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.
Artificial Intelligence has gone from science fiction to something that is almost impossible to avoid in the day-to-day. But what happens when AI intersects with our DNA?
On this episode we learn about a tool called CRISPR-GPT, which uses AI to help scientists design gene edits and tackle some of the challenges of treating rare diseases. We also confront the many ethical considerations that these technologies raise. Listen in as geneticist Dr. Le Cong and bioethicist Dr. Mohammed Hosseini join Kaylee to explore the possibilities – and pitfalls – of putting this much computational power to work on our body’s building blocks.
Who gets to use these tools? How do we keep them safe? And when it comes to AI and genomics, should we… slow our roll?
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Highlights
05:51- CRISPR-GPT: Your AI Gene-Editing Assistant
19:21- Could We Bring Back the Neanderthals?
23:36- When Science Needs a Safety Catch
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Sources
CRISPR-GPT Turns Novice Scientists into Gene Editing Experts (https://www.the-scientist.com/crispr-gpt-turns-novice-scientists-into-gene-editing-experts-73232)
A plea for caution and guidance about using AI in genomics (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12393819/)
Mohammad Hosseini: Should AI be used to resurrect extinct species like the Neanderthal? (https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/12/19/opinion-artificial-intelligence-ai-genetic-research-neanderthal/)
6 Oct 2026
It’s Prime Time: Can New Gene Editing Technologies Re-write the Future of Health?
Many rare genetic diseases are caused by a “typo” in our DNA. For most, fixing that spelling mistake has been out of reach. But a recent clinical trial has changed everything, opening up the door for possible cures we never thought were possible through a cutting-edge gene-editing tool called prime editing.
In this episode, Ty Sperle takes us through his own story of being cured of a rare disease called chronic granulomatous disease while his doctor, Dr. Stuart Turvey gives Kaylee the 411 on the science behind Ty’s treatment – and what it could mean for rare diseases more broadly. We also make a stop at the PrimeSight Lab, where researchers are exploring how prime editing could help bring the world into focus for people with inherited vision loss.
For a treatment that once sounded like science fiction, could prime editing be a glimpse of the future of medicine?
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Highlights
00:01 - Ty’s World-First Cure
07:11 - Inside the Prime Editing Revolution
23:43 - Can Prime Editing Restore Sight?
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Sources
First-in-world BC patient successfully treated for rare immune disease (https://www.bcchr.ca/news-events/first-in-world-bc-patient-successfully-treated-for-rare-immune-disease/)
B.C. teen cured of rare disease (https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/video/2026/02/27/bc-teen-cured-of-rare-disease/)
Future Perspectives of Prime Editing for the Treatment of Inherited Retinal Diseases (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9913839/)
22 Sept 2026
Shoot Your Shot: Is Male Birth Control Finally Here?
For the past 25 years, we’ve been hearing that male contraceptives are just a few years away. And then a few more… and then some more after that. So for something that has been in development for such a long time, what is with the hold up?
In this episode, Dr. Kaylee Byers takes us through the history of birth control – from silk condoms to beaver testicles – before heading back to high school bio for a good old-fashioned male anatomy lesson. Then, urologist Dr. Premal Patel walks us through the current options for males (spoiler alert: not a lot), and endocrinologist Dr. Stephanie Page gives us the lowdown on some of the promising gels, pills, injections and other methods that could finally change the game.
So hit play for some sexy science– from vasectomies, to genomics and infertility research, to reproductive equity for all.
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Highlights
2:18 - The wacky history of contraceptive methods
7:54 - Breaking down misconceptions of vasectomies
18:29 - A gel and a frontrunner for male birth control
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Sources
The History and Future of Birth Control (https://www.livescience.com/11376-history-future-birth-control.html) - Live Science
World Contraception Day: 10 of history’s most horrible contraceptives (https://www.bbc.com/bbcthree/article/e671cb02-4e5e-4f52-a835-25a5dd2a5963) - BBC
Breakthrough takes big step toward safe, reversible male contraception (https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2026/04/breakthrough-takes-big-step-toward-safe-reversible-male-contraception)- Cornell
Who has been a guest on Nice Genes!
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Dr Michael Trimble
Dr Will Hsiao
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Dr Jean-Michel Claverie
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Podcast Authority Score: 65 / 100
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