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Copyright: © Richard Jacobs
Abacus Next is the only fully-integrated technology as a service solution provider on the market, and their cloud-based solution is helping a wide range of professionals manage and automate the complexities specific to their business in a compliant and secure way. They specialize in helping companies that work in highly regulated industries that deal with protected and sensitive client data, and they're not new to the field—they've been in business for 35 years now, evolving alongside the changing landscape of technology, and servicing about a half million business professionals across the globe.
One of their main products is the Abacus private cloud, which helps professionals get off IT and enter a full-managed private cloud, and another one of their main products is HotDocs, a document automation and assembly platform that's currently being used by four out of the five largest banks in the world. While they primarily service professionals in the legal, accounting, finance, insurance, and government realms, their customer base ranges from Fortune 100 companies to small and medium-sized businesses.
Chief Marketing officer, Eric Cutler, has been a member of the team at Abacus Next for several years now, and joins the podcast to discuss all the ins and outs of the services they provide, including the tailored platforms they have for subsections within the legal profession—a profession that's particularly complicated, varied, and immersed in highly sensitive data. Interested in learning how Abacus Next may be of service to you or your business? Tune in and visit https://www.abacusnext.com/
Gunther Witzany's original area of expertise was the philosophy of language, which brought him into the world where philosophy and the sciences meet. After reading many biological papers and noticing that they used many of the same terms to describe the behavior of organisms, such as cell-cell communication, genetic code, translation, and encryption, he realized that biologists were trying to use communication and language in a mechanistic way. According to Witzany—and the general conclusion of a 60-year-long discussion in the philosophy of science—this is an error simply because language and communication cannot be explained by mechanistic terms. Why?
Witzany offers his answer to this question, and in doing so, gives his account of his concept of life as a communicative structure, meaning that organisms and their components communicate through processes and sign-mediated interactions, much like one might describe parts of human communication. He discusses the three levels that exist in every language, the role of epigenetic markings in the expression and transcription of DNA, how viruses edit code and why more of them are our friends than enemies, and whether viruses or cellular life emerged first.
Tune in and learn more by visiting biocommunication.at.
With a family history of diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and a variety of other metabolic syndrome problems, Dr. Adam Nally tried to keep his calorie count low and exercise five to six days a week, but it wasn't working: he was still 65 lbs overweight, his triglyceride levels were almost four times what they should be, he was prediabetic, and he was always hungry. As a practicing family medicine physician, he was noticing the same patterns in many of his patients. "I started looking for answers for myself and for my patients, realizing that what I was taught in the traditional school just was not effective," says Dr. Nally.
This search led him to the most recent research on obesity, which led him to eventually compile a plethora of information on the many hormones used by the body in order to control weight and the powerful influence of food on hormonal behavior. For the past 15 years, Dr. Nally has implemented everything he's learned into his practice, removing starches and sugars from his patients' diets and replacing them with fats and proteins. The results? He's helped reverse over 50 cases of diabetes and continues to treat 16 diseases that respond very well to the removal of starches from the diet. The Keto Cure: A Low Carb High Fat Dietary Solution to Heal Your Body and Optimize Your Health is all about Dr. Nally's experience over the past 15 years treating patients with this diet and "walking the walk."
Nathan Wilmot, associate R&D director, and Keith Wilson, strategic marketing manager, of Dow Industrial Solutions, discuss the launch of their new 3D printing product. They provide a wealth of information on the many ways 3D printing is revolutionizing product manufacturing, and they discuss in detail—additive manufacturing.
Additive manufacturing utilizes data computer-aided-design (CAD) software or advanced 3D object scanners to conduct hardware to deposit material, via layering, in exact geometric shapes. Wilmot and Wilson talk about their work with Dow, specifically in manufacturing, regarding additives or ingredients that impact the way that water interacts with materials in a wide variety of areas such as breweries and wineries for their cooling and thermal stability, to concentrated solar power and renewable energy, etc. They talk about the innovations that they are looking to bring to the concept of additives, specifically in regard to 3D printing. They state that the company's strength lies in the polymer space, and that is currently their primary focus. Wilmot and Wilson talk about their product launches and the development of prototypes. They discuss the filament type printers that many people use, and the new technology and new materials that are improving mechanical durability and performance. Additionally they outline how some of the new materials may require a learning curve to fully understand how to work with them, but ultimately the effort is needed in order to continually advance the 3D customized printing revolution that is upon us.
The manufacturing experts detail some of the ways that they hope to bring products to the market faster and more efficiently. They discuss the issues that they hear about through their close contact with the industrial community at large, and how Dow has continually worked to meet the needs of the community and not only solve the problems, but ask the questions that can keep them ahead of the curve as the technology changes rapidly. Wilmot and Wilson detail some of the opportunities to streamline production of parts via 3D printing. As they state, in many cases the processes that are used in injection molding, etc. utilize materials that are specific to those processes, thus Dow is seeking to make the necessary adjustments to materials, etc., to meet the needs of the new manufacturing wave.
Finally, Wilmot and Wilson discuss some of the new development in their industry and they talk about where the industry is headed as additive manufacturing evolves. Dow is striving to develop ways to make 3D printing scalable, and offer new solutions to improve mechanical performance, to increase accessibility to products in remote areas, and improve materials so they can withstand environmental conditions.
Christopher Barrett, PhD, is a distinguished professor and the executive director of the newly established Biocomplexity Institute & Initiative at the University of Virginia. Dr. Barrett talks about biocomplexity and the premise of his work.
Dr. Barrett is an established interdisciplinary computational scientist. Over his illustrious 35-year career he has published more than100 research articles examining many aspects of various scale interaction systems. Dr. Barrett is celebrated for his outstanding work, and for founding some of the most notable national and international technology programs of their kind. He has worked with the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy as well as the Department of Homeland Security.
Dr. Barrett states their mission: to look at massively interacting systems, systems built of extremely large numbers of interacting heterogenous pieces. From cells within our bodies to the cellular machinery involved, to ecology and life on the planet, and more… the Biocomplexity Initiative will cast a wide net as they study many and various systems. He states they are focused on practical applications in important areas such as epidemiology, bioinformatics as it relates to nucleotide sequences, and to basic public policy and how it affects human health.
The biology and infectious disease expert discusses how population and other social determinants, sanitary practices, etc. impact the spread of disease. He talks about infrastructure modeling, health modeling, and economic variables that are studied to see the bigger picture and make assessments about possibilities.
The Biocomplexity Initiative provides high-performance computing capabilities that will assist researchers as they develop a greater understanding of the complex relationship between human genomics, behavioral aspects of health, as well as the environmental effects, in the myriad ways that diseases may exhibit. Dr. Barrett discusses their disciplined approach that seeks to forecast, explain, and visually present the behavioral interactions of substantial, highly complex systems. Dr. Barrett's long-term mission is to enable research and help researchers to get a better grasp of how diseases spread based on various factors such as cultural behavior, specifics of a pathogen, human transportation of disease, and other important issues. And the ultimate goal of the work is to be prepared for the worst-case scenario—global pandemic.
James A. Shapiro, professor of microbiology with the department of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Chicago, provides an overview of how organisms adapt to change.
Since 1973, Shapiro has been helping to shape the field of microbiology. In fact, he was a member of the initial team to successfully isolate a single gene from an organism. With a long history in the study of bacterial genetics, Shapiro has helped to craft the concept of natural genetic engineering, a process of biological evolution. As a supporter of non-Darwinian evolution and outspoken critic of the modern synthesis, Shapiro has published many works in the field detailing his analyses of the various related subjects and topics.
Shapiro discusses his basic thoughts on the concept of evolution. He provides a historical analysis on the theory that random mutations and natural selection are the essential elements of evolutionary change, and states that not only is this an oversimplification—it is inaccurate. As Shapiro states, many active biological functions are taking place, and accidents are not necessary for evolution; essentially, organisms can create their own evolution when challenged. Shapiro details some of their early experimentation with bacteria in the study of antibiotics. He states that they found in their experimentation that mutations in bacteria were able to allow bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics.
The microbiology expert talks about symbiotic organisms such as the microbiome, which contributes to properties of the larger organism. He discusses what happens in cells and the cellular activity that creates change in organisms. Specifically he discusses mitochondria and DNA sequences and the relational aspects in terms of biology. He explains how disparate organisms in our bodies share the same genome, yet they have different characteristics. Epigenetic changes determine which regions of the genome are being expressed. Epigenetics, simply stated, is the study of heritable changes within gene expression that do not involve any specific changes to an underlying DNA sequence, and as such affects how cells can then read genes. As he underscores, organisms sense changes and adjust to them. And interestingly, as Shapiro states, bacteria and cells in general are keenly aware of what is happening in their environment.
James Shapiro's latest book, Evolution: A View from the 21st Century, discusses his thoughts on new ways to understand the tenets of biological evolution.
In comparison to most plants, cyanobacteria are simple and easy to work with—after all, they can be grown in glass tubes. However, there is a lot that is still unknown about them, and as such, they're the focus of a great deal of research. Dr. Ben Long received his PhD in plant biology from La Trobe University in Australia where he spent time as an undergraduate and post-doctoral student studying cyanobacteria and trying to identify all the compounds they produce. In particular, he's looking at the type and quantity of toxins and other bioactive compounds they produce and what can be learned about these compounds. For example, just within the last several years, cyanobacteria have been shown to produce an amino acid that may play a role in neurodegenerative diseases.
Dr. Long brings a wealth of interesting information to the conversation on today's podcast, detailing cyanobacteria biochemical reactions previously thought to be nonexistent, discussing the difference between the way plants and cyanobacteria fix carbon dioxide in the environment, mysterious toxins called microcystins produced by cyanobacteria, the photosynthetic efficiency of C4 plants, and the application of cyanobacteria compounds in bioreactor work, such as the ability to produce oils from them that could be used as a form of fuel.
Tune in for the full conversation and learn more by searching for RIPE photosynthesis on the web and visiting http://photosynthesis.org.au.
"Sleep affects everybody; we sleep for one third of our lives, it's the one activity we do the most of, and it's the one thing that if we don't do well or long enough, will have significant repercussions on our health, on our quality of life, and on others," says Dr. Quan, Clinical Chief and Medical Director of the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders at Brigham Women's Hospital. With over half of the American population reporting that they don't get enough sleep, he argues that sleep deficiency has become an epidemic. While many people dismiss the importance of sleep, studies have shown that regularly getting fewer than six hours of sleep per night increases your risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and diabetes, while lowering your overall quality of life and putting other people's lives in danger.
Dr. Quan and his team are working to combat this problem with the Sleep Matters Initiative, which involves giving presentations about sleep health at various institutions and organizations, as well as administering screening questionnaires to all audience members after each presentation. If someone's answers on the questionnaire suggest that they might have a sleep issue, then the Sleep Matters Initiative will help them contact the right healthcare provider in order to have their sleep further evaluated.
Tune in to learn more from Dr. Quan, visit www.brighamandwomens.org to find the clinic and make an appointment, and learn more at www.understanidngsleep.org.
Kamal Obbad, CEO and cofounder of Nebula Genomics (nebula.org), delivers a thorough overview of the current state of genomic data, research, and what the future holds for the study of the genome.
As a self-described Harvard graduate and Cambridge University computer science dropout, Kamal Obbad has definitely taken his own path to success. Obbad is a passionate biotech entrepreneur whose keen interest in both tech, and helping others, led to his cofounding of Nebula Genomics.
Obbad discusses the mission of his company—to make genomic data extraordinarily useful for medical researchers. Getting their start at Harvard Medical School in the lab of fellow cofounder George Church, known as the "father of synthetic biology," the entrepreneurs set out to expand the opportunities for genomic data to be used. From data driven clinical decision making to drug design, Obbad discusses the possibilities. He provides detailed information on sequencing genomes, explaining how a genome can be read, and what information can be gathered through the process.
The science tech entrepreneur talks about how genomes are utilized in the study of diseases, and the mechanisms of genetic change. Obbad states that there are many barriers to getting genomic data, from regulation to personal fears about revealing one's genomic data. Genomics, specifically stated, is the interdisciplinary field of biology that focuses on the structure, mapping, function, evolution, and editing of genomes. And a genome is an organism's comprehensive set of DNA that includes all of its genes. Obbad discusses data sets that are accessible and the challenges to gather the appropriate amount of data in aggregate. Obbad states, when individuals use genetic data companies such as 23andMe and others, to gather personal information they are curious about, what the individuals are really doing is paying these companies for the privilege to resell this genetic data.
Because of the many aforementioned problems and challenges, Obbad and his co-founding partners have decided to take Nebula Genomics in an entirely different direction, better for everyone involved. As they state, the future of health is in your DNA. Nebula Genomics allows users to contribute to significant medical breakthroughs and get rewarded for it, unlike other companies who may sell your data and provide you with no real compensation in any form. Nebula Genomics stands firmly on the idea that everyone should understand their genes, and truly own their personal health data. As such, Nebula Genomics has reinvented the genomic data business model, utilizing blockchain to connect data buyers with data users, and liberating genomic data by bringing records to a single network where researchers can gain critical access.
Rolls-Royce is an engineering company that makes jet engines which get distributed all over the world for use in land, air, and sea. Some engines made in the 1960s are still in use, and they aren't actually that different from the engines being made today—that is, with one main (and important) exception: they weren't designed with service or repair ability in mind. Without this design, repairs can be time-consuming and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is where the importance of keyholes—small holes through which repairs can be completed in the field—on jet engines becomes particularly important.
As a technologist at Rolls-Royce engineering company, Dr. James Kell explains new ways of allowing more service ability with these engines, and how this challenge has spurred new projects and designs for the construction of jet engines. For example, the team at Rolls-Royce has already created engine health monitoring networks capable of monitoring an engine's temperature, pressure, and vibration. The newest project in the works is a permanently embedded camera network that would provide an unprecedented amount of insight into the functional health of the engines that the world so heavily relies upon.
Tune in for all the details on this intriguing topic. To learn more, visit the media section of the Rolls-Royce website at rolls-royce.com.
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