CHRISTMASLECTURES2018:WhoamI?ChristmaslecturerProfAliceRoberts,andGeneticsSocietyguestlecturerProfAoifeMcLysaght,willbringyoutheCHRISTMASLECTURESon26,27and28Decemberat8pmonBBC4.1.WhereDoIComeFrom?2.WhatMakesMeHuman?3.WhatMakesMe,Me?Youshare99.4%ofyourgeneswithyourneighbour,98.7%withachimp,andeven44%withafruitfly–yetyouarealsoentirelyunique–thereisnobodyelsequitelikeyou.Inthisyear’sCHRISTMASLECTURES,ProfessorAliceRoberts,andgeneticsexpertAoifeMcLysaght,takeusonajourneytoanswerthismostfundamentalquestion:WhoAmI?Wehumanstendtoviewourselvesasseparatefromthenaturalworld,aspecialcreationeven,butwe’refarmorecloselyrelatedtotherestoftheanimalkingdomthanyoumightimagine.Fromhowourlimbsevolvedfromfins,tothecolourofoureyes,AliceandAoifeinvestigateourfascinatingevolutionarystorytorevealhowwebecamewhowearetoday.Inlectureoneweexploreouranimalfamily,meetingourdistantcousins–fromfishtofruitflies–unearthingcluestoourevolutionarypastandrevealingsurprisingsimilaritiesaswediscoverourtrueplaceinthetreeoflife.Lecturetwocoversthestoryofourrecentevolutionfromearlytwo-leggedhomininstomodernhumans–revealinghowahumbleAfricanapebecameasuccessfulglobalspecies.AliceandAoifeuncoverthestoryofourjourneyoutofAfricaaswespreadacrosstheglobe,andaskwhatsetsusapartfromtheother,nowextinct,homininspecies.Andinlecturethree,weseehowtheinterplaybetweengeneticvariationandtheenvironmentmakesusalldifferent–evenidenticaltwins.We’llinterrogateemerginggenetictechnologies–fromfixinggeneerrorstopersonalisedmedicine–andaskhowfarweshouldgowithgenetictesting.Inallthe2018CHRISTMASLECTURESwillbringourevolutionarystorytolife,takingviewersonanimmersivevoyagethroughoursharedevolutionarypastandaskingchallengingethicalquestionsaboutwhatthefutureholds.Thisisthestoryofus–ourpastandourfuture–inallitsdeep-rooted,diverse,andsurprisingglory.
