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Nice Genes!

Nice Genes!

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.

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Top 10 Nice Genes! Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Nice Genes! episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Nice Genes! for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Nice Genes! episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Nice Genes! - Cracking the Coral Code
play

11/29/22 • 0 min

Preparing the Environment: Climate Special Part 1

In part 1 of our climate special, we revisit our oceans to look at the rocky atolls and reefs that are home to colourful world builders, coral!
Since the 1950’s the planet has lost half of its coral reefs due to degradation. With ocean temperatures rising and harmful environmental and human activities, how can we better protect essential ecosystems for communities and marine life alike?
Dr. Kaylee Byers sits down with Dr. Shayle Matsuda, a marine biologist looking into the effects of environmental stresses on coral reefs due to the climate crisis. And with the aid of genomic sequencing, Shayle wonders if we can utilize a clever symbiotic relationship found on these fascinating organisms to cultivate greater reef resilience into the future. Next, meet Ben Williams from the University of Exeter, who shares a unique acoustic invention to help restore reefs in Indonesia. And finally, researcher Madelyn Jones takes us through her work on the British Columbia coast to replenish the spiralling towers we call "kelp forests."
Click here for this episode's Learn-A-Long!


Resources:
1. The sound of recovery: Coral reef restoration success is detectable in the soundscape | British Ecological Society
2. Vital Signs: Ocean Warming | NASA
3. The Planet Has Lost Half of Its Coral Reefs Since 1950 | Smithsonian
4. Coral Reefs Could All Die Off by 2050 | EcoWatch
5. ‘Dire outlook’: scientists say Florida reefs have lost nearly 98% of coral | The Guardian
6. Report: Florida's Coral Reefs Among Most Damaged In U.S. | CBS Local News
7. HydroMoth: Testing a prototype low-cost acoustic recorder for aquatic environments | ZSL
8. What is a kelp forest? | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
9. Canada’s kelp forests are at risk. A seaweed farmer is trying to save them | CBC Creator Network
10. Months after mass die-off of sea creatures in B.C. heat dome, researchers return in search of signs of life | CBC News
11. Coral Bleaching Susceptibility Is Predictive of Subsequent Mortality Within but Not Between Coral Species | Frontiers
12. Larval thermal conditioning does not improve post-settlement thermal tolerance in the dominant reef-building coral, Montipora capitata | Springer
13. Genome-powered classification of microbial eukaryotes: focus on coral algal symbionts | Science Direct
12. Do Coral Reefs Produce Oxygen? | Techie Scientist
14. What is coral spawning? | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
15. Myth 5 - Genomics Can't Help Climate Change | Genome British Columbia

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Nice Genes! - Not All Bad

Not All Bad

Nice Genes!

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10/17/23 • 35 min

Challenging our assumptions around fatness

ShantaQuilette Carter was in her late 30’s when she had her first stroke. It felt like death was lurking over her shoulder. But when her doctor suggests fending it off by using a drug she had never heard of before, a boatload of questions come to the surface.

Dr. Kaylee Byers sits down with experts to challenge the everyday assumptions we make about our health and weight. She speaks with professor and journalist Harriet Brown on the fact-finding mission she embarked on to help her daughter struggling with anorexia. Then, Dr. Michael Lyon, with the Obesity Medicine and Diabetes Institute, shares the scaly lizard origins of one of the world's most powerful tools in treating type 2 diabetes.

Highlights:

(06:57) The drug that changed her life, ShantaQuilette on struggling with weight

(09:00) How a lizard from Utah is saving lives, Dr. Michael Lyon explains the origins of Ozempic

(17:00) Harriet Brown on a mission to display assumptions on weight and health

Learn-A-Long: https://bit.ly/3QM7EPi

Resources:

Diabetes: Key Facts | The World Health Organization

How a Canadian scientist and a venomous lizard helped pave the way for Ozempic | Global News

I’m a Fat Activist. I Don’t Use the Word Fatphobia. Here’s Why | self.com

Shortage of diabetes, weight-loss drug Ozempic expected in Canada, says manufacturer | Canadian Broadcast Corporation

An Aggressive New Approach to Childhood Obesity | The New York Times

Body of Truth: By Harriet Brown | Da Capo Lifelong Books

Is Body Positivity Glamourising Obesity | The Wellness Insider

Why People Become Overweight | Harvard University

Here’s How Your Genes Impact Your Ability to Lose Weight | healthline

What Made Humans ‘the Fat Primate’ | Duke University

Genes and Obesity | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

After his suicide, a man’s family says Ozempic should carry a warning label | ABC News

Credit:

Ozempic commercial TM | Ozempics TM

New Ozempic lawsuit over alleged 'stomach paralysis' | WNN | ABC News

Why Are Some Using Diabetes Drug Ozempic for Weight Loss? | Inside Edition

Jimmy Kimmel’s Oscars Monologue 2023 | Jimmy Kimmel Live

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Nice Genes! - Reconciling the Truth
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12/12/23 • 30 min

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. And caught in between an iconic species of the Pacific Northwest—the Gary Oak—has become threatened. So how can we reconcile the harmful assumptions of the past that overlooked other ways of managing ecosystems?

Dr. Kaylee Byers and Co-Host Dr. Lyana Patrick, look to the forests, rivers, and oceans of Turtle Island to uncover the various food systems and traditional stewardship practices that existed before colonization. Ethnobotonist, John Bradley Williams shares the traditional use of Garry Oaks and how they became systematically destroyed. Dr. Tabitha Robin from the University of British Columbia shares her experience working with and studying Indigenous Food Sovereignty. Lastly, Canadian Anthropologist and National Geographic explorer Dr. Wade Davis, through insights from his career visiting communities around the world shares how we can dismantle the prevailing biases that continue to threaten the health of our planet.

Highlights:

(3:53 - 8:55) An icon on the brink, J.B. Williams shares the origins and challenges of Garry Oak meadows

(11:24 - 14:50) Moving forward, Dr. Tabitha Robin shares the overlooked history of Indigenous food sovereignty

(18:45 - 23:20) How an academic divide threatens our planet, anthropology lessons from National Geographic's Dr. Wade Davis

Learn-A-Long: https://bit.ly/3GPwxnf

Resources:

Indians and Europeans on the Northwest Coast: Historical Context | Center for the Study of Pacific Northwest

The Strait of Juan de Fuca is mentioned for the first time in April 1596 | History Link

Purchas His Pilgrimes: Contayning a History of the World in Sea Voyages and Lande Travells by Englishmen and others | Center for the Study of Pacific Northwest

The Garry Oak Learning Meadow | Parks Canada

Harvesting strategies as evidence for 4000 years of camas (Camassia quamash) management in the North American Columbia Plateau | The Royal Society

Conservation status of native tree species in British Columbia | Global Ecology and Conservation

Seeing the garden through the trees: The Indigenous forest gardens of coastal B.C. | Canadian Geographic

Bison Bellows: Indigenous Hunting Practices | National Parks Service

Weir Fishing | Heritage Lower Saint Lawrence

Combining Genomic Insights and Traditional Indigenous Knowledge for the Conservation of Pacific Salmon | Genome British Columbia

Puyallup Tribe hosts c’abid (camas) harvest at PLU | Pacific Luthern University

Saving the planet means listening to Indigenous peoples: Wade Davis | CBC

Spatial and temporal assessments of genetic structure in an endangered Garry oak ecosystem on Vancouver Island | Canadian Science Publi...

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Nice Genes! - Pizzly Bears, anyone?
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10/18/22 • 0 min

Protecting Local Wildlife Icons

What do you get when you cross a polar bear and a grizzly... and why should you care?
In this episode of Nice Genes!, host Dr. Kaylee Byers and National Geographic explorer Dr. Christine Wilkinson look into the mysterious case of pizzly bears, a rare hybrid between polar bears and grizzlies. Together they speak with Dr. David Paetkau, whose team unravelled this strange genomic crossbreeding after receiving more and more sightings coming from the Arctic Circle. Is this hybridization occurring because of climate change? They also speak with Wiuikinuxv scientist Jennifer Walkus, who gained local notoriety for her efforts in ending the trophy hunt of grizzly bears in British Columbia.

Special thanks to Gaelen Krause, Captain of the Island Odyssey with Bluewater Adventures and Ellie Lamb, Naturalist and Hiking Guide.
Click here for this episode's Learn-A-Long!
Resources:
1. Lions, tigers, and Whatsitbears | zoohistories.com:
2. Recent Hybridization between a Polar Bear and Grizzly Bears in the Canadian Arctic | JSTOR
3. Arctic hybrids not a good sign, warn scientists | Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC)
4. "Bears Teach Us" -- Sharing With All Our Relations | Watershed Sentinel
5. DNA analysis of grizzly bears aligns with Indigenous languages | raincoast.org:
6. How Indigenous Knowledge is helping to protect Canada's grizzlies | National Geographic
7. Pizzly or grolar bear: grizzly-polar hybrid is a new result of climate change | The Guardian
8. Province ends controversial grizzly bear trophy hunt | Global News
9. Glacial ice supports a distinct and undocumented polar bear subpopulation persisting in late 21st-century sea-ice conditions | Science
10. Sockey salmon collapse due to lack of food, study says | Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC)
11. One Health Basics | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Nice Genes! - Genes Jump

Genes Jump

Nice Genes!

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09/05/23 • 31 min

Cross-examining the origins of our base pairs

One of our most foundational assumptions is that ‘Our DNA is our own.’ But what if our DNA is stolen? There's a puzzling phenomenon called 'horizontal gene transfer' in which one organisms' genetics jumps to another. Dr. Kaylee Byers is joined by invertebrate specialists Dr. Anna Klompen from the Stowers Institute, and Dr. Jessica Goodheart, a marine biologist hunting for nudibranchs, "gene pirates" of the sea. And Dr. Ted Turlings will tell us how his trip to China led to an exciting discovery about the whitefly -- another common but crafty genetic thief. A final word of advice. Next time a goopy organism bumps into you in a crowd, make sure to check your genes!

A special thanks to the laboratory of Professor Youjun Zhang Department of Plant Protection, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Beijing. Drs. Zhaojiang Guo, Jixing Xia, and Zezhong Yang.

Highlights:

(00:00) Finding the Transforming Principle

(11:34) A colorful and slick ocean pirate

(17:50) The hunt for a fluttering and destructive gene thief

Learn-A-Long: https://bit.ly/49qSB4T

Resources:

Frederick Griffith - British Bacteriologist | Britannica

Griffith’s Experiment - Progress in Molecular Biology and Transitional Science | Science Direct

20 Cool Genomics Facts - 13&14: Antibiotic resistance | Genome BC

Ancient viral DNA may help humans fight infections | National Institute of Health

Venom system variation and the division of labor in the colonial hydrozoan Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus | Science Direct

Nematocyst sequestration evolution | The Goodheart lab

A chromosome-level genome for the nudibranch gastropod Berghia stephanieae helps parse clade-specific gene expression in novel and conserved phenotypes | bioRxiv

First Report of Horizontal Gene Transfer Between Plant and Animal | The Scientist

Pretty Sly for a Whitefly | The Atlantic

First known gene transfer from plant to insect identified | Nature

Whiteflies stole a gene from plants to survive their lethal toxins | Earth.com

Credit:

Lady Margot Asquith on the outbreak of World War I Roman Styran

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Nice Genes! - Life in the Fast Lane
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12/17/24 • 30 min

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 up the pace.

In our season finale, our resident superhero, Ratwoman, returns with a new sidekick: The Bat Whisperer. Join Dr. Kaylee Byers and Dr. Cecelia Sánchez as they team up to explore the marvels of rapid evolution– from bats in the Solomon Islands, to modern dating. We’ll meet cave explorer and mammal detective Dr. Tyrone Lavery along with paleontologist and evolutionary biologist Dr. Nick Longrich to unlock predictions for the future, by looking into the past.

With unprecedented access to genomic information, we can now remix evolution like never before. But just because we can, does it mean we should?

Learn-a-Long: https://bit.ly/4jgbFI2

Highlights

(5:57) Into the bat cave: tracking evolution in the Solomon Islands with Dr. Lavery

(11:18) The peppered moth survival story

(20:18) Dr. Longrich explains how humans are evolving in the modern age

Resources:

1. Charles Darwin: History’s most famous biologist - Natural History Museum

2. Bat Beauty Contest: Vote Now To Crown The Best-Looking Bat Of Them All - Forbes

3. Parallel evolution in an island archipelago revealed by genomic sequencing of Hipposideros leaf-nosed bats - Oxford Academic

4. Bats Are Going Through a Rare Evolutionary Phenomenon - Newsweek

5. The Peppered Moth - Age of Revolution

6. A continuous fish fossil record reveals key insights into adaptive radiation - Nature

7. Study of 17,000 years of fish fossils reveals rapid evolution - Science.org

8. How long does evolution take? It happens on two different timescales- New Scientist

9. Future evolution: from looks to brains and personality, how will humans change in the next 10,000 years? - The Conversation

10. Ancient Urbanization Predicts Genetic Resistance To Tuberculosis - Oxford Academic

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Nice Genes! - Probing Pain

Probing Pain

Nice Genes!

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11/28/23 • 30 min

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 Erythromelalgia, also known as ‘Man on Fire Syndrome’. It's a rare condition, and even rarer for people to be born with it, like Jackie was. But what if this uncommon ailment could be cured with the help of an even less common animal?

Dr. Kaylee Byers sits down with Adele Gonzalvez from the University of Sydney on her work to understand the genetic properties of platypus venom. Researchers indicate that their peculiar toxin could put a halt to chronic pain. Meanwhile, producer Sean Holden, puts on rubber waders and sloshes into the boggy waters of Southern Australia to find the notoriously elusive platypus and its venom.

Highlights:

(6:28) A lifetime of pain, Jackie Gonzalez on having Erythromelalgia

(13:51) A weird and wonderful platypus with Adele Gonzalvez

(21:30) On the platypus prowl, Josh Griffith and his team search for platypus and their venom

Learn-A-Long: https://bit.ly/3Nv5X6v

Resources:

Next-gen painkillers from nature’s deadliest life forms | The University of Queensland

Chronic Pain Among Adults — United States, 2019–2021 | MMWR and Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

You Won’t Think the Platypus Is So Cute if You Feel the Excruciating Pain of Its Venom | Slate

The Science of Pain | GI Society

The mysterious science of pain - Joshua W. Pate | TED-Ed

Human pain and genetics: some basics | British Journal of Pain

Genetic contributions to pain: a review of findings in humans | Oral Dis. 2008 Nov;14(8):673-82

Why Do I Have Pain? | KidsHealth Medical Experts

Channelopathy-associated congenital insensitivity to pain | Medline Plus

Erythromelalgia | StatPearls Publishing

SCN9A gene sodium voltage-gated channel alpha subunit 9 | Medline Plus

Credit:

Special thanks to Jackie Gonzalez from the Erythromelalgia Association for providing field recordings of her daily experience living with EM.

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Nice Genes! - Nature is Queer

Nature is Queer

Nice Genes!

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10/03/23 • 35 min

Questioning persistent myths about same-sex behaviour in nature

Can we predict who we love from our genetics alone? For LGBT History Month in October, Dr. Kaylee Byers is joined by co-host Dr. Julia Monk to look at what our genes teach us about diverse forms of sexuality and identity. Starting by witnessing a pair of male penguins cozying up, our hosts join flippers to unearth research from naturalists who have recorded same-sex behaviour in the wild. Then they invite socio-geneticist Dr. Robbee Wedow to guide us through his own research, where he puts the question: "Is there a gay gene?" to the test.

Highlights:

(00:30) A match made in pebbles

(07:15) Buried papers, Darwinian Paradoxes, and reframing same-sex behaviour

(20:27) Is there a Gay Gene? 'Damned if you do damned if you don't.'

Learn-A-Long: https://bit.ly/3FNfz8C

References:

Gay Penguins Klaus, Jones ‘rekindled their romance’ at Melbourne aquarium | New York Daily News

Nature is queer. Queer ecologists want us to learn from it. | Grist

Is nature Queer? | Out & About | CBC

Terra Nova notebooks describing penguin sexual behaviours acquired by the Museum | Natural History Museum

An alternative hypothesis for the evolution of same-sex sexual behaviour in animals | Nature Ecology & Evolution

Large-scale GWAS reveals insights into the genetic architecture of same-sex sexual behavior | Science

Many Genes Influence Same-Sex Sexuality, Not a Single ‘Gay Gene’ | The New York Times

No 'gay gene', but study finds genetic links to sexual behavior | Reuters

How Earnest Research Into Gay Genetics Went Wrong | Wired

Credit:

Gentoo Penguin · Pygoscelis papua | xeno-canto

"No Gay Gene"-Born This Way Is A Lie Says GOP Lawmaker | Michael McIntee

Australian current affairs programme "The 7.30 Report" (1995) "Gay Brains" | The 7.30 Report

Nature or Nurture - Are People Born Gay? | Naked Science

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Nice Genes! - Fatal Attraction: Insect Edition
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10/22/24 • 29 min

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 really beetles, actually) aren’t interested in a happily ever after, instead they’re looking for a ‘one-bite stand.’

Get consumed in this episode by one of nature’s flashiest insects. Join host, Dr. Kaylee Byers, as she chats with Dr. Sarah Lower about the enchanting world of glow beetles. And later, Dr. Peter Andolfatto reveals how genomics is uncovering the secrets behind how Femme Fatale fireflies have evolved to resort to such drastic measures. Plus, find out what studying firefly toxin DNA could mean for future medical breakthroughs.

Highlights:

(5:40) Dr. Sarah Lower covers some firefly basics

(12:11) Dr. Lower on the deceptive strategy of the Femme Fatale Fireflies

(19:21) Dr. Andolfatto explains how fireflies have evolved difference resistance strategies to toxins

(26:02) Dr. Lower on how to get involved in firefly conservation

Learn-A-Long: https://bit.ly/3OODRUb

Resources:

1. A Comprehensive Review of Firefly Conservation - NCBI

2. Firefly Genome and Its Role in Bioluminescence - Science Advances

3. Patterns of Firefly Species Extinction Risk - PNAS Nexus

4. Fireflies: Species at Risk of Extinction - Xerces Society

5. Sarah Lower - Faculty at Bucknell University - Bucknell University

6. Andolfatto Lab - Andolfatto Lab

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Nice Genes! - Decoding Ancestry
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07/19/22 • 44 min

Race is not genetic.
TW: racism, systemic racism
What exactly is the relationship between race and genetics? And where do concepts of ancestry and identity enter the conversation? In the realm of genomics, these are myths waiting to be busted.
“What does the information stored in our genomes tell us about our past and our present?” Dr. Kaylee Byers and Co-host Dr. Shawn Hercules join forces to break into this fundamental question of science, ancestry and race. First, they speak with “Genet-SIS” and Executive Producer of the podcast In Those Genes, Dr. Janina Jeff (A.K.A. “Dr.J2”) about how race is really a social construct. Together, they delve into the important distinctions we must make between ancestry and race in order to better understand our biology.
Dr. Hercules discusses their research into advanced breast cancer in Caribbean and West African women and how it relates to hereditary genes. This opens the conversation up to how scientists need to be mindful when working with marginalized communities to extract genetic information. Finally, globe-trotting scientist and ancient DNA expert Dr. Eske Willerslev, shares stories of his intercultural journeys to understand human ancestry and migration around the world. Join us for this fascinating episode about race, ancestry, and genomics without borders.
Listen to Nice Genes! wherever you get your podcasts, brought to you by Genome British Columbia.Check out this episode's Learn-A-Long at the following link: https://bit.ly/3zgWKrS


Resources:

  1. Analysis of the genomic landscapes of Barbadian and Nigerian women with triple negative breast cancer, Dr. Shawn Hercules
  2. In those Genes Podcast, Dr. Janina M. Jeff
  3. Eske Willerslev Is Rewriting History With DNA, The New York Times
  4. The Ancestry and affiliations of Kennewick Man, nature
  5. Racial bias in a medical algorithm favors white patients over sicker black patients, The Washington Post
  6. The promise and peril of the new science of social genomics, nature
  7. How Science and Genetics are Reshaping the Race Debate of the 21st Century
  8. Sam Harris, Charles Murray, and the allure of race science
  9. Social Genomics and the Life Course: Opportunities and Challenges for Multilevel Population Research
  10. Race, Ethnicity, and Genomics: Social Classifications as Proxies of Biological Heterogeneity

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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FAQ

How many episodes does Nice Genes! have?

Nice Genes! currently has 39 episodes available.

What topics does Nice Genes! cover?

The podcast is about Podcasts, Education and Science.

What is the most popular episode on Nice Genes!?

The episode title 'Genetics vs. Genomics' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Nice Genes!?

The average episode length on Nice Genes! is 26 minutes.

How often are episodes of Nice Genes! released?

Episodes of Nice Genes! are typically released every 14 days.

When was the first episode of Nice Genes!?

The first episode of Nice Genes! was released on May 6, 2022.

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