Stay ConnectedPodcast interviews with genius-level (top .1%) practitioners, scientists, researchers, clinicians and professionals in Cancer, 3D Bio Printing, CRISPR-CAS9, Ketogenic Diets, the Microbiome, Extracellular Vesicles, and more.
Subscribe today for the latest medical, health and bioscience insights from geniuses in their field(s).
Copyright: © Richard Jacobs
Why do species look and behave differently from each other? It seems like a simple question that would have a simple answer, but it's actually an incredibly complex question that's found at the core of evolutionary biology and the center of Professor Katie Peichel's work at the University of Bern. When it comes to adaptation, speciation, and evolution, Dr. Peichel is an expert, but she's also the first to admit that there's a great deal of debate among biologists regarding how new species develop, how phenotypic changes occur, and how a species should be defined.
In today's episode, she touches on a number of interesting subjects, including marine stickleback reproduction, evolution, and behavior, and the ins and outs of the research going on in her lab. She also discusses how genetic changes can accumulate in such a way as to lead to behavioral isolation, how a species' behavior can explain reproduction barriers and the performance of hybrids in the wild.
Interested in learning more? Press play and check out http://www.ee.iee.unibe.ch/.
Beran Parry, author of, The Ageless Metabolic Cure: The Science of Looking 20 Years Younger: Natural Hormone Reset: Get Lean and Genetically Clean, provides an overview of her work in the nutrition and wellness field.
Parry's personal website (https://beranparry.com/) is a treasure chest filled with all kinds of interesting health information that can help people literally transform their lives.
Parry talks about her background and how she arrived at her current state of health and then immersed herself into a successful career as a nutritionist and well-being expert. She describes her new book, The Ageless Metabolic Cure: The Science of Looking 20 Years Younger: Natural Hormone Reset: Get Lean and Genetically Clean as a "health encyclopedia." She discusses the many topics her book discusses, from hormones to thyroid issues, to diet and weight loss, to inflammation, intermittent fasting, genetics, DNA testing, and much more.
Parry's new book will help people to analyze their personal health, metabolic, and hormonal conditions and build an idealized, tailored epigenetic eating program that will work for them. The Ageless Metabolic Cure can help everyone to rebalance hormone levels and recharge their energy, build muscle and decrease fat, fade wrinkles, improve mood, and generally take control of their bodies.
The nutrition guru talks about the steps she takes to help people, starting with a complete evaluation of their entire medical history, diet, nutrition as a whole, emotional and mental health. She discusses how she evaluates big issues like toxins, cortisol, etc. to get a sense of what the body is communicating about its state of wellness or distress.
Parry discusses some specific case studies and some amazing results of people who have turned their lives around, beating inflammation, and losing weight dramatically, etc. She discusses yoga and mindfulness, and the many physical ways people can improve wellness. And Parry elaborates on the significance of DNA testing to understand what is happening in our bodies at the cellular level.
Kelly Dorfman is a clinical nutritionist and expert in the field of nutrition who specializes in the treatment of 'walking wounded' conditions, such as chronic autoimmune diseases, allergies, generalized fatigue, and a variety of behavioral and brain-related problems. While the approach in conventional Western medicine is to throw some pharmaceuticals at these conditions with the hopes of alleviating the symptoms and not creating too many additional ones, Dorfman is focusing on the healing and reparative potential of food as a replacement for most medications commonly prescribed.
She is a wealth of information on the topic, discussing everything from food irritants that far too frequently go undetected, the danger of mismanaged chronic conditions that many people become complacent in living with and how the right foods can repair or manage these conditions, how Prilosec interferes with vitamin B12, iron, zinc, protein, magnesium, and calcium in the body, how and why the generic drug crisis is hurting people's health, and so much more.
Tune in for a fascinating conversation, and check out http://kellydorfman.com/ to learn more.
In this podcast, Raja Sivamani, M.D., M.S., C.A.T., Associate Professor of Clinical Dermatology at UC Davis, talks about the skin, our largest organ, and the many conditions that impact skin health.
As an experienced, board-certified dermatologist, Dr. Sivamani has devoted his career to the study and treatment of skin, with a particular focus on diseases that affect the skin. Sivamani discusses how he got into the field of dermatology. He elaborates on sebaceous gland disease and bioengineering adaptations for the field of dermatology.
Sivamani provides an overview of his practice, discussing tools and techniques, including the various kinds of lighting that they use to observe their patients. He explains ultraviolet light and talks about the benefits of using various types of lighting. He details how a Wood's lamp works and how it can help with an examination, using light to help doctors find bacterial or fungal skin infections, as well as discovering/viewing skin pigment disorders, and additional conditions.
Sivamani goes into detail about glands and pores and outlines certain skin conditions such as eczema and additional types of dermatitis that can irritate the skin, creating dry or itchy patches, or producing rashes, and/or possibly some swelling.
Further, Sivamani provides more information about bacteria function, highlighting probiotics and the microbiome. And he explains the therapeutic use of prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics for the skin and its many conditions.
Dr. Vedrana Högqvist Tabor joins us today to discuss her app, BOOST Thyroid. Dr. Högqvist Tabor's idea for this app stemmed from her experience as a patient who sought to understand and manage her own Hashimoto's disease diagnosis. With a background in research, she wanted a digital platform that would help her track lab work, remind her to take medications, and track her symptoms.
This idea was further developed into an app that helps patients worldwide keep closer tabs on their symptoms, keep up to date on the latest scientifically-reviewed research, and become part of a community of other patients who seek to take control of their health. In this episode, Dr. Vedrana Högqvist provides us with an overview of Hashimoto's disease and how her app is empowering patients all over the world to take thyroid health into their own hands.
For more information, visit https://www.boostthyroid.com/
In this podcast, Pouya Bashivan, Postdoctoral Associate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, discusses brain activity and visual recognition.
Bashivan's lab is particularly interested in how the brain sees, how the visual cortex recognizes objects, etc. Working with Kohitij Kar, the neuroscientists have engaged in some of the most significant testing to date of computational models that seek to approximate a brain's visual cortex. Using their models of a brain's visual neural network, Bashivan and Kar provided a new way to control individual neurons as well as populations of neurons in the middle of the network. Their research shows that certain versions of these new models are similar enough to a brain that they could perhaps be used to control brain states in animals.
The MIT neuroscientist discusses upcoming developments in machine learning and artificial intelligence. He talks about self-driving cars and various new technologies, and the challenges developers and manufacturers face in regard to vision in their operating systems.
Continuing, Bashivan states that the future of machine vision could be focused well beyond basic object recognition. Specifically, Bashivan discusses new models that are being trained to play digital games, which could advance to training in more realistic style games that could provide significant data on how human brains are affected by various experiences.
In the late 60s, Stephen Gray began his journey into the world where spirituality and psychedelics intersect and has since worked with a number of psychedelic substances, become an editor and contributor to a book called Cannabis and Spirituality, and now serves as the head of the Spirit Plant Medicine Conference, where people come together in search of spiritual growth, enlightenment, an insight through the use of substances such as ayahuasca, psilocybe mushrooms, iboga, peyote, cannabis, huachuma (San Pedro), LSD, and MDMA.
Gray joins the podcast to discuss the ancient connections between spirituality and psychedelics, why many of these substances are described as 'unspecified amplifiers', the experience of Native American rituals and peyote ceremonies, how these substances have and continue to help people uncover and cope with childhood traumas, and so much more.
Interested in hearing more? Tune in and visit https://spiritplantmedicine.com/.
Louis E. Metzger, Chief Scientific Officer at Tierra Biosciences, delivers an interesting overview of his company's innovative work.
Metzger's company, Tierra Biosciences devised proprietary methods that make it possible to discover new molecules originating from nature. Their advanced technology builds upon the progress made in the areas of cell-free synthetic biology, computation, and automation, which allows it to seek molecules that were previously thought to be inaccessible by past methods.
Metzger discusses his background and the premise of Tierra Biosciences. He states that many chemicals and enzymes used for biotechnology purposes, from insecticides in agriculture tech to drug-like molecules that are natural products used in biopharma, are often produced by expressing them in host organisms. But a limitation of this process is, for example, if one were to make a compound in an e-coli or yeast cell, and the enzymes for that compound are toxic to the host cell—it can die or simply not produce the results one was hoping for in the experimentation. Thus, it puts a limitation on the types of proteins that can be expressed or the types of chemicals that can be found. Metzger continues, to say that Tierra Biosciences' method grinds up the cells while preserving their specific biochemistry (what the cells can do, etc.), which ultimately can lead to the ability to express proteins in cell-free systems that are derived from living cells but are not in fact, living. By this method, Metzger states that they can uncover proteins, etc. that would normally be toxic to the host.
The scientific officer elaborates further on other companies that are making strides in this area of science. Metzger mentions that they have quite a few proof-of-concept projects that are in the works at Tierra Biosciences. He discusses some interesting work that they are doing in conjunction with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that may offer hope for the treatment of malaria.
The science expert discusses small molecule metabolites and cell-free reactions that have provided some notable and surprising reactions. He talks about the methods they use and their attention to testing and calibration in order to get consistent results. Essentially, Tierra Biosciences has found an innovative new approach to replenish the natural product pipeline by ultimately accessing DNA to find the incredible molecules of the next century and beyond.
In this podcast, Dr. Mark Bertin, developmental-behavioral pediatrician, and celebrated author discusses ADHD and provides a general overview of child development.
Dr. Bertin has studied extensively in the area of developmental-behavioral pediatrics, early on at Cornell University and the UCLA School of Medicine, then wrapping up his pediatric training at the Oakland Children's Hospital in Northern California. He followed this education with a fellowship in neurodevelopmental behavioral pediatrics at the Children's Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.
Dr. Bertin provides an extensive overview of ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder). He talks in detail about 'executive function' and how skills/areas such as attention, emotion, behavior, time, and others are managed. He describes how the genetics are crystal clear on ADHD, as clear as a genetic map for height would be, plain as day. He goes into detail about the many contributing factors that exist and the long list of ways that parents can help decrease symptoms, such as controlling diet and sleep in a healthy way. Dr. Bertin is noted for authoring the books, How Children Thrive and The Family ADHD Solution.
Wrapping up, the pediatric doctor provides further details on the symptoms of ADHD that parents can look for. And he talks about the more internal types of ADHD that could go undiagnosed until later in a child's life.
In this podcast, Nadine Artemis, the celebrated author of Holistic Dental Care: The Complete Guide to Healthy Teeth and Gums discusses holistic oral care and healthy extracts for wellness. Artemis is a promoter of good oral health, an author, and an entrepreneur. Her company, Living Libations, produces serums, elixirs, and essential oils for health and beauty.
Artemis discusses her book, Holistic Dental Care: The Complete Guide to Healthy Teeth and Gums. Finding almost no comprehensive information on holistic oral care, Artemis was motivated to fill the gap. She set out to write a book packed with useful information that was interesting and informative because as we all know our oral health is directly connected to our overall body health.
Artemis discusses various topics such as oral care, lymphatic fluids, blood sugar spikes, mineral deficiencies in the diet, hormones, and more—all which are important issues that pertain to, and affect our oral health. She discusses saliva and explains some of its more important functions such as lubrication and caring for the microbiome. The book is a fascinating read for anyone who is interested in improving their natural oral care. From self-care strategies to the prevention of oral problems, it's a whole-body approach to better oral health and ultimately better health in general.
Artemis talks about her line of botanical extracts. She discusses how extracts can be used to improve oral health, as a mouthwash, to seal gums, and much more. And she acknowledges that many people are seeing shorter dental visits—which is something we can all smile about.
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
