The Scientist Speaks

At the Breaking Point: Mitochondrial Deletions and the Brain

The brain requires a lot of energy generated by mitochondria to function properly. Researchers suspect that mutations and deletions in the mitochondrial genome have a bigger effect than previously appreciated, with implications for neurological disorders, such as major depressive disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, and beyond. Niki Spahich from The Scientist’s Creative Services team spoke with Brooke Hjelm, assistant professor of clinical translational genomics at the Keck school of medicine at the University of Southern California, to learn more.

 

The Scientist Speaks is a podcast produced by The Scientist’s Creative Services team. Our podcast is by scientists and for scientists. Once a month, we bring you the stories behind news-worthy molecular biology research.

The Epigenetic Origins of Allergy and Asthma

Since the 1950s, there has been a rapid rise in the incidence of allergic diseases, particularly in western countries. Experts agree that the rapid increase in cases is not due to increased awareness, and the genetics behind allergies have not changed. But the environment has changed. Genetic predisposition affects the likelihood of developing allergies, but the environment acts on genetic background.

In this month’s episode, we discuss the epigenetic origins of allergies and asthma and explore the environmental exposures that affect our generation and the next. Tiffany Garbutt from The Scientist’s Creative Services team spoke with John Holloway, professor of allergy and respiratory genetics and associate dean of research at the University of Southampton, to learn more.

The Long Haul: Improving Cardiac Cell Therapy Persistence

Cell therapies treat and repair the body using stem cells or their derivatives. These cells possess great therapeutic potential, but their beneficial effects often fade away over time. In this episode, we explore strategies to improve the persistence of stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes in the effort to remuscularize hearts after cardiac infarction. Niki Spahich from The Scientist’s Creative Services team spoke with Sara Nunes Vasconcelos, an assistant professor at the Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, and a scientist at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, to learn more.

 

More on this topic 

Technique Talk: 2D Stem Cell Culture  

Experimental Cures for Fragile Patients: Prenatal Stem Cell and Gene Therapies 

Quality Control for Cell Therapies  

Highlights in Precision Medicine  

The Scientist Speaks is a podcast produced by The Scientist’s Creative Services team. Our podcast is by scientists and for scientists. Once a month, we bring you the stories behind news-worthy molecular biology research.

Decoding Smell: Demystifying Human Disease and Behavior

Odors bombard the human nose every day, whether the odors register consciously or not. The way the human brain processes these odors has the potential to characterize disease and shape everyday human interaction.

In this month’s episode, we explore the world of odor and how scientists use the sense of smell to better understand the human brain, disease, and behavior. Tiffany Garbutt from The Scientist’s Creative Services team spoke with Noam Sobel, Sela Professor of Neurobiology and Director of the Azrieli National Center for Human Brain Imaging and Research at the Weizmann Institute of Science, to learn more.

 

This month’s episode is sponsored by MilliporeSigma and 10x Genomics. 

MilliporeSigma is a leading company for innovative, trusted products for genomic and protein sample prep, reliable antibodies, proteins, and enzymes, advanced cell culture, and lab water solutions. They provide researchers with best-in-class technologies, expertise, and services to accelerate discovery, including ZooMAb® recombinant antibodies that offer high specificity and reliable consistency.

10x Genomics builds solutions for interrogating biological systems at a resolution and scale that matches the complexity of biology. Their rapidly expanding suite of products, which includes instruments, consumables, and software, enables customers to make fundamental discoveries across multiple research areas, including cancer, immunology, and neuroscience.

Cancer Immunotherapy: CRISPR Reveals Targets In Vivo

Welcome to The Scientist Speaks, a podcast produced by The Scientist’s Creative Services Team. Our podcast is by scientists and for scientists. Once a month, we bring you the stories behind news-worthy molecular biology research.

This episode is brought to you by 10x Genomics. 10x Genomics builds solutions to interrogate biological systems at a resolution and scale that matches the complexity of biology. Their rapidly expanding suite of products, which include instruments, consumables, and software, has enabled customers to make fundamental discoveries across multiple research areas, including cancer, immunology, and neuroscience.

While T cell immunotherapies effectively battle certain cancers, many cancers do not respond to these treatments. To find solutions to this problem, researchers use modern genetic techniques, such as genome-wide CRISPR-based screens, to enhance the anti-cancer immune response and increase cancer cell susceptibility to treatment. Niki Spahich from The Scientist’s Creative Services team spoke with Sidi Chen, assistant professor in genetics and systems biology at Yale University, to learn more.

To hear a fascinating story about using CRISPR screens, stem cell technology, and single cell sequencing to understand neuron stress and neurodegenerative diseases, check out our latest LabTalk episode at www.the-scientist.com/labtalkepisode2.     

A Path Back to Health: Immune Tolerance to Infectious Disease

Most infectious disease research focuses on the battle between host and pathogen. While an individual’s abilities to resist infection and combat microbes are important, this process is only half of the story. Niki Spahich from The Scientist’s Creative Services team spoke with David Schneider, professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University, to learn why it is crucial to consider how organisms tolerate disease, and to explore how he maps the paths individuals take through infection and back to health.

The Scientist Speaks is a podcast produced by The Scientist’s Creative Services Team. Our podcast is by scientists and for scientists. Once a month, we bring you the stories behind news-worthy molecular biology research.

This episode is sponsored by MilliporeSigma.

Repurposing Living Systems to Fight a Pandemic: Synthetic biologists repurpose cellular machinery to fight COVID-19

In this month’s episode, Repurposing Living Systems to Fight a Pandemic, we discuss how one synthetic biologist pivoted his research to join the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tiffany Garbutt from The Scientist’s Creative Services team spoke with Michael Jewett, Walter P. Murphy Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering in the McCormick School of Engineering and director of the Center for Synthetic Biology at Northwestern University, to learn more.

The Scientist Speaks is a podcast produced by The Scientist’s Creative Services team. Our podcast is by scientists and for scientists. Once a month, we will bring you the stories behind news-worthy molecular biology research. This month's episode is supported by Daicel Arbor Biosciences, Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, and PHC Corporation of North America.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to The Scientist Speaks on your favorite podcast platform.

Bonus LabTalk Episode: Myeloid Cells in Cancer and Science Advocacy: A Conversation with Miriam Merad

The Scientist is bringing you a new podcast series of special edition episodes! Get a sneak peek here and subscribe to the The Scientist's LabTalk channel for access to additional science stories.

 

The Scientist’s LabTalk podcast is produced by The Scientist’s Creative Services Team. We explore topics at the leading edge of innovative research.

This episode is brought to you by Keystone Symposia. Don’t miss their upcoming virtual eSymposium on myeloid cells and innate immunity in solid tumors on September 21-23, 2020. Find more information at http://keysym.us/Myeloid21Scientist

One of the eSymposium’s speakers is Miriam Merad, a professor in Cancer Immunology and the Director of the Precision Immunology Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Niki Spahich from The Scientist’s Creative Services team spoke with Merad about her research investigating how antigen presenting cells enhance anti-tumor immune responses and her recent advocacy work fighting against the foreign scholar visa ban.

 

Experimental Cures for Fragile Patients: Prenatal Stem Cell and Gene Therapies

For a long time, scientists have searched for cures for genetic diseases. As stem cell and gene therapies proved to be viable therapeutic options, researchers turned to prenatal applications to see if they could develop ways to bring fetuses with life-threatening conditions to term. Niki Spahich from The Scientist’s Creative Services team spoke with Amy O’Connell, a neonatologist at Boston Children’s Hospital, and Tippi MacKenzie, a Professor of Surgery at the University of San Francisco Medical School, to learn more.

 

The Scientist Speaks is a podcast produced by The Scientist’s Creative Services Team. Our podcast is by scientists and for scientists. Once a month, we bring you the stories behind news-worthy molecular biology research.

 

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to The Scientist Speaks on your favorite podcast platform.

A Game of Cancer and Evolution: Scientists leverage the principles of evolution to outwit cancer at its own game

The Scientist Speaks, is a podcast produced by The Scientist’s Creative Services Team. Our podcast is by scientists and for scientists. Once a month, we will bring you the stories behind news-worthy molecular biology research.

In this month’s episode, brought to you by The Scientist and sponsored by 10x Genomics, we discover how scientists use the principles of evolution to model tumor dynamics and develop new treatment strategies for cancer. Tiffany Garbutt from The Scientist’s Creative Services team spoke with Robert Gatenby, chairman of the radiology department and co-director of the Center for Excellence for Evolutionary Therapy at the Moffitt Cancer Center, to learn more.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to The Scientist Speaks on your favorite podcast platform.