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Oliver Rando is a professor and head of the Rando Lab at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He joins the show to discuss his research on epigenetic inheritance. You'll learn the following:
When data that doesn't belong to the DNA sequence itself affects the phenotype of an organism in some way, and when that phenotypic change is passed on from a parent to a child, epigenetic inheritance is said to occur. It was only two or three decades ago that there was near consensus in the scientific community that epigenetic information could not be passed between generations. However, a growing number of research studies are now showing that that's simply not the case. One such study is taking place in Oliver Rando's lab, where he and his team are using mouse models to demonstrate that the environmental conditions of a father can impact the phenotype of the father's offspring. In addition to discussing the details of his research, Rando touches on the nature of some other interesting types of research going on in the area of epigenetic inheritance. He also talks about the limitations and gaps in this type of research, and what he aims to accomplish in the coming years.
Tune in for the full conversation and learn more at https://www.umassmed.edu/randolab/.
Health coach, author, and top-ranking podcast host Abel James discusses his journey towards health and fitness. When you listen in, you'll hear
Abel James hosts the popular podcast Fat Burning Man, writes a blog, and has published several books including The Wild Diet. In this conversation, he shares why he first decided to shift away from popular eating trends towards a direction that made more sense for what his body was telling him. As he turned away from the carb-loading habit runner's magazines were advising and embraced whole foods, he found a dramatically different health and fitness level.
He talks about the fear-based approach mainstream voices lend to eating choices as well as the circular nature of eating processed foods and experiencing increased cravings for more unhealthy foods. Abel notes that when we step back and eat more as our grandparents might have with a focus on less processed ingredients and more substance, we end up healthier.
He also brings in how this different eating emphasis lends itself to interval fasting. By eating more satisfying foods that don't induce craving, ultimately he's able to spend less time eating and more time being active and productive.
For more, see his web page at https://fatburningman.com/, which links to his blog, podcasts, and books. It also provides a way to contact him for coaching opportunities and links to courses.
Dr. Gupta, a leading expert on liver processes and gastroenterology, explains both the science behind how the liver works and the latest efforts towards treating liver diseases. He discusses:
Dr. Gupta is a professor of medicine specializing in gastroenterology and liver diseases at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and serves as the Eleazar and Feige Reicher Chair in Translational Medicine. In this podcast, he answers questions about how the liver works, what makes it stop working, and the many ways doctors can then approach medical treatments.
He explains that understanding how the liver is divided, from lobes and sub-compartments to drainage ducts and blood vessels, is important in how a successful transplant and then regeneration can move forward for both the donor and the patient with the damaged liver in cases of liver diseases. But he also explains the immense variety of approaches therein, such as some patients having a "temporary liver" implanted for use until their native liver has more time to regenerate and heal.
Dr. Gupta also explains how the gastroenterology system initiates liver regeneration in conditions of liver diseases. He describes the two pathways toward self-regeneration: hepatocyte division and stem cell or progenitor cell activation. But he also explains how these pathways are connected to liver cancers alongside additional risk factors.
Finally, Dr. Gupta comments that researchers can learn from how the liver functions and apply this activity to cures for other organ diseases such as diabetes when the cells stop making insulin. There's hope that the liver regeneration system can lead to the successful regeneration of the insulin-making cells. He finishes the conversation by discussing recent breakthroughs in treating liver diseases such as drug-based therapies to enhance liver regeneration.
For more, including links to his papers, see his web page at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine: http://www.einstein.yu.edu/faculty/8041/sanjeev-gupta/
Dr. Suravajhala works as a dry biologist in next-generation genome-sequencing research. In this podcast, he explains
Dr. Suravajhala is a Senior Scientist of Systems Biology in the Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics at Birla Institute in Jaipur, India. He works on next-generation sequencing to better-identify disease-causing mutations.
Specifically, this means he works with the protein-coding exome, which makes up about 1.8% of the genome in an arrangement of exons.
As a dry biologist working in systems biology and clinical exomes, he utilizes the newest technology to get a closer look at these exons for sequencing, separating out what is called exon "chunks."
To explain next-generation sequencing compared to the initial sequencing, he uses an aerial view analogy, likening the next-generation work as akin to 100x while the 2003 view is more of a 10x magnification.
He explains this in more detail and describes how this larger map of about 150 bases at a time can help identify disease-causing mutations, such as a case he worked on that involved the rare disease pouch colon. He and his team were able to identify the mutations that were only present in affected family members.
For more information, search pub med and google scholar for papers by Dr. Prashanth N Suravajhala.
Roy A. Black holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry and is a professor at the University of Washington. His research expertise has to do with something that almost every human being has wondered at one point or another: how did life as we know it comes to be? On today's podcast, Dr. Black talks about the following:
Before diving into the field of research on the origin of life, Dr. Black spent many years in biotechnology and the pharmaceutical industry. Having always felt a drive toward understanding our history, he became increasingly compelled to research something that's been largely unaddressed by scientists: how life began. Answering this question or at least getting closer to an answer will not only satisfy human curiosity but allow for us to say with more confidence what probability there is of other forms of simple or complex life in the universe.
Among a number of interesting topics, Dr. Black talks about his hypothesis as to how the building blocks of RNA and protein first came together, and how the answer might explain cell division and molecular stability. He explains the component parts of a cell, similarities between the biochemistry of different species on earth, and what he wants to answer as a researcher on the origin of life.
Over the course of the past decade or so, there's been a huge influx of genomic data due to better and more affordable sequencing technologies. How does anyone make sense of it all? Simon Sadedin joins the show to answer this question and explain his role as a bioinformatician at Victorian Clinical Genetics Services. He talks about the following:
Victorian Clinical Genetics Services perform genetic and genomic testing for patients who have or are at risk of developing rare genetic disorders. The amount of data that can be gathered in this field of work is significant, which can complicate the process of providing patients with easy-to-understand, useful information that applies to their lives and the lives of their loved ones.
This is where bioinformatics aims to be most useful. Sadedin explains the three primary roles of the bioinformatic work he carries out at Victorian Clinical Genetics Services, and explains that the ultimate goal is to improve patients' experiences and the quality of healthcare on the whole. He also talks about the ways in which it can be a challenge or even impossible to elucidate what a certain genetic or genomic result means for a specific person, the advantages and drawbacks of current versus emerging sequencing technologies, and how useful it is to obtain genomic data from people who are unaffected by certain rare genetic disorders.
For more, visit https://www.vcgs.org.au/ and https://www.mcri.edu.au/.
Dr. Onyinye Iweala is a professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine whose expertise lies in environmental allergies, including allergic rhinitis, chronic hives, and food allergies. She joins the show to talk about a number of interesting topics, such as:
As a junior in college, Dr. Iweala took her first basic immunology class and pretty much knew that that was the path she wanted to pursue as a doctor. Not only did she find it complicated and fascinating, but also very relevant to human health. In recent years, food allergy has been on the rise, particularly in industrial countries like the U.S. This has caused concern for many people, especially since there has only very recently been a food allergy treatment on the market. Dr. Iweala discusses how this new drug functions in the body, and how it is based on the principles of oral immunotherapy. She also explains the standard understanding of IgE-mediated allergy responses, and how a non IgE-mediated allergy response prompted by an alpha-gal allergy is unique and challenging to detect. She touches on a number of other interesting subjects, such as how multiple food allergies in a single person might be treated, the goal of recent and ongoing studies in the field, and much more.
In this podcast, Dr. Holly Kramer, Professor of Public Health Sciences and Medicine at Loyola University, Chicago, talks about her research in nephrology, and the links between obesity and kidney disease.
Podcast Points:
Dr. Kramer discusses the alarming escalation of obesity in America, and its association to kidney disease, diabetes, hypertension, and other health problems. Dr. Kramer focuses her research on important areas that have an affect on public health. She talks about the interconnections between nutrition and obesity and kidney disease.
Dr. Kramer talks in detail about her current research, and why she is so intensely interested in the role obesity plays in so many diseases. Throughout her career she has worked with many other nephrologists and focused her attention on new ways to treat health ailments, such as kidney stones, kidney failure, and hypertension.
Dr. Kramer explains how we lose kidney function as we grow older. She provides a wealth of information on muscle movement and creatine. As she details, when creatine gets old it loses an important water group and thus becomes creatinine, which is actually a waste product produced by muscles from this breakdown. When creatinine leaks into the bloodstream it is then filtered by the kidney. Dr. Kramer states that by looking at levels of creatinine in the blood, they can get a sense of how well the kidney is actually functioning. Continuing, the research doctor provides extensive information on diabetes, discussing insulin, medication, and how ketones are created.
In this podcast, Michelle Mullaley, PhD, Licensed Clinical Psychologist, discusses sleep issues, psychology, child psychology, and the techniques and tools she utilizes to help people at her clinic.
Podcast Points:
Dr. Mullaley is a seasoned clinical psychology expert. She specializes in child and family psychology. She earned her doctorate at Catholic University in Washington, DC. Dr. Mullaley discusses her background and current focus. As an active researcher, Dr. Mullaley does a lot of testing in addition to her regular schedule of therapy.
Dr. Mullaley talks in detail about sleep problems, specifically sleep deprivation that kids and teens struggle with. As she states, falling asleep can be difficult for some, especially in kids who have ADHD. She provides a wealth of information on circadian rhythms and how they can shift through our lives. As a result of this shifting, some teens tend to feel very awake even late at night, but when they have to get up early to get to school, their bodies feel sleep deprived because they are craving that full nine hours of relaxing sleep but aren't getting it.
Dr. Mullaley discusses cases she deals with, in regard to sleep problems and issues. The clinical psychologist discusses multiple techniques and treatments—including cognitive challenging, which is a cognitive behavior technique used to bring on calming and relief from anxiety. Continuing, Dr. Mullaley discusses breathing, yoga, various imagery techniques, and even some apps that can help kids, and adults, to relax and calm themselves, which can assist with falling asleep, and getting better sleep. Expanding her discussion on sleep issues, Dr. Mullaley talks about melatonin and how it can play a role in sleep and why we have different issues as we get older. Wrapping up, she talks about the impact of technology, and how smartphones are one thing we should detach ourselves from when we want to fall asleep, and get quality sleep.
Associate professor of sport and exercise physiology, Brendan Egan, PhD has studied physiology and nutrition since he was an undergraduate student. On today's episode, he discusses how training and nutritional interventions can help slow the loss and decline of muscle mass, function, and strength in ageing adults. Tune in to learn the following:
"I don't think there's an example of a society or a population that's physically inactive and healthy. We have to acknowledge that physical activity is imperative to health when it comes to the human condition," says Dr. Egan. He explains that while an adult—without the appropriate interventions—can lose 30 to 50 percent of their muscle mass between the ages of 40 to 80, it is a process that ultimately tapers out. In contrast, muscle strength and function can decline until a person is rendered unable to take care of themselves or even walk. For this reason, he and his group are primarily focused on interventions that address and slow the decline of muscle strength and function that occurs with age.
Dr. Egan talks about the importance of resistance and strength-based training and extra protein intake in slowing the decline of muscle function and strength. He explains that some people can benefit even from a single hour of strength training per week, while others might require more frequent training sessions. Press play for the full conversation and view Dr. Egan's profile at https://www.dcu.ie/researchsupport/research-profile?PERSON_ID=1631629.
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