You Say You Want an Evolution?

Published: Sept. 16, 2013, 7 a.m.

Imagine: Your pint-sized pup is descended from a line of predatory wolves. We have purposefully bred a new species \u2013 dogs \u2013 to live in harmony with us. But interactions between species, known as co-evolution, happen all the time, even without deliberate intervention. And it\u2019s frequently a boon to survival: Without the symbiotic relationship we have with bugs in our gut, one that\u2019s evolved with time, we wouldn\u2019t exist.\nDiscover the Bogart-and-Bacall-like relationships between bacteria and humans, and what we learn by seeing genes mutate in the lab, real time. Also, the dog-eat-dog debate about when canines were first domesticated, and how agriculture, hip-hop music, and technology can alter our DNA (eventually).\nPlus, why some of the fastest humans in history have hailed from one small area of a small Caribbean island. Is there a gene for that?\nGuests:\n\n\nGreger Larsen \u2013 Evolutionary biologist, department of archaeology, Durham University\n\n\nPeter Richerson \u2013 Professor emeritus, University of California, Davis, department of Environmental Science and Policy, author of Not by Genes Alone: How Culture Transformed Human Evolution\n\n\n\nDave van Ditmarsch \u2013 Biologist, post-doctoral researcher, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center\n\n\nDavid Epstein \u2013 Senior writer, Sports Illustrated, author of The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance\n\n\nDescripci\xf3n en espa\xf1ol\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices