简介：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.…