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Gary Bolles discusses work concerns and opportunities, especially with the work-from-home dynamic that's grown from virus precautions. He addresses
Gary Bolles is the Chair of the Future of Work at Singularity University. He begins the podcast by specifying that the discussions about the future of work starts with addressing present concerns. He reminds listeners that change is accelerating, but also the spread of change is expanding—the skill set demands ask for much bigger switches than in the past—for example, consider the difference in going from a coal mine to computer science.
He provides some modern examples of organizational innovations such as the manager-less company and distributed teams. He provides company examples for each and discusses ways these innovations may succeed and fail, but emphasizes what potential each innovation offers.
As he acknowledges ways the virus has changed our work life, he advises that as we return to more interactions, it shouldn't be an either/or picture: in fact, a digital economy and technology allows us to build connections faster. Yet it's in-person when we really cement these relationships and can talk with less structure, and that holds creative value. He offers three strategies to follow: be a curious, life-long learner; maintain effective teams; and practice alignment, which means make sure people know what the company goals and priorities are.
For more, find Gary Bolles' lectures on LinkedIn Learning and read his article in Techonomy called "Welcome to the Great Reset".
Beverly and Dereck Joubert are National Geographic explorers-at-large. They are featured in National Geographic's Earth Day commemorative special, Born Wild: the Next Generation. They share with listeners
In addition to their National Geographic work, Derek and Beverly Joubert are conservationists and wildlife filmmakers. Derek is also an author and founder and director of Great Plains Conservation, which manages several wildlife reserves in Botswana, Kenya, and Zimbabwe. They've been involved in conversation for close to four decades.
They discuss how in Born Wild, their adventure with a lioness and her new cubs is featured and share some of the extraordinary wildlife moments. They also talk about what it is like to be an explorer with National Geographic, how a typical day may start at 4:00 a.m. and end 14 hours later. They remark that National Geographic has encouraged the best in them for both storytelling and integrity.
They end with ruminations about Earth Day, wildlife conservation, and climate change against the backdrop of the coronavirus lockdowns and crisis. They express that there's a tremendous opportunity to reassess and change our approach and demand policy shifts from governments toward conservation. They assert that we should be celebrating every day as earth day and give back to our planet host.
For more about the special, see https://www.nationalgeographic.com/tv/shows/born-wild-the-next-generation.
Gregory D. Gorgas, President and CEO, explains what pharmaceuticals his company is developing to work with the body's endocannabinoid system. He touches on
Mr. Gorgas begins with how Dr. Raphael Mechoulam discovered our endocannabinoid system in Israel as he researched the effects of cannabis, trying to pinpoint what receptors it targeted. This allowed him to identify several receptors in our body, discovering this powerful system. Mr. Gorgas explains that the body makes chemicals that target these receptors and the cannabis plant mimics what the body already makes.
He then discusses why his company is working on pharmaceuticals to address this system. He says that it's a powerful communication system throughout the body and handles responses to inflammation, stress, and any stimulus which the body would want to address. When the body is overwhelmed, introducing a chemical from outside the body may help this system.
He then explains the three ways Artelo Biosciences is trying to target this system through pharmaceuticals: First, a naturally-occurring cannabinoid that's been altered to increase appetite yet avoid the euphoria or high state as a treatment for cancer patients; second, a cannabinoid called EBD with anti-anxiety and anti-inflammatory properties; and third, a fatty-acid binding protein-5 inhibitor originally researched as a cancer treatment.
For more, see their web site at http://artelobio.com/.
After several friends were diagnosed with cancer, Marcus Freudenmann went on an intense research journey to try and help them fight the diagnoses. He shares his journey with listeners by describing
When Marcus Freudenmann's best friend was diagnosed with cancer, he put his German mentality of "we can fix it" to work. After piles of research and ideas about new cancer treatments at hand, from paleo diets to ozone therapy, he had the humbling and demoralizing experience of seeing cancer progress further in his friends despite these remedies.
He describes further discussions with one particular doctor who described three patients with the same cancer but very different backgrounds. He learned that an approach to any new cancer treatments, from special diets to ozone therapy, really needs to change its focus. For example, one patient had an intense bacterial presence in combination with living in a high EMF environment while another had a past history of Lyme disease. The doctor designed different treatments for all three patients despite having the same cancer, noting that one should stop looking only at treatments and start looking at what needs to be treated.
That's how he was introduced to functional medicine doctors—he saw facing cancer as more of a process of putting a puzzle together. He made a mind map at the time that allowed for a fuller picture and understanding of a patient's situation as part of the treatment plan. This was the beginning of his training program, which he describes as a course-finding evaluation company. They offer a six-part training program that goes into key elements, matching new cancer treatments to an understanding of mental issues, lifestyle factors, physical imbalances, and inherited problems.
For more and to access the free part of the training, see trulyheal.com/genius.
Author Dr. Tom O'Bryan shares his thoughts on how to boost immune systems as the coronavirus spreads. He touches on the following issues:
Author and National Book Award winner Dr. Tom O-Bryan is a strong and consistent voice in the medical world. He specializes in functional medicine and works to communicate with and educate the public on all sorts of medical issues. In this podcast he addresses ways listeners can boost their immune system amid the worries about the latest strain of the coronavirus.
He reminds listeners of the basic timeline of how the virus hits and discusses the delay from the initial onset of symptoms to the drop to a much worse condition. He explains that this is because the virus can successfully hide in our cells from part of our immune system for a time. He comments that zinc is an effective way to protect our cells in this situation and in general. He also designates vitamin D and quercetin as helpful products to have on hand in addition to zinc and explains why.
He then comments on why testing for antibodies is helpful in knowing the best actions to take and in knowing to what degree one needs to worry when the virus flares again sometime in the fall. He also discusses some mental health exercises, why it is important to not embrace junk food but rather eat every color in the rainbow especially now, and he offers several other methods for self-care.
For more, listeners can tune in to "Coffee with Dr. Tom" at 9 am pacific on Facebook, Instagram, and his YouTube channel. The talks are being archived and past talks are available. For more and for links to his talks, see https://thedr.com/coffee/.
Professor James Shapiro shares his thoughts with listeners on all things viral. In this exploration of molecular biology, he touches on
James A. Shapiro has been with the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Chicago since 1973. He has written several books, including Evolution: a View from the 21st century. He begins by explaining some of the genome editing virus interactions bring about, including in the virus and bacteria-as-host relationship. He describes the protection phages (viruses that inhabit bacteria) offer bacteria from protozoans, for example. He adds examples of mammal and retrovirus interactions and genome editing, citing placental development as a result. These, he comments, are examples of how viruses introduce new elements into evolving organisms, leading to his virus-as-R & D analogy.
Dr. Shapiro also describes this as a one-way transfer system and notes that viruses are part of what we call the biosphere. They are vehicles for cells communicating with each other. On their own, they can't do much, yet they can enact change on their hosts. He expands on some of this molecular biology phenomena and explains that viruses are sources of new information that may be useful to evolving organisms at critical junctions in evolution.
He also offers an exploration of cancer behavior and evolution. Cancer is so destructive, he says, because cellular behaviors are enacted that wouldn't normally be, yet cancer uses normal evolutionary processes to change. He's working on understanding cancer by comparing its evolution with organismal evolution and noting the parallels. Finally, he discusses his theory of cellular cognition, and that in the near future, we will think about cells in a more systemic, cognitive way—ultimately learning about living organisms is really learning about how systems behave.
For more, see his lab website at http://shapiro.bsd.uchicago.edu/, which links to his research, books, and past blogs and articles.
Erica Hartmann's Bio: Dr. Erica Marie Hartmann is an environmental microbiologist interested in the interaction between human-made chemicals and microbes. Her career began at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she worked on mass spectrometry-based methods for detecting microbial enzymes necessary for bioremediation. She then moved to Arizona State University where she was the first graduate of the interdisciplinary Biological Design PhD program. She when to France on a Fulbright, studying microbes that degrade carcinogenic pollutants at the Commission for Atomic Energy. She began leading studies antimicrobial chemicals and microbes found in indoor dust at the Biology and the Built Environment Center at the University of Oregon and is currently continuing that work as an assistant professor at Northwestern University.
Assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northwestern University, Erica Maria Hartmann, joins the show to discuss the interesting reactions that occur between antimicrobial chemicals and antimicrobial resistance. Tune in to discover the following:
Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest global health threats right now, and according to Hartmann, the cleaning products we use, the way we clean, and the assumptions we make about microbes are not helping. Much of her work revolves around trying to understand how the use of specific chemicals impacts the microbes in indoor environments.
She explains that while most people operate under the assumption that all microbes are bad, the vast majority of microbes are neutral if not good; ironically, it is the chemicals we use and the way in which we use them that can sometimes be more detrimental to our health, and actually foster the development of antimicrobial resistance.
The main goal of Hartmann's work is to identify the specific impacts of specific cleaning products on different microbial communities, and thereby be able to determine whether the appropriate cleaning agent is being used in the correct way. For example, depending on the specific microbe that's being targeted by a cleaning agent, soap and water might be all that's necessary, as opposed to a harsh chemical such as bleach.
Hartmann is a wealth of knowledge on environmental microbiology and these other incredibly relevant topics, so press play to hear all the details. Visit https://sites.northwestern.edu/hartmann/ to learn more.
Founding director of the Center for Microbiome Innovation and professor of pediatrics and computer science & engineering at UC San Diego, Rob Knight, discusses several aspects of his past and ongoing contributions to the field of microbiome research. He also discusses his recent focus on the COVID-19 pandemic. On this episode, you'll learn the following:
Rob Knight helped develop the technology that enabled the field of microbiome research to get where it is today. For example, Knight's lab has developed software for microbiome analysis, lab protocols for looking at thousands of microbiomes simultaneously, and the American Gut Project, which analyzed hundreds of thousands of microbiome samples from humans to plants to soil and oceanic environments.
He explains that while the human genome is fixed, the microbiome is constantly changing. The idea is that if it can be understood what causes or leads to changes in the microbiome, then it may be possible to control the microbiome in ways that confer health advantages.
When COVID-19 began spreading globally, Knight was working on a project that aimed to determine the relationship between diet and the microbiome, and how it might make people more or less susceptible to disease. He's now carrying out this research with an eye towards the current pandemic, and hoping to identify whether there are dietary or supplemental interventions that can help people combat the virus, or prevent symptoms of the virus altogether.
Knight is currently trying to develop technology that will allow for a broader, simultaneous view of the entire metabolome and microbiome, and the influence of diet upon them both. "In many ways, COVID-19 is providing a stress test of what we can do right now, which is going to be very useful for pointing the way towards what we need to develop over the next few years," says Knight.
He continues by explaining the importance and challenge of being able to detect antibodies to COVID-19, as this would indicate whether someone has been exposed to the virus and is therefore likely to have immunity against it. Armed with this knowledge, people could re-enter work spaces where the risk of COVID-19 exposure is high, and do so knowing that they are unlikely to contract and fall ill from the virus. He also explains the protocol he's developing to this end, which includes COVID-19 surveillance of individuals who are at risk but currently unaffected by the virus, testing of individuals who are showing symptoms, and testing of people who have recovered from the virus.
Knight dives deep into the fascinating details of this work and the continuously evolving field of microbiome research. He offers listeners with an impressive amount of information on microorganisms, the latest research on virus-host microbiome mechanisms based on animal models, how bacterial and viral infections respond to certain dietary interventions, how microbiome analysis can be predictive for the development of certain diseases, and more.
To learn more, check out the following resources:
http://humanfoodproject.com/americangut/
https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=_e3QL94AAAAJ
Oliver Ryder, Kleberg Endowed Director of Conservation Genetics at San Diego Zoo Global joins the podcast to discuss the Frozen Zoo, the world's largest, most diverse, most characterized, and most utilized collection of its kind. Press play to discover the following:
Only within the last 60 years or so has it been possible to grow animal cells in the lab, freeze them, and revive them in a way that allows them to resume their function. This technology has made a huge contribution to the field of genomics and conservation science, allowing for a better understanding of the evolution of life, errors in the transmission of chromosomes that cause disease, extinction risks of certain species, and genetic diseases in endangered species to provide better health care and prevent extinction.
The Frozen Zoo in San Diego was founded by physician Kurt Benirschke with the goal of helping to conserve endangered species. It now contains cells of 10,000 individual vertebrates (fishes, reptiles, amphibians, birds, mammals) and 1,200 species. This, however, is just the tip of the iceberg; the goal is to continue adding to this collection until samples of all 60,000-70,000 vertebrate species have been obtained.
Ryder discusses many fascinating topics, including the collection of several high priority species samples, the increasing need to integrate efforts to save species in natural habitats that are preserved in human care, how scientists can access the database of frozen genetic samples, the Vertebrate Genome Project, how the genetic sequencing of animal genomes can provide interesting insight into human disease assessment, the ethical aspects of this type of work, and more.
For more information, visit institute.sandiegozoo.org.
Professor of neurology at the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, Ying-Hui Fu, joins the show to discuss human sleep behavior. On this episode, you'll learn the following:
Ying-Hui Fu, PhD, discusses the focus of the research being conducted in her lab at the Weill Institute for Neurosciences in San Francisco, CA. Her work centers on two areas: the circadian rhythm, and sleep duration. For well over two decades now, Fu has studied and conducted research in this field and found that genetics and genomics play an important role in determining sleep behavior, including whether a person is a so-called night owl or early bird, and how many hours of sleep per night a person needs in order to achieve optimal health and function.
"I'm most interested in understanding…how to regulate sleep efficiency, because if we can increase it for everyone, then the incidences of all kinds of disease will drop significantly…and to me that's much better than trying to find cures for one disease at a time," says Fu. She continues by explaining the importance of understanding and harnessing the power of sleep efficiency in modern society through an examination of the relationship between genetic information and sleep regulation.
Fu discusses a number of interesting topics, including the way in which the benefits of therapies and medicine can be maximized through administration at times that correlate with certain times during an individual's circadian rhythm, the increasing demand for shift workers and how detrimental night shift work can be for those who are early risers, the way in which sleep schedules change throughout different stages of life (e.g. teenage years versus old age), how a set of molecular reactions related to signals integral to the circadian rhythm regulates more than half of the genes in our bodies, how to measure sleep efficiency, and so much more.
Tune in and check out http://scienceofsleep.org/ and http://neugenes.org/ for more.
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