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The Naked Scientists Podcast

The End of Extinction?

The Naked Scientists Podcast

Dr Chris Smith

Science Radio, Engineering, Naked Scientists, Natural Sciences, Technology, Life Sciences, Health & Fitness, Medicine, Science

4.6957 Ratings

🗓️ 21 July 2014

⏱️ 56 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Will wooly mammoths roam the tundra once more? This week we ask whether improvements in genetic technologies mean extinction is no longer the end, as well as meeting moss that came back to life after 2000 years buried in permafrost, and the million-year-old microbes lurking in the ice of Antarctica. Plus, news that our genes control who we make friends with, how fossil sea urchins hold the key to finding your lost car keys, and what ancient tooth plaque is revealing about the diets of our ancestors... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Transcript

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0:00.0

So, so, so skin.

0:02.0

Keep your good going and breeze through busy days with mullah lights.

0:08.0

Now with a new thicker recipe with Vitamin B6 and Vitamin D. Or go on then? Mull a light, get the good going. You're going to be. Hello, welcome to the naked scientists with me Chris Smith and with Cat Arnie.

0:43.0

This week, how our genes determine who our friends are,

0:46.0

what a 50 million year old sea urchin

0:48.0

can tell us about how to find your car keys,

0:50.0

and what can be done to reduce your chances of getting Alzheimer's disease.

0:54.0

Plus, is extinction forever?

0:56.6

Later on we'll be finding out about plans to bring mammoths back to the tundra

1:00.2

and resuscitating ancient bacteria frozen in ice for thousands of years.

1:05.0

The Naked Scientists Podcast is powered by UKfast.co.uk. First you might might have a lot more in common with your friends than you thought

1:19.5

shared interests and hobbies bring people together but new research has shown that we may be picking friends

1:24.7

with similar genes to our own as well.

1:27.3

A new studies analyze the genes across friends and strangers

1:30.5

and has found that you can predict friendships

1:32.3

simply by looking at genetic similarities.

1:35.0

Chris caught up with James Fowler from the University of California, San Diego.

1:39.0

Well, we looked all across the human genome at different markers and found that friends tend to share genes

1:46.3

in common and in fact the level of similarity between friends is so strong it's as

1:52.1

if that friend who we don't share a common ancestor with is our fourth

1:56.1

cousin. Even more interesting than that, one of the things that we found was that

2:00.3

those genes that we share in common with our friends are also the ones

...

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