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Copyright: © Richard Jacobs
Jamie S. Foster, Professor, Microbiology & Cell Science, University of Florida, provides an interesting overview of the many benefits of microbes.
Dr. Foster's research program is keenly interested in and focused on, the cooperation and actions between microbial communities and their neighboring environments, to improve understanding of the various molecular mechanisms that select microbes utilize to respond and adjust to variations and modifications in the environment. Her work is specialized in multiple areas of interest, including metagenomics, environmental microbiology, microbial ecology, host-microbe interactions, space biology, and metatranscriptomics.
Dr. Foster discusses her background and her overall interests in the field. She states that her research is varied and wide, from studying microbes within squid to the microbes that form rocks in the environment, and beyond. From what we eat to almost everything we interact with—is the product of microbes, she states.
The Microbiology & Cell Science expert explains that 90% of the cells in our bodies are microbial. She states that while eukaryotic cells are larger, we are in fact mostly microbes in terms of sheer number. Dr. Foster elaborates on squid and talks about the microbes that cover them as they swim through the water. She explains 'a mutualistic symbiosis,' which is when a bacterium is assisting the host to perform a specific function. Over time, humans have also developed special relationships with microbes.
Dr. Foster elaborates on the selection process that takes place in organisms that allow for adaptation. As she states, bacteria will do whatever they can to survive. She outlines some specific examples regarding microbes and the selection process that is the basis of evolution. She explains how future generations are benefited by this selection process and selection pressure, improving the organism's ability to better survive. She elaborates on what they refer to as 'competition experimentation' in which they may add genes or take away genes to observe how that may affect fitness, or the ability to colonize and thrive.
The microbial expert discusses how they are working with microbes in a space environment, to better understand how immune systems of astronauts could become compromised in space. And she talks about some of the publishing they are currently conducting in regards to how beneficial microbes are critical under microgravity conditions.
Chemotherapy is an integral part of the gold standard for cancer treatment in the U.S., but it's well-understood that it's not without side effects—some so significant that some people choose to forego it altogether. The reason that chemotherapy drugs cause systemic side effects is relatively simple: the drugs act systemically, killing the cancer cells, but at the same time killing the healthy cells that our bodies rely upon. But what if we could control exactly where and how chemotherapy drugs are activated in the body, so as to direct them to the specific site of a tumor, and nowhere else?
Professor John S. Ho from the Department of Electrical Computer Engineering at the National University of Singapore joins the podcast to explain how and why we can. It's called photodynamic therapy, and while it's not without its challenges, it holds promise for the future of cancer treatment. By shining light of a certain wavelength into a tumor in the body, and then administering chemotherapy drugs that have been designed to absorb that same wavelength of light, the drug would become active only in the presence of the light, and therefore only at the site of the tumor.
The principles that underlie this technology, surprisingly enough, are similar to those that underlie other bioelectronic devices, such as pacemakers, pill cameras, and cochlear implants. Aside from explaining exactly how photodynamic therapy works, Dr. Ho discusses a number of interesting topics, including the benefits and difficulties of wireless power transfer to the body, energy harvesting, and what's ahead in the coming years in bioelectronic device development.
Meagan Rubel, Graduate Student, Department of Genetics at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, provides a thorough overview of her work studying anthropology and the microbiome.
Rubel is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in molecular anthropology, studying biological anthropology in detail, and specifically focusing on evolution and adaptation in human beings. She holds a Masters in Public Health from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A/B.I.S., Anthropology, Interdisciplinary Studies Foci in Biology and Geography, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona.
Rubel is particularly focused on how diet, survival/subsistence practice, as well as environments are unified with genetic variation, phenotypic adaptation, and overall health. And her specific area of research pertains to the gut microbiome and helminth (parasitic worms) analysis and study within select African groups utilizing human genetics and various statistical methods.
Rubel talks in detail about health biomarkers of some of her study groups, specifically talking about her work in Botswana. She discusses how we define a normal healthy microbiome because it is very context-dependent. She gives examples of how different types of people have varied microbiomes, and she states that there is a lot of research taking place currently that seeks to answer the question of what certain missing bacterial diversity could be doing to our health in the long run. She talks about microbial diversity that could be lost due to changing diets and changing activities. Diet changes could change bacteria composition. What kind of diversity is good diversity she asks, but she states that you don't necessarily need to be a hunter/gatherer to have a healthy microbiome and healthy bacteria.
And Rubel discusses how modern society has impacted bacteria and health, from air pollution to reduction in pathogens, and improvement of living standards overall. She discusses how parasites can actually reduce allergen-induced inflammation. Further, Rubel talks about some of her current work that she has not yet published, that studies blood parasites and fecal parasites, etc., and she mentions some of the predictive modelings they use to make associations between parasites and the microbiome.
What do kimchi, sauerkraut, yogurt, and miso all have in common? Not only are they delicious, but these foods are also all fermented. Kirsten Shockey, the co-author of several books on fermentation, joins us today to share some of her knowledge on fermented food. Shortly after her family began growing their own food twenty years ago, they turned to fermentation as a means to preserve what they were not able to immediately consume. This soon expanded to fermenting foods for its many health benefits. Kirsten and her husband currently teach classes and workshops on fermentation.
In this episode, Shockey shares a few of the many health benefits of fermented foods and assures us that fermenting foods is easier than we might expect. After listening to this episode, you might feel inspired enough to try fermenting your own vegetables! Learn all about the fermentation process from Shockey, and hear what benefits that fermented foods can provide for your body.
For more information, visit http://ferment.works.
Have you always had an interest in the bioscience and tech worlds, but never really had a chance to truly explore them? Have you had trouble finding good resources for learning more about biotechnology and the biological design space? Or maybe you've learned a lot, but never really had the chance to practice any of it in hands-on fashion? If so, Genspace is an open access life sciences lab catering directly to you.
Simply put, Genspace is a safe, inclusive space where you can receive hands-on instruction and engage in open dialogue about exciting and emerging biotechnologies, including CRISPR-Cas9, protein engineering, next-generation drug development, and a number of other fields in cutting-edge science. And when you become a member of Genspace, you're given 24/7 access to the lab for exploring your own questions and topics of interest, or for starting your own personal project.
Beth Tuck is the Director of Science Education at Genspace, and she joins the podcast to provide a glimpse into this exiting and creative world that's kept in motion by pure curiosity, creativity, and a desire to learn. She provides a few examples of projects being carried out by Genspace members, surprising new areas of interest in the bio-design space (including the creation of furniture from mushrooms!) and how biology communities with similar goals as Genspace are popping up around the world.
Tune in for all the details, and visit genspace.org for more info.
Jules Chandler joins us today to discuss her journey with Graves' disease and her approach to health after undergoing total thyroidectomy. Chandler's interest in thyroid conditions began after she noticed symptoms of her own overactive thyroid. In this episode, Jules shares her experience of conventional medical treatments, including the roller coaster of fluctuating hormones, a side effect of her treatment. Despite being told by doctors after years of treatment that her condition was cured, Chandler did not feel that her symptoms had fully resolved; as a result, she began experimenting with adjustments to her diet and was able to identify gluten as a trigger for inflammation in her body.
By making changes to her diet - which expanded to changes to her lifestyle - Chandler was able to find relief for her symptoms in ways that previous treatments were unable to provide. This inspired her to pursue a degree in naturopathic nutrition, and today she helps her clients manage many of their symptoms through diet and lifestyle changes.
Tune in to hear Jules Chandler's inspiring story, as well as a list of resources that Chandler believes, may be helpful for those looking to take control of their own thyroid health. For more information,
Most people are under the impression that the water they consume is being monitored for harmful chemicals and quality-checked on a continuous basis, but in reality, this generally isn't the case. In some locations, water safety is only verified once every two years, which leaves room for periods of contamination to be missed, and citizens to unknowingly consume chemicals that are harmful to their health.
Over the past year in Denmark, reports of pesticides in the water have become increasingly common, putting everyone on edge about their health and safety, and bringing to light concerns over safe water practices in other countries, including the US. So, what's the solution? As the head of a new project at Intelligent Pollutant Monitoring, Jafar Noori is working on one.
He joins the podcast today to discuss the development of a new device designed to detect the presence of harmful chemicals in the water, primarily glyphosate (commonly known as Roundup). The device will be available for use by municipalities, and will provide a continuous stream of data—up to the latest millisecond—related to the health of the water people are consuming.
Noori discusses a number of surprising, and even frightening topics, including the life-threatening effects of common water pollutants on human health.
Tune in to hear the full discussion.
What do lettuce, carrots, soybeans, and vaccines have in common? Not much, until now: a team of engineers at MIT have figured out a way to introduce DNA nanoparticles into the chloroplasts of living plants, which has never been done before. Tedrick Thomas Salim Lew, Ph.D., is a member of this team of engineers, and he joins the podcast to discuss why this is so significant, explaining that chloroplasts have previously been impenetrable by any type of material due to the double plasma membrane.
As the site of photosynthesis, having the ability to introduce genetic material into the chloroplast will allow for the chloroplast genome to be modified in a variety of ways, resulting in higher protein production to protect against disease, more efficient use of nutrients, higher growth rates, and perhaps the most surprising of all…the production of human vaccines and hormones, such as the polio vaccine and insulin.
Dr. Tedrick Thomas Salim Lew explains why this method of genetic engineering is far superior to conventional methods, how it will allow for the elimination of costly purification steps in the development of vaccines, new findings in the use of CRISPR-Cas9 in plants and the benefits that this method confers, and where their research is heading.
Do you need to save one million dollars for the retirement you want? Do you have one year to plan for the wedding of your dreams? Are you looking to buy a new house? Do you want to plan for two vacations per year, rather than just one? Regardless of your goal, the team at Charles Schwab is ready to harness the power of technology and put it in your hands so that you can make your goal a reality. "We find that clients actually find investing to be much easier with the help of technology," says Cynthia Loh, VP of Digital Advice and Innovation at Charles Schwab.
In today's episode, she explains everything their robo-advisor has to offer and the specific details of the basic and premium Schwab Intelligent Portfolio services. She also discusses the overwhelmingly positive feedback they've received from clients, what makes Schwab stand out among other robo-advisors, and the direction of their future growth.
Interested in learning more? Tune in and visit https://intelligent.schwab.com/.
Erin Elliott, D.D.S., is a dental, sleep, and breathing specialist and in this informative podcast, she shares some of her vast knowledge of the aforementioned, amassed over her extensive career. Dr. Elliott is an ASBA Board Certified Diplomate. The ASBA is the American Sleep and Breathing Academy, a professional academy that promotes excellence in many areas of her specialty such as the various upper airway, breathing, and sleep issues in sleep-related dental medicine. The doctor's educational path to her current career included graduation from the noted dental school, Creighton University Dental School in Omaha, NE.
Dr. Elliott talks about her background, and how she became motivated to study and work in the field of dentistry and sleep-related dental medicine. After much personal research of her own, she came to the realization many years ago that dentists were actually well-equipped to help patients with their breathing and air flow issues. She became a champion of these breathing-related issues and set out to change the way we think about sleep and breathing conditions, such as sleep apnea. As she describes, her entire team at her dentistry practice is trained to identify signs and symptoms of potential breathing and airway issues.
The sleep and breathing expert talks about constriction of the space that the tongue has and other issues that impact breathing and flow. She talks about the connection between heart and oral health. She details some of the older treatments for snoring that did not actually treat the problem of apnea itself. And she discusses various current sleep/breathing aids such as the many varieties of CPAP machines. CPAP, which stands for 'continuous positive airway pressure,' is provided to patients who wear a face mask, while sleeping, which is connected to a pump (the CPAP machine) that forces air into the nasal passages and helps them overcome obstructions in the airway.
Dr. Elliott is a noted speaker and educator on sleep apnea and she has been published in countless dental journals. She is currently a member of the American Dental Association, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, as well as the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine.
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