The Vertebrate Genomes Project: It's an ambitious effort by an international group of scientists to create a "Genome Ark" by sequencing the genomes of about 70,000 animal species. The hope is that through all of this gene sequencing, scientists will be able to answer some basic but important questions like: What makes a bird, well, a bird? What makes a mammal a mammal? Plus, with so many species on the verge of extinction, can scientists record their genetic information before they go extinct – or better yet, maybe help save the population from going extinct? Guest host Jon Hamilton, one of our favorite science correspondents, talks to Erich Jarvis, the chair of this project, to learn what this ark of animal genomes could mean for our future – and why a platypus qualified for early boarding. Want to hear more animal stories? Let us know at [email protected] — we read every email.Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
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Hey, hey, Shortwavers. John Hamilton here filling in for Regina Barber, who is caravanning somewhere in the southern hemisphere. So here's a question. What makes a human distinctly human? Back in 2003, there was this idea that scientists might be about to answer that question because they had, more or less, completed a map of the human genome.
That meant they could read all the genetic instructions you need to build and maintain a member of our species. But that was really just the beginning. Because a genome is the genetic blueprint for just one species. To understand how humans are different from other animals and how animals are different from one another, scientists will need lots of genomes. Fortunately, they're working on it.
So we're trying to take one or two individuals per species and sequence the genetic code, the entire code of that animal that represents that species, and do that for everybody. And we're putting it into a database that we're calling Genome Arc, with the pun intended, like, you know, an arc to basically save the genetic code of all species on the planet.
That's Eric Jarvis, a dancer and neuroscientist from Rockefeller University who says these days he is heavily into genomics. He's also an expert on the brain circuits that allow species including people and some birds to learn new vocalizations. Eric chairs the Vertebrate Genomes Project. It's an international group of scientists who plan to sequence the genomes of about 70,000 species —
The first phase is focusing on about 260, including bats, a hummingbird, and even a tortoise. Eric says having those genomes will help answer some basic questions about evolution and biology.
What makes a bird a bird? What makes a mammal a mammal? What makes a fish a fish? With all these species sequenced, we will be able to dig in and find those things that make each lineage different from another. And Eric says there's another reason. There's so many species that are on the verge of extinction that there isn't time to do much.
We can capture their genetic data before they go extinct or even capture them to help save the population from going extinct. And so this is a moral reason for me to work on such a project and to be a chair of it.
Today on the show, the effort to collect an arc full of animal genomes and what it could mean for our future. Plus, why a platypus qualified for early boarding. You're listening to Shortwave, the science podcast from NPR.
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