How Do Our Genomes Differ? What Does That Variation Mean?

08/05/19 • 23 min

GENOME VARIATION: Nate and Sam talk to Santhosh Girirajan, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and of anthropology at Penn State, about what variation in the human genome means and how it relates to complex neurodevelopmental disorders like autism. How do genomes differ between individuals? What can these differences tell us about disease risk? What is normal and is bigger better when it comes to genomes?
Links to Santhosh's work:
- @girirajan16 on Twitter - https://twitter.com/girirajan16
- Santhosh's Website - http://autism.bx.psu.edu
Links to the Eberly College of Science:
- Eberly College of Science Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PennStateSci...
- Eberly College of Science Twitter - https://twitter.com/PSUScience
- Eberly College of Science Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/pennstatesc...
- Eberly College of Science Website - http://science.psu.edu/

Previous Episode

What Was The Nittany Lion?

NITTANY LION GENOME: Nate and Sam are in their new studio for this conversation with Shaun Mahony, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State, and George “PJ” Perry, Harry J. & Elissa M. Sichi Early Career Professor in Anthropology and associate professor of anthropology and of biology at Penn State, joins via satellite all the way from Germany. Can DNA sequencing tell us if the “Nittany Lion” is an actual separate species of mountain lion?
Links to Shaun's work:
- @MahonyLab on Twitter - https://twitter.com/MahonyLab
- Shaun's Website - http://www.mahonylab.org
Links to PJ's work:
- @Grg_Perry on Twitter - https://twitter.com/Grg_Perry
- PJ's Website - http://www.anthgenomicslab.com
Links to the Eberly College of Science:
- Eberly College of Science Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PennStateScience
- Eberly College of Science Twitter - https://twitter.com/PSUScience
- Eberly College of Science Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/pennstatescience
- Eberly College of Science Website - http://science.psu.edu/

Next Episode

How Do Vaccines Work? Are Vaccines Safe?

VACCINES: Too many guests to fit into our tiny studio this month! So, Nate and Sam take a trip to the Millennium Science Complex at Penn State to talk to Scott Lindner, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology; Matt Ferrari, associate professor of biology and of statistics; and Troy Sutton, assistant professor of veterinary and biomedical sciences, about vaccines. What are vaccines? Are they safe and effective? Spoiler alert: YES!
Links to Scott's work:
- @LindnerLab on Twitter - https://twitter.com/LindnerLab
- Scott's Website - http://sites.psu.edu/lindnerlab
Links to Matt's work:
- @TheFerrariLab on Twitter - https://twitter.com/TheFerrariLab
- Scott's Website - http://www.theferrarilab.com
Links to Troy's work:
- Troy's Website - http://huck.psu.edu/people/troy-sutton
More sites:
Epidemics: http://epidemics.psu.edu/
CIDD: https://www.huck.psu.edu/institutes-and-centers/center-for-infectious-disease-dynamics
CMaR: https://www.huck.psu.edu/institutes-and-centers/center-for-malaria-research
Links to the Eberly College of Science:
- Eberly College of Science Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PennStateScience
- Eberly College of Science Twitter - https://twitter.com/PSUScience
- Eberly College of Science Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/pennstatescience
- Eberly College of Science Website - http://science.psu.edu/