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Researcher Terry Hrubec found startling evidence that a common chemical in disinfectants can cause birth defects in mice. She explains the science, describes the ubiquitous use of quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs), and helps listeners understand the numerous concerns over this everyday disinfectant, especially with increased use as a COVID precaution. Listen and learn
Terry Hrubec is a professor of anatomy and embryology at Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine. In an experiment testing the effect of a pharmaceutical on development, she stumbled on increased neural tube defects on her control group of mice. After finding the lab had suddenly changed their cleaner, she realized the cause. She tells this story and how it has lead to an in-depth look at the common ingredient in household cleaners known as alkyl quaternary ammonias. She helps listeners understand how to find the ingredient on labels and how often this ingredient might be used in everyday spaces, from hospitals to food production equipment.
The overuse of these disinfectants due to COVID concerns is especially alarming. This along with the many unknowns of these compounds, such as how long they remain in the body, lend an urgency to her work. She describes some basics of embryological development, from the first cells dividing and differentiating, how these compounds effect that phase, and how our country assesses the safety of chemicals. She comments that "chemicals are assumed to be safe, unless proven otherwise." Furthermore, 4,000 new chemicals are registered every day. What does that mean for the approval process? Listen in to find out why she's worried and what she's doing about it.
How could countries worldwide have handled the economic policies during the pandemic more effectively? The implementation of different strategies could have prevented further financial hardship, research shows. Press play to learn:
Professor of economics at The University of New South Wales, Gigi Foster, discusses the detriments of lockdowns and the economic mishandling of the pandemic.
Targeted protection could have been implemented early in the pandemic to avoid later restrictions that were more detrimental to the economy. Lockdowns may not have been the best solution for protecting human welfare while keeping economic principles in mind.
While lockdowns feel safe and effective, they may do more harm than good. Public debate on rationality during this time may move approach towards a global agreement.
For more information, you can find Gigi Foster at gigi.foster@unsw.edu.au.
Is aquaponic agriculture the future of farming? Development in techniques shows the numerous advantages to soil agriculture. Tune in to learn:
Dr. Bill McGraw joins the conversation to discuss the many benefits and future implications of aquaponic agriculture.
Aquaponics are agricultural systems that have the potential to benefit both the animals and plants involved. By combining the farming of aquatic animals and plants with similar requirements, the system can significantly increase the potential for both.
While there are specific factors that must be maintained at certain levels, aquaponics offers many solutions for the future of farming. By staggering crop production, there is the opportunity for consistent production and harvest of food year-round.
To learn more, visit https://www.newaquatechpanama.com.
Can Clinical trials show what circumstances trigger the onset of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of Dementia? Research shows that more factors may be at play than previously thought. Listen in to learn:
Professor of neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Giulio Pasinetti, shares his vast experience researching Alzheimer's disease and Dementia and what he has learned.
Even with the removal of plaque from the brain, patients still seem to suffer Dementia. Outside risk factors like obesity, high blood pressure, diet, and more have all been shown to factor into the onset and severity of Alzheimer's disease.
New techniques of targeting and identifying cells in the brain will revolutionize therapeutics treatment conditions. Genetic predisposition can give researched clues into the nature of Dementia, and proactive treatment can significantly benefit the patient if started early enough.
For more information, visit https://icahn.mssm.edu/research/molecular-neuroresilience.
Bees are socially sensitive, says researcher Clare Rittschof, and she's not referring to their pining away from rejection. Rather, honey bee social behavior includes an ability for a colony to band together in a sophisticated enough effort to fight off a hungry bear. Listen and learn
Clare Rittschof is an assistant professor of entomology at the University of Kentucky with an emphasis in behavioral ecology. She's fascinated by how animal behavior evolves: why animals behave in certain ways; how those behaviors developed as a function of their brain interfacing with their environment and DNA; and how those behaviors continue to evolve.
In other words, she studies the connection between behaviors and increased survivability and reproduction. But not just any animal: her early work focused on spider behavior and now she's fully focused on honey bees.
She takes listeners inside the colony and even the abdomens of bees, describing how a Queen's identify is determined by her developmental nutrition and what distinguishes her abdomen's morphology from worker bees. But she also explains the behavior and the level of "learning" bees internalize and how scientists can study and understand their sophisticated behaviors.
She describes "where learning or experience can modulate that 'instinct.'" For example, they are able to modulate their level of defensiveness around a flower they're feeding from as opposed to a nest. There's a complicated and fascinating evolution of such behavior, and Clare Rittschof has made studying that her life's work.
Bacteria can teach us how to clean our homes and other environments more eco-consciously and effectively.
Press play to learn how, and discover:
Today's guests are William Wuest, GRA Distinguished Investigator & Associate Professor at Emory University, and Kevin Minbiole, Professor and Chair at Villanova University. Their paths first crossed over a decade ago, when both were pursuing a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in a group that was largely focused on natural product total synthesis. When they both decided to move to Philadelphia, they decided to meet up and team together to work on an area of overlapping interest: creating new disinfectant compounds.
About 10 or 15 years ago, they'd both realized just how dependent the world is on quaternary ammonium compounds, like those found in Lysol wipes and other common household cleaning products.
The active ingredients in Lysol were determined in the 1930s, and while they are effective and not very toxic, the simple fact that nature has encountered these compounds for decades (via dumping in waste waters) means that some bacteria have developed resistance to these compounds. Wuest and Minbiole saw a lot of room for improvement, and got to work.
Currently, they develop compounds that mimic nature, as well as some strictly synthetic compounds, but all with an aim toward biological relevance.
Wuest and Minbiole discuss the similarities and differences between these compounds and common household cleaning compounds, including their mechanism of action and structure. One difference is that the compounds being developed by Wuest and Minbiole have two or three positive charges, as opposed to only one, like those found in Lysol and other common cleaners.
This enables the compounds to stick more tightly to negatively charged cell membranes and bacteria, which makes them less vulnerable to the resistance mechanisms of bacteria. They're also effective against biofilms, which present an entirely different level of complication of pathogenic bacteria.
Wuest and Minbiole discuss their strategies in developing compounds and the testing process for determining the best compounds for killing pathogens and leaving eukaryotic (e.g., human) cells untouched.
They seek inspiration from nature by looking at whether bacteria that grow in soil have evolved ways to make compounds to kill other pathogenic compounds around them. Specifically, this approach has led them to try developing compounds which target Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is found in cystic fibrosis patients and wound injuries, as well as Streptococcus mutans, which causes cavities and endocarditis.
To modify the compounds, they add iron atoms, which bacteria need to survive. This encourages the bacteria to actively uptake the compounds, resulting in bacterial lysis.
Wuest and Minbiole discuss the details of all this and more.
Tune in for the full conversation, and visit http://kminbiol.clasit.org/ and https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/wuestlab/.
How does the aging process lead to neurodegenerative diseases? Research shows that neuroinflammation may play a key role. Press play to learn:
Professor of neuroscience and anatomy Goran Šimić joins the conversation to discuss Alzheimer's disease and Dementia.
Research shows that amyloid present in the brain for a short time can be beneficial, but if present for too long, can cause neurodegeneration. This has been discovered through a shift in the understanding of Dementia and has re-worked the criteria for diagnosis.
Since Alzheimer's disease cannot be solved by evolution or natural selection, lifestyle can play a role until a certain age. However, past a certain point, genetic factors are the key in determining the onset of neurodegenerative diseases.
To learn more, visit http://dementia.hiim.hr.
What can be done to promote global prosperity?
Press play for the answer, and to learn:
Associate professor of economics at Denison University and President of the Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity, Fadhel Kaboub, has held research affiliations with Levy Economics Institute and the Harvard Kennedy School.
As an expert on modern monetary theory (MMT), which includes the Green New Deal and job guarantee, Kaboub's work is centered around the use of public policy to enhance monetary and economic sovereignty in the Global South.
MMT is an approach that challenges the mainstream policy framework, which generally states that the government can only afford to pay for things that we can raise tax revenues from, or borrow from financial markets. Beyond that, the mainstream policy framework posits that anything the government pays for would be inflationary, eventually bankrupting the country.
This is where MMT comes in and says…Not necessarily...We have plenty of spending capacity, we just aren't tapping into it.
Kaboub explains that different countries have different degrees of untapped spending capacity, such as the Green New Deal, inequality in healthcare, and climate change mitigation, all of which he says can be addressed without hitting inflation constraints.
He discusses many of the common strategies suggested for strengthening economies in developing countries, and why and how these strategies fail.
Long-term strategic views are critical for maintaining a sovereign monetary system and geopolitical influence, says Kaboub. He dives into the details of all this and so much more.
For more information, visit http://www.global-isp.org/ and https://denison.edu/people/fadhel-kaboub.
How can you find out if the products chemicals you use are safe? The Toxics Use Reduction Institute works to make production safer and inform manufacturers and the public on chemical toxicity. Listen in to learn:
Professor Joel A. Tickner and lab specialist Alicia M. McCarthy discuss reducing toxic chemicals in manufacturing and households around the country.
Rather than identifying and banning dangerous chemicals, finding safer alternatives can be more beneficial in the long run. Many production companies do not have the in-house resources to do this research on their own.
By examining manufacturing and measuring trends in data, you can find a reduction of toxic chemical use in each state. In most cases, companies that found safer alternatives to use in manufacturing ended up saving money compared to companies that did not.
Visit turi.org for more information.
Cancer might be a third category of cell type, thinks clinician Doru Paul. He discusses the continuous interaction and communication between tumor cells versus normal cells that make cancer a disease of the macro environment. Listen and learn
Doru Paul is an associate professor of Clinical Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. He brings a vivid understanding of the process of cancer cells in the human body as the disease grows and transforms. He adds that "the organism itself is giving, in a sense, birth to cancer," and compares the area of cancer growth as akin to placenta, altering to provide a suitable environment for cancer cells. But he sees it not just as a disease of the tissue, but rather a combination of factors at the cellular, genetic and epigenetic, and tissue levels.
Key to this combination and fundamental to cancer growth is the metabolic process. Metabolism is essential for cancer cell activity, for division, invasion, growth, and spread. "So, to me," he adds, "cancer is a disease of energy and a disease of communication." He also lets listeners in on what researchers know about why cancer progresses differently, as with lung cancer stages, and what he's witnessed about the unpredictable speed of growth under the chemotherapy process. Finally, he offers promising glimpses into the future of cancer treatment along the lines of immunotherapy combinations and ways to make, for example, the liver less conducive to cancer growth. In other words, researchers are finding ways to make our bodies less comfortable hosts.
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