Stay ConnectedTalking Biotech is a weekly podcast that uncovers the stories, ideas and research of people at the frontier of biology and engineering.
Each episode explores how science and technology will transform agriculture, protect the environment, and feed 10 billion people by 2050.
Interviews are led by Dr. Kevin Folta, a professor of molecular biology and genomics.
Copyright: © 2023 Colabra
Gene editing is a relatively new technology that has revolutionary applications in agriculture and medicine. The drawback to the technology is that it typically can only be used to disrupt a deleterious gene underlying a specific trait. Gene writing exploits a natural process in cells that allows researchers to install genes of interest, allowing replacement of damaged sequences that lead to negative health outcomes. Dr. Geoff von Maltzahn of Tessera describes what the new technology is and its most likely applications, particularly in the area of correcting genetic disease.
Twitter: Tessera @TesseraTx
Dr. Geoffrey von Maltzahn; @GVMaltzahn
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Talking Biotech is brought to you by Colabra – an R&D platform that brings your lab’s world-changing research together in one shared space. Learn more at https://www.colabra.app/
# TALKING BIOTECH
Twitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotech
Website: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahq
The Talking Biotech podcast is distinct from Dr. Kevin Folta's teaching and research roles at the University of Florida. The views expressed on the show are those of Dr. Folta and his guests, and do not reflect the opinions of the university or Colabra.
The onion has tremendous value in culinary applications all over the world. Where did it come from? What are the major breeding efforts and the important traits. Today’s podcast discusses the onion’s origin and future directions with Dr. Michael Havey, USDA-ARS/University of Wisconsin onion breeder. He speaks of the onion’s interesting background, its surprising genome, and traits that will define the onion of the future. A very interesting discussion of an important world food crop.
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Talking Biotech is brought to you by Colabra – an R&D platform that brings your lab’s world-changing research together in one shared space. Learn more at https://www.colabra.app/
# TALKING BIOTECH
Twitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotech
Website: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahq
The Talking Biotech podcast is distinct from Dr. Kevin Folta's teaching and research roles at the University of Florida. The views expressed on the show are those of Dr. Folta and his guests, and do not reflect the opinions of the university or Colabra.
On Halloween it is hard to remember that the pumpkins used for decoration are actually an important food for indigenous people of the Americas. There are multiple species of pumpkins that originated in North and South America, and primarily used for food. Dr. Harry Paris is a retired Senior Researcher and fruit breeder from the Volcani Center in Israel. We discuss the origins of pumpkins, how they moved in the New World, as well as the diversity and uses for this important fruit.
# COLABRA
Talking Biotech is brought to you by Colabra – an R&D platform that brings your lab’s world-changing research together in one shared space. Learn more at https://www.colabra.app/
# TALKING BIOTECH
Twitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotech
Website: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahq
The Talking Biotech podcast is distinct from Dr. Kevin Folta's teaching and research roles at the University of Florida. The views expressed on the show are those of Dr. Folta and his guests, and do not reflect the opinions of the university or Colabra.
Gene editing moved quickly from the lab to application, so fast that the public is unsure how to think about it. We can cure disease, but are we playing with the natural order of things? These are questions that philosophers and ethicists wrestle with every day. in this week’s podcast we discuss the recent events in germline gene editing and how it is perceived by the public and by scientists.
Follow Dr. Gyngell’s group: @Berg_MCRI
# COLABRA
Talking Biotech is brought to you by Colabra – an R&D platform that brings your lab’s world-changing research together in one shared space. Learn more at https://www.colabra.app/
# TALKING BIOTECH
Twitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotech
Website: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahq
The Talking Biotech podcast is distinct from Dr. Kevin Folta's teaching and research roles at the University of Florida. The views expressed on the show are those of Dr. Folta and his guests, and do not reflect the opinions of the university or Colabra.
This week two scientists pioneering gene editing won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Days later, a group of perennial naysayers gathered to denounce the technology. Gene editing is a revolutionary technology that already has had amazing effects on medicine and some applications in agriculture. The potential is limitless. But this new technology can install precise changes in genes, emulating natural mutations. They also cannot be detected, at least discernably from naturally-occurring mutations. This threatens the anti-GMO movement and its many tentacles, especially the Non-GMO Project, an organization that profits from brokering fear around safe food. These new technologies will evade their detection, making their meaningless label even more meaningless. The “esteemed panel” is composed of individuals that have been fighting technology for years. I play their roundtable discussion, and provide my commentary in real time, illuminating their deception, their disinformation, and tactics to create fear, uncertainty and doubt around a good technology.
# COLABRA
Talking Biotech is brought to you by Colabra – an R&D platform that brings your lab’s world-changing research together in one shared space. Learn more at https://www.colabra.app/
# TALKING BIOTECH
Twitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotech
Website: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahq
The Talking Biotech podcast is distinct from Dr. Kevin Folta's teaching and research roles at the University of Florida. The views expressed on the show are those of Dr. Folta and his guests, and do not reflect the opinions of the university or Colabra.
Digestive cancers are among the most common and deadly cancers in the world, comprising metastases of the colon, esophagus, stomach and rectum. These all share some cellular commonalities, namely the presentation of a molecular signature that can now be a target for engineered therapies. Dr. Adam Snook has been studying the fingerprints of gastric cancers and developing gene therapy approaches that target cancer cells. He discusses the technology, and describes how it works, and how the technology has changed in response to new findings. Dr. Snook provides a forward-thinking and hopeful view of how this technology may soon provide a needed therapy against common cancers.
Follow Dr. Snook on Twitter: @adamsnookphd
Dr. Snook’s website is here.
# COLABRA
Talking Biotech is brought to you by Colabra – an R&D platform that brings your lab’s world-changing research together in one shared space. Learn more at https://www.colabra.app/
# TALKING BIOTECH
Twitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotech
Website: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahq
The Talking Biotech podcast is distinct from Dr. Kevin Folta's teaching and research roles at the University of Florida. The views expressed on the show are those of Dr. Folta and his guests, and do not reflect the opinions of the university or Colabra.
Dr. Cami Ryan has examined the social factors that underlie decisions. Today these human tendencies are critical to understand, as everyone is bombarded by information through social media. How do issues like misinformation and disinformation erode the trust of scientific authorities? How do scientists and farmers, the experts, grab a piece of the pie in the new attention economy? Time is a commodity in short supply, and Dr. Ryan provides insight into how we can maximize our time in communicating science.
Follow Dr. Ryan on Twitter: @CamiDRyan
Here’s Cami’s website:
# COLABRA
Talking Biotech is brought to you by Colabra – an R&D platform that brings your lab’s world-changing research together in one shared space. Learn more at https://www.colabra.app/
# TALKING BIOTECH
Twitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotech
Website: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahq
The Talking Biotech podcast is distinct from Dr. Kevin Folta's teaching and research roles at the University of Florida. The views expressed on the show are those of Dr. Folta and his guests, and do not reflect the opinions of the university or Colabra.
The human immunodeficiency virus remains prevalent in the population, yet it as silently moved out of the public’s consciousness, overshadowed by COVID19 and drug cocktails that can control its progression. Over the last three decades great progress has been made in understanding the virus and how it interacts with cells. This, plus the identification of genetic determinants of resistance to HIV have presented researchers with new drug targets. These may represent future therapies and perhaps cures. Today’s guest is Dr. Luca Vangelista from Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan. His research examines a protein receptor called CCR5 that is a critical player in the HIV infection cycle.
Dr. Vangelista’s recent review may be accessed here.
Here is Dr. Vangelista’s website.
# COLABRA
Talking Biotech is brought to you by Colabra – an R&D platform that brings your lab’s world-changing research together in one shared space. Learn more at https://www.colabra.app/
# TALKING BIOTECH
Twitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotech
Website: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahq
The Talking Biotech podcast is distinct from Dr. Kevin Folta's teaching and research roles at the University of Florida. The views expressed on the show are those of Dr. Folta and his guests, and do not reflect the opinions of the university or Colabra.
Sepsis is an infection of the blood. It can be critical and life threatening, and can complicate other co-morbidities. One of the main problems is that a number of bacterial and fungal pathogens can cause a septic state, so physicians are tasked with rapid identification of specific pathogens to render the most appropriate method of care. Unfortunately this usually involves broad treatments with multiple antibiotics and antifungals, as tests to identify discrete pathogens can take days. Dr. Alon Singer is the CEO of Helixbind. They have developed a new technology that allows rapid detection of bloodborne pathogens, eclipsing many of the barriers that previously led to longer detection times and greater patient risk.
More information at www.helixbind.com
# COLABRA
Talking Biotech is brought to you by Colabra – an R&D platform that brings your lab’s world-changing research together in one shared space. Learn more at https://www.colabra.app/
# TALKING BIOTECH
Twitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotech
Website: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahq
The Talking Biotech podcast is distinct from Dr. Kevin Folta's teaching and research roles at the University of Florida. The views expressed on the show are those of Dr. Folta and his guests, and do not reflect the opinions of the university or Colabra.
Indoor air contains a variety of harmful compounds. We invite many of these compounds into our homes in electronics, and others occur spontaneously from our water supply, and as homes become more energy efficient and dependent on air conditioning, these chemicals concentrate in our homes. Dr. Stuart Strand of the University of Washington explains what they are and their relative risk. He also describes a solution– plants genetically engineered to scrub these molecules from the indoor atmosphere. A variety of plants have been engineered to remove these molecules, including pothos ivy and tobacco, and he is setting his sights on crop plants that could affect the molecules that contribute to climate change.
The work needs additional sponsors. Even a small donation to the University of Washington Foundation can help this research continue.
Look for more details on the Plants Enhanced Facebook page.
You also can donate directly to the program at the University of Washington here.
# COLABRA
Talking Biotech is brought to you by Colabra – an R&D platform that brings your lab’s world-changing research together in one shared space. Learn more at https://www.colabra.app/
# TALKING BIOTECH
Twitter: https://twitter.com/talkingbiotech
Website: https://www.colabra.app/podcasts/talking-biotech/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colabrahq
The Talking Biotech podcast is distinct from Dr. Kevin Folta's teaching and research roles at the University of Florida. The views expressed on the show are those of Dr. Folta and his guests, and do not reflect the opinions of the university or Colabra.
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