Exploring Toxic Nerve Agents and Possible Antidotes Using Virtual Reality—Dr. Zoran Radic—UC San Diego

Dr. Zoran Radic is a scientist working at the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science at UC San Diego, where he focuses his research on nerve agents and the development of good antidotes that have the ability to treat or even prevent nerve gas toxicity. He's using a tool from a company by the name Nanome that allows for virtual reality 3D visualization and analysis of molecules that could function as antidotes to a range of toxic substances. He explains that this tool allows scientists to observe and examine with the natural senses compounds that are microscopic, which is opening the door to an unprecedented level of understanding of the ways nerve agents and antidotes interact in the body and with one another.

On today's episode, Dr. Radic also discusses the mechanisms of the most common nerve agents that effectively disable normal neurotransmission in our bodies, which means disabling our ability to control bodily movements and breathe. He explains why developing antidotes has been so challenging, how the Nanome 3D tool is aiding in this process, his research on a particular class of substances that could treat a wide range of toxicities, and what he predicts will happen over the next few years in this exciting field of research. Find out more info about Dr. Radic's work at https://profiles.ucsd.edu/zoran.radic