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As both a gastroenterologist and internist, Dr. Samantha Nazareth has become an expert and go-to resource for anything that has to do with our gut and the bugs that live within it. On today's episode, she talks about a number of interesting topics, including the most common complaints she receives from her patients, what leads to heartburn, stomach ulcers, bloating, internal bleeding, and how to go about treating or preventing some of these things, how sugar intake, neuropathy, and gut health are interconnected, how the gastrointestinal system communicates with the brain, probiotics, and a number of questions about the microbiome, including whether research is being done on a part of the microbiome that will provide a sufficient snapshot of an individual, whether or not there is a "normal" microbiome, and how further research on the microbiome could lead to an unprecedented level of personalized medicine that could take us a step away from pharmaceuticals.
To read articles on these topics written by Dr. Nazareth or to contact her clinic, visit drsamnazareth.com
Plants: they add color and oxygen to our world, they release self-protective chemicals in response to the presence of pathogens, and they grow toward the sun. We know that plants are intelligent in the sense that they can adapt to their environment, but in what other ways might we be able to say that they are intelligent? Do they exhibit anticipatory behaviors? Are they goal-oriented? What does it mean in general to say that a living system is intelligent? These are the questions that Paco Calvo from the Minimal Intelligence Lab is exploring. And while he's more concerned with the acquisition of data rather than the ability to draw definitive conclusions, the work he's doing in the lab is revealing new and surprising information about plant growth and development.
"We miss most of what plants do…these sophisticated behaviors…we simply miss them because of the timescale of observation…. when you slow down the scale of observation to the timescale of their behavior, then you are able to start unearthing some patterns which are really interesting," says Calvo. In order to do that in the lab, they're time-lapsing plant growth and development by taking pictures every one to five minutes and then assembling all of the footage after a few days. They've been taking this approach for over two years now, and while the data they're gathering is exciting, Calvo emphasizes the importance of considering all alternatives and never losing sight of the human tendency to anthropomorphize what we see and to commit confirmation biases. He details the experiments they're doing on three plant models in the lab, discusses the results they've gotten so far, and touches on the running hypothesis that at least some plants exhibit evidence of endogenous control over their behavior.
Tune in for the details, and learn more about this work by visiting https://www.um.es/web/minimal-intelligence-lab/.
Keith Hengen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, delivers an interesting overview of his research and what it could bode for understanding disease development.
Hengen discusses his self-described "wandering" path to get to the area of his current research. He outlines some context to explain the kinds of research he delves into. Hengen provides an overview of brain function, in regard to some of its processing. As he explains, the brain is not crystallized or 'locked in' and our synapses are responding to various experiences all throughout the day. Change is occurring rapidly and yet the final outcome at the end of the day so to speak is incredibly stable. We think a myriad of thoughts and learn things, but the foundation of who we are remains stable. He explains how our continuous narrative, our identity remains steadfast and firm, in spite of millions of interactions and inputs, and constant learning/changes. The brain is computationally stable, and this is one way our brains differ from artificial neural networks.
Hengen's neuroscience laboratory at Washington University focuses on the investigation of the role of sleep and wake in chaperoning various interactions between specific and distinct plasticity mechanisms.
Hengen recounts some of his experiences in the lab and some of the findings that have come forth during their research. He goes into detail about particular experimentation, discussing findings regarding cortex issues in healthy mice, discussing the organizational processes, and criticality. He explains how networks of neurons work, and how information is encoded. Hengen details how there are many variances to the same neural responses to the same stimulus. Neurons are not always predictable. While you can make predictions and averages, variances produce invariant behavior. And diseases can develop when there are variances.
Hengen's lab's primary area of research and interests are based in the self-organization of select intact neural networks that support functions such as sensation, perception, and cognition, and how information transmission within these important systems is established during the development process, and ultimately disrupted in disease.
Brett Younginger, postdoctoral researcher at Washington State University, discusses the fascinating research into plant tissue and diversity.
As a postdoctoral researcher, Younginger is interested in investigating the diversity and function of fungal endophytes, fungi that live in plant tissue without causing any symptoms of disease.
Younginger talks about his interest in plants, his background, and his current focus. As a lifetime lover of plants, Younginger was fascinated with farming and the natural world. Starting with an undergraduate degree in biology, he advanced his study to plant microbial symbiosis. Younginger explains the areas of research they delve into currently, studying the symbiotic relationships some plants have with bacteria in the soil in which they grow. Remarkably, plants they study are able to convert nitrogen in the atmosphere into a plant useable form—essentially fertilizer.
Younginger describes his work with fungal endophytes, and the bacterial issues he is researching. The postdoctoral researcher explains how nitrogen is dispersed when it is deposited in the soil. Continuing, he talks about 'partner choice' the process that plants and bacteria undergo in order to associate with different strains of nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
Younginger explains how communities exist within the soil, and how nodules vary in size and shape, with variations in position and the bacteria that is present. Root nodules, specifically, are located on the roots of plants, mostly legumes, that form a coordinated symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, and with the precise nitrogen-limiting conditions, some plants can form a symbiotic relationship with host-specific strains of certain bacteria.
Additionally, Younginger describes how applied science works in a practical sense. As Younginger explains, he is most interested in the processes that impact the patterns we see occurring in nature. And as new knowledge is gathered, Younginger hopes to see more progress toward combatting critical soil erosion and water pollution problems.
I realized that in medicine…we essentially treat symptoms; we have a sick-care system instead of a healthcare system," says Elizabeth Parrish, CEO of BioViva. It was her son's diagnosis and experience receiving treatment for type 1 diabetes that compelled her to learn more about childhood diseases, risks, prevention, experimental medicine, and stem cell regenerative medicine. She explains how effective cell type technologies and regenerative medicine can be at curing a multitude of childhood diseases while at the same time targeting one of the greatest unmet needs: treatment for diseases of biological aging, including cancer, heart disease, organ failure, and Alzheimer's.
Among the regenerative therapies being explored is polymerase induction, which causes telomere extension for combating diseases of aging while at the same time treating progeria, a childhood disease known to cause "accelerated aging." Parrish discusses the details of all this and more, including the foundation of BioViva in 2015, her personal experience undergoing two gene therapies, and the global impact that this technology could have on the world.
Learn more about the BioViva mission by visiting https://bioviva-science.com/.
Imagine walking down the streets of Durham, England and coming upon a cathedral—not just any ordinary cathedral, but one of the oldest in the world, with images depicting the history of the Universe and the evolution of human understanding of the Universe projected upon its walls. Dr. Richard G. Bower, professor at Durham University, was a member of the team who made this awe-inspiring piece of artwork a reality. But how did they do it? On today's episode, Dr. Bower explains how he and his team have programmed a digital universe that nearly mirrors what we observe of the actual Universe. With the use of the laws of physics in terms of mathematical equations and the theory of the Big Bang, and by teaching the computer program to understand how stars, galaxies, and even black holes might be formed, they've not only created a digital universe, but embedded a camera inside that universe to see what it would be like to live inside of it and look out through the lens of a telescope. This provides an unprecedented way to compare observations of the Universe to a universe programmed to follow the scientific laws by which we currently understand it. Tune in for a fascinating conversation and visit https://community.dur.ac.uk/r.g.bower/WordPressSite/blog/wordpress/ for more.
The development of power systems and wireless technology has without a doubt revolutionized human life and activity, in many ways for the better. But these technological advents have been made possible only with the use of non-natural electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation—a type of radiation that exists somewhere between the natural, nearly static magnetic field of the Earth and the extremely fast field generated by the sun. Over the past few decades, humans have increased levels of non-natural EMF by a very large factor of about 1.0×1018 (that's one with 18 zeros behind it!). The question naturally arises: when such a significant change is thrust upon the environment of living systems, how will those living systems respond?
This is the question that Dr. Paul Héroux from the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health at McGill University has been trying to answer through a series of experiments in his lab. He has shown that when these fields are eliminated from and then reintroduced to the environment of biological cells, there is a very clear and decisive response by those cells. Specifically, he explains that low-frequency magnetic fields which are contained in power systems fields and cell phone signals directly influence cancer cells of all types by generating free radicals. In addition to cancer, there are numerous conditions and diseases that are very sensitive to free radicals, including infertility, Alzheimer's, diabetes, and Parkinson's. As our environment has becoming increasingly enriched with non-natural EMF radiation over the past century, these conditions and diseases have become increasingly common.
Dr. Héroux explains the precise biological mechanism triggered by exposure to this type of radiation, referring to multiple recent studies supporting the hypothesis that technology radiation is having an impact on our cells, and not a beneficial one. These studies, however, won't be given much credit by the industry supporting technological products. "Industry likes to push the bar of proof very, very high…but industry is not a specialist in health, industry is a specialist in making product and making profit…but while this happens, people can get sick and people can die from the exposure," says Dr. Héroux. So, what's the solution? While any solution will first necessitate industry's acknowledgement of the problem, Dr. Héroux lists several simple ways of reducing or eliminating exposure. Tune in to learn what they are and what you can do to start mitigating your exposure today.
Scott Young, author of the exciting new book, Ultra learning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career, delivers a thought-provoking analysis of the methods and ways in which we learn, and how we can learn more efficiently and faster if we put our mind to it.
Young discusses his path of discovery that led to an interest in ultra learning and motivated him to write extensively on the subject in his new book. As he recounts it was his own personal struggle to learn the French language that pushed him toward ultra learning techniques. Young talks about other ultralearners who inspired him, and how their impact was something he simply needed to share with his readers. As Young explains, ultra learning is not just a technique for the elite, it is something we all can apply.
In Young's book, Ultra learning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career, Young outlines the ways that we can all improve our learning process and skills. If you want to master a new talent, or stay relevant, perhaps even totally reinvent yourself, or smoothly shift with the rapid changes in your work environment, Ultra learning provides nine solid principles that can help anyone master difficult skills quickly.
As Young details, ultra learning can help us to maximize our competitive advantages in a changing economic and technically-oriented business landscape. Staying ahead, staying on top of things, mastering the newest ideas and vital skills, is necessary in today's world.
Young talks about the ways that ultra learning can be applied. Ultra learning is, at its core, a highly self-directed process. Those who engage in ultra learning must be motivated, without question, but a benefit comes from the fact that projects are geared toward exactly the kinds of information and skills that an ultralearner is most interested in overall. It's a combination of aggressive learning tactics that immerse the learner into the core of a subject, tackling the most difficult elements first; it's demanding, sometimes uncomfortable, but almost always more productive when applied with planning and intense self-motivation.
The Ultra learning author elaborates on how much information we miss in traditional learning practices. Young states that when we think of learning, we need to understand that books and classes are not the only means to learn, but that learning is the practice of building up many tiny subconscious skills that bring together the big or overall concept. In explaining this concept, he utilizes an example of cracking an egg when preparing a meal. The many and various skills that our brain is commanding during the cracking—forming the hand around the egg properly, tapping with just enough force to crack it but not get eggshell in the bowl, and separating the eggshell so that the egg flows into the bowl—are all sophisticated skills that demonstrate complex learning. And thus simply reading a book about something may not deliver enough real information necessary to provide that immersive experience where ultra learning can thrive.
Not long ago, the idea of being able to edit DNA with the same precision as we edit a Word document or computer code was merely science fiction, but today it's reality, and it's having an impact on the world around us. Technology that's been in the making for the past three decades is now being implemented into everyday life, and holds the potential to completely transform the way we live our lives. Dr. Stephen Ekker is Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Director of the Office of Entrepreneurship, and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the Mayo Clinic. He's also a member of the Genome Writers Guild, a genome engineering society which promotes understanding, education, and awareness surrounding the value and implications of gene editing and genome engineering. He joins the podcast today to discuss the way in which this technology has already impacted the world, current research being done in the area of immunotherapy for cancer, how this technology could contribute to the development of truly customized therapies, and what to anticipate in the coming years. Learn more by tuning in and visiting genomewritersguild.org.
Preston J. MacDougall, Ph.D., author, and Professor of Chemistry at Middle Tennessee State University, delivers an overview of how atoms bond and the importance of quantum mechanical methods in modern scientific research.
As the former doctoral researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory, MacDougall studied the computational modeling of materials. At Middle Tennessee State University, MacDougall is an integral part of the Molecular Biosciences and the Computational Sciences Ph.D. programs. MacDougall specializes in theoretical chemistry and the innovative development of quantum chemistry-based design tools specifically for pharmacology and molecular electronics applications.
MacDougall talks about quantum mechanical methods utilized to model the behavior of macroscopic systems such as plastics or enzymes, etc., systems that are too large to be treated by quantum mechanical theories that were developed for individual atoms. He discusses the modeling of bonds and when Newtonian mechanics can work versus when quantum mechanical methods become necessary.
The Ph.D. discusses bonding and electrons, and modeling methods in detail, and how quantum mechanics find 'lumps' in valence shells. A valence shell is the outer shell of an atom in its natural, uncombined state, and as such contains the electrons that are most likely to account for the nature of any possible reactions that involve the atom and also of any bonding interactions it may have with other atoms as well.
MacDougall explains that chemists are interested in atoms and ions as they exist in actual compounds. MacDougall talks about colliders, particle accelerators, and how they are used to fire electrons at targets, at nearly the speed of light. By studying how electrons scatter off after penetrating a nucleus, researchers can get a better idea of what the nuclear structure is like.
MacDougall continues his discussion of bonds, which are mutual attractions between two atoms. He explains how atoms are attracted, and how some may come close together as they are attracted, but they won't change or disturb the shape of either. But some other bonds, in which two atoms come close together, may cause them to deform and form a new bond or wedding. And by understanding the structure of electron clouds, scientific researchers can better understand why bonds are as they are, and how they function.
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