealed that genes comprise a tiny minority. About 98 percent of the genome is something e

0 – Molecules and a Mission

Jan 27th, 2017 3m 8s

We are Base Pairs, the podcast about "the power of genetic information." But why did we choose this name? In this bonus episode, we explain the molecules and the metaphor.Pictured: Tin model of Adenine as first constructed by James Watson and

7 – The Brain Atlas

Dec 14th, 2016 26m 5s

One in six people suffers from a mental disorder, and yet, compared to cancer and infectious disease, neuropsychiatric treatment options have barely improved since the 1950s. But why is that? In this episode of Base Pairs, we explore some of th

6 - When Antioxidants are Pro-cancer

Nov 14th, 2016 22m 5s

Fighting cancer is so difficult in part because the healthy cells we want to support often end up casualties in the crossfire of toxic treatments. This episode is about how we might overcome this obstacle even in some of the most difficult case

5 - Sink or Swim

Oct 14th, 2016 22m 14s

Professor Adrian Krainer was offered the opportunity to run his own lab when he was just 27 years old as part of a brand new “Fellows” program—which allowed him, in his words, to “sink or swim.” These kinds of programs are rare, as investing in

4 - The People Problem

Sep 15th, 2016 21m 44s

Nearly ten billion people will walk the Earth by 2050, and for some of the poorest and fastest growing countries, that could mean a bleak and hungry future.Dr Josef Schmidhuber of the FAO and CSHL Professor David Jackson explain what has gone

3 - Non-modern Family

Aug 15th, 2016 17m 35s

From the scale of a single ancient murder victim to interactions between large groups of humans and Neanderthals who lived 100,000 years ago, genetic information holds many secrets about human history.In this episode, "Ötzi the Iceman" and Dr