Finding Genius Podcast

BIO: Colin Hill has a Ph.D in molecular microbiology and is a Professor in the School of Microbiology at University College Cork, Ireland. He is also a founding Principal Investigator in APC Microbiome Ireland in Cork, a large research centre devoted to the study of the role of the gut microbiota in health and disease. His main interests lie in the role of the microbiome in human and animal health. He is particularly interested in the effects of probiotics, bacteriocins, and bacteriophage. In 2005 Prof. Hill was awarded a D.Sc by the National University of Ireland in recognition of his contributions to research. In 2009 he was elected to the Royal Irish Academy and in 2010 he received the Metchnikoff Prize in Microbiology and was elected to the American Academy of Microbiology. He has published more than 550 papers and holds 25 patents. He was president of ISAPP from 2012-2015. More than 80 PhD students have been trained in his laboratory. We might think of our microbiomes as inconsequential, but scientists are showing that's not the case. Colin Hill says that our microbiomes are as important to our health as major organs, and he is studying how doctors might engage with this microbial community to better serve our health. Listen and learn What a day in the life of a bacterium might look like, How bacteriophage infecting bacteria compares to the predator-prey relationship of animals, and What scientists understand about the molecular genetics of bacteria and what short and long-term goals stem from that knowledge. Colin Hill is a professor in the School of Microbiology at University College Cork in Ireland. He works in the molecular microbiology field and focuses on how bacteria behave in different situations, such as alongside the bacteriophage life cycle. A bacterium like E. Coli has literally thousands if not millions of different phages that infect them, for example, and these interactions make for evolutionary adaptations. Most microbiome discussions in the media center on antibiotic resistance, but Professor Hill explains how intricate and impactful this world is. Research can not only help understand issues like bacteria that are resistant to all antibiotics, but point to a diverse community of microbes and relationships that affect the whole of human health. A lot of bacterial behavior stems from evading or dealing with bacteriophages, and he discusses the evolutionary impact. In clarifying bacteriophage versus viruses, consider them a type of virus that infect bacteria. Bacteria have two main goals, says Dr. Hill: finding food to replicate and reproduce and avoiding bacteriophages. And the balance of predator and prey in our guts is as important as the balance of lion and antelope on the Serengeti. He adds that we need these predators: if prey is left unchecked, there's a problem for both organisms. Furthermore, scientists believe that the microbiome community plays a very significant role in our health, like an additional organ. Unlike our organs, though, we don't have them when we are born. We start acquiring them the moment we take in our first meal. "It's a part of you," he says, "and everyone's is different." Even more significant, researchers like Dr. Hill think our microbiomes can be manipulated. Listen in to find out how. For more about his work, see apc.ucc.ie/colin_hill. Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=6c5OkeIAAAAJ&hl=en Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK

BIO: Veronica Parks is a Soul Healer, Wellness Coach, and founder of VP Exclusive. She teaches people to bio hack their mind and body to live healthier, happier lives. Using a holistic approach, VP Exclusive uses proprietary methodologies and proven systems to increase emotional wellbeing and dramatically improve people's lives. Growing up on a small farm In Moldova, Veronica Parks has brought with her a culture of Health, Nutrition and Soul Healing. She has deep expertise in Integrative Nutrition, Neurolinguistic Programming, Timeline Therapy, Energy Healing and many other modalities using it to help people heal from the inside out. When she first came to America from Romania, one of the hardest things for Veronica Parks to adjust to was the food. Her healthy foundation from childhood helped her persevere and she shares lessons on health and wellness in this episode. Listeners will learn Why emotional pain can lead to unhealthy eating, What can be hiding behind that "natural flavors" label, and What are other health and wellness tips, including how to make the healthiest green smoothie. Wellness coach Veronica Parks helps listeners understand differences between Eastern European diets versus U.S. diets. The relationship between food and culture differs in the U.S. with our large amounts of processed and fast food. Furthermore, she grew up on a farm and experienced homegrown produce and home-raised meats from day one. Her mother also paid attention to the what she bought and didn't bring home processed foods. This gave Veronica a solid base to analyze the American diet and she turned to additional research when she noticed the effects of processed foods on her own health. She offers several valuable insights to listeners, from food culture around the world to nutrition and green smoothie recipes. She even addresses the emotional impact on diet, reminding us that we want something that makes us think of childhood when we face "emotional hits," and if that's processed food, the cycle is harmful. She also tells listeners about confusing labels like "natural flavors," which often hides harmful toxins. Finally, she explains her own coaching process with specific examples of how she's helped past clients overcome obstacles and internalize the importance of wellness. For more about Veronica Parks and her different programs, see her website: vpexclusive.com. "Living Green Smoothie" recipes- https://bit.ly/vpgreen "Ultimate Sleep System" course- https://bit.ly/vpsleep "Healthy Hacks" 8 week health transformation- https://bit.ly/vpimmune Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK

This episode offers listeners an expert view on diabetes and kidney damage treatments. Richard interviews researcher David J. Leehey, who has focused on diabetic kidney disease for the last 30 years. Listeners will learn What types of cells make up the kidney and how diabetic kidney disease stages progresses through these cells, How hemodynamic factors, like blood pressure, also contribute to kidney stress, and What drugs are making headway as effective treatment and what advances are needed. Diabetes' prevalence has made it the most common cause of kidney disease. How does diabetes affect the kidneys? Professor David Leehey has the answers and catches listeners up with the latest in effective medications and discusses the lagging technology of dialysis. He's a nephrologist, professor, and Medical Director of Acute Dialysis at Loyola University. He's also the Associate Chief of Staff of Clinical Affairs of Hines VA in Illinois. Dr. Leehey presents various pathways to kidney disease that necessitate dialysis and kidney transplantation with an emphasis on the primary cause of diabetes. He explains exactly how high blood sugar creates the complications that lead to disease. He tells listeners to think of it like caramel formation—glucose molecules becomes large glycated molecules that get incorporated into base membranes of glomeruli, which are important to the filtering process. A characteristic pathology is therefore thickening of these membranes from the glycated proteins that accumulate. He discusses some other causes and then heads into effective medications and dialysis treatment, which he notes begs for sorely needed innovation. While dialysis treatment proved revolutionary when it first emerged, the technology has shown no improvement over the years and the profitability of the process may be one inhibitor. For more about Dr. Leehey, see his information on Loyola's web page: loyolamedicine.org/doctor/david-leehey. Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK

Society often treats obesity as a character flaw rather than a disease, says researcher Michelle Cardel, and that needs to change. This podcast explores productive treatments and effective therapies for obesity with a focus on adolescents. Listen and learn the major tenants of acceptance-based and commitment therapy, which her program uses to treat obesity and its harmful effects, how this treatment with teens utilizes goals like travel and adventure-seeking as part of that therapy to reduce effects of obesity on the body, and why the medical community needs to recast its treatment of obesity so patients will seek help more readily and receive more effective treatment. Michelle Cardel is an assistant professor with the University of Florida Department of Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics and has a background in nutrition, obesity, and health. She discusses her current focus on adolescents, a program that explores the social, environmental, and behavioral risk factors of obesity in order to develop healthy lifestyle interventions for adolescents. One unique element in their approach is the degree to which they investigated what they teens themselves wanted from the program. Focus groups offered clear information about the degree of parental intervention, for example, and helped the researchers understand that obligatory parental involvement can open the door to voices of shame and guilt. Professor Cardel also explains their therapy approach. Acceptance-based therapy focuses on elements like self-regulation skills, mindfulness, and acceptance of uncomfortable internal experiences. She adds that they emphasize a willingness to be open to how experiences feel, focusing on accepting the discomfort of, for example, a diet to reduce obesity or a long walk versus a Netflix session. They then emphasize choosing to have these uncomfortable or difficult behaviors despite these feelings. Recognizing that discomfort makes for a more successful experience when one chooses to engage in behaviors that help reach goals, she adds. For more about her work, find her on major social media outlets, which she uses to stay active in science communication. Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK

"Your mom was right," says Maria Geisinger, our mouths really can be bacteria factories. This podcast provides listeners with a comprehensive discussion about how periodontitis progresses and why there's a feedback loop between diabetes and dental health. Listeners will learn What periodontal disease causes and symptoms are common, How the inflammatory burden from suboptimal blood sugar control contributes to the disease, and What prevention measures and periodontitis treatments are available along with timelines. Maria Geisinger is a professor and director of the Advanced Education Program in Periodontology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She helps listeners understand how periodontal disease relates to overall wellness as well as why regular dental management of a diabetic patient is important. As with numerous other health concerns, inflammation is a central factor. Professor Geisinger explains that not only does an inflammatory burden result from the effect of diabetes on periodontium, the resulting inflammation can in turn affect glycemic control. It's pretty simple to identify basic periodontitis symptoms, she adds. The number one indicator is gum bleeding with brushing or flossing. Determining the depth of disease progression takes a visit to the periodontist, who will determine if there's accompanying bone loss and other issues. How does the disease initiate? When bacteria are allowed to accumulate along the gum line, your body senses these toxins and responds by retreating: gum tissue starts to "unzip" from the tooth root. Preventions include regular dental cleaning in addition to brushing and flossing teeth. She makes a helpful analogy between flossing teeth benefits and gym visits and provides other incentives for effective dental care, especially for diabetic patients. To learn more about her work, she suggests finding her on ResearchGate. Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK

People diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes depend on insulin to stay alive. This podcast investigates what that means on a global level for low and middle-income communities. Listen in for how researchers like David Beran work to increase access to these tools necessary for life. He explains The mechanism of type 1 diabetes pathogenesis, including the classic symptoms and typical diagnosis scenario, The basic necessities for insulin injections for diabetes and how those needs might be difficult to meet in various communities, and The helpful work groups like Health Action International are doing to address type 1 diabetes and insulin injection needs across the globe. David Beran is a researcher and lecturer at the Geneva University Hospitals and has join forces with Health Action International to better serve global citizens with type 1 diabetes mellitus who lack adequate health care access and means to pay for supplies. His three areas of focus include researching and improving access to insulin on a world-wide level, assessing health systems and their delivery of diabetes care, and how this care works on a daily, individual level. He explains that most of the management of this disease is outside the clinic, with around-the-clock care and attention. A type 1's daily routine requires them to find the right balance between what they eat and how physically active they are, and how much insulin to deliver with both in mind: it's a challenging balance that requires constant management. He's focused specifically on low and middle-income countries, where many people don't have access to insulin. He's working with his colleagues on getting these people the basics of survival, namely insulin, a means of injection, and a blood glucose monitor. He explains how varied this can be from country to country. For example, Nicaragua, the second poorest country in the Americas after Haiti, provides insulin to its people for free. However, access to care and the monitoring equipment still pose challenges. On the other extreme, in sub-Saharan Africa everything is paid for out of pocket. People have to buy their insulin and supplies and pay doctor costs. He explains how various initiatives and NGOs are trying to address these problems and what challenges lay ahead. Listen in to hear about substantial and exciting work to help those that suffer from this disease. For more information, email him with questions at david.beran@unige.ch and see Health Action International. Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK

This podcast explores how one doctor is working toward better health for diabetics. Effects of high blood sugar, or hyperglycemia, is well-studied in diabetic patients, often considered the dominant endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism impact factor to control. But Dr. Ahmed Iqbal is examining the role low blood sugar may play in heart attacks and sudden cardiac death. Listen and learn How exactly scientists define severe episodes of hypoglycemia and what problems those definitions pose, What effect hypoglycemia has on the cell and what role hormones like adrenaline play, and Why this complex interplay of endocrinology and diabetes may lead to heart stress under hypoglycemic conditions and how he hopes to address this issue. Ahmed Iqbal is a NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in Diabetes and Endocrinology at the University of Sheffield and studies endocrinology diseases. He specializes in the effects of hypoglycemia on type 1 and 2 diabetics. He offers listeners a baseline of how both diseases work biochemically in the human endocrine system and what role hormones like adrenaline play. Because glucose is an obligate fuel for the brain, its dips and rises can have an impact on how the body works. He lays out the role of liver and counter regulations of glycogen, explaining the mismatch between amount of carbohydrates taken in and amount of insulin delivery that leads to hypoglycemia in type 1 diabetics and a slightly different issue in type 2 regulation, which serves as a diminished or blunted response. He explains the basis of his study, which involves subjects with both continuous glucose monitors and heart monitors, looking at the effect of hypoglycemia on the heart. He explains that scientists know that a key defense of the body against hypoglycemia is the release of catecholamines, like adrenaline and noradrenaline, to correct blood values. However, high adrenaline is not necessarily good for the heart: such hormones can increase heart rate and the resistance against which the heart has to pump. This increases the demand on the heart, which can be problematic for those with existing heart issues. These hormones also lower potassium, which can lead to dangerous heart rhythm values. Finally, they can make platelets stickier and release immune cells, which may travel to the heart and release plaque already in the coronary arteries. His goal is to come up with mitigating strategies for these hypoglycemic effects on the heart. For more, see his web page and contact him through twitter at @Ahmed742Iqbal. Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK

A winner of an episode, this is the last in a series of interviews for Richard's upcoming Understanding Viruses book. Professor James A. Shapiro treats listeners to his thoughts on virus behaviors and characteristics gleaned from researching virus-host relationships and virus-cell interactions. Listen and learn How virus evolution over time is really a story of the weaving of life systems pulling from all directions, What are surprising characteristics of viruses such as primordial vector activity, how frequently viruses lend advantages to their hosts, and other significant virus evolution impact factors, and How to consider if viruses are living or nonliving and why Professor Shapiro pushes for a more non reductionist view on the origin and evolution of viruses . James Shapiro is a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Chicago. In addition to numerous publications, he's a part of the website The Third Way of Evolution, which considers evolution in the era of genomics and epigenomics. As Richard holds this final interview to investigate how viruses persist, James Shapiro offers his own fascinating answers to questions such as are viruses alive, do they participate in quorum-sensing, and why so many differing incubation periods. For example, not only are endogenous retroviruses responsible for mammal placenta formation, these retroviral proteins are unique for each order of mammal. This diverges from the classic view of evolution that starts with a characteristic branching out into other organisms. It's as if "the placenta was invented over and over again," he adds. As he addresses the huge variety in viral behavior, he says that many factors determine this variety—viruses can recombine with each other, for example, and produce recombinant viruses. The holobiont model exemplifies this: a large organism like a human isn't just human cells but also microbial cells living on and in us. We can think of viruses in our genome as holobiont elements: we should take a systemic view of entity development, with mosaics and amalgams determining multiple aspects of life. He adds, "we can't reduce what happens in life to some simple formula that is good for every from of life, because variety is an inherent aspect of the living world." Listen in for more rich conversation about the stuff of life. For more about James A. Shapiro, see his website: shapiro.bsd.uchicago.edu. Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK

This special episode highlights a new way to understand the evolution of life on earth. Willian B Miller, Jr., takes Darwinism's theory of evolution as a jumping point for this evolved theory based on cellular intelligence. Listen in for an enriching and moving conversation about the origin and evolution of life. Richard and Bill Miller discuss Why a cell, because it can receive information, assess it, and deploy its resources and problem-solve, has intelligence, Why it is vital to understand that cells work together, not haphazardly, to collaborate and cooperate with a codependent mechanism, and How, therefore, cells are measuring, predictive entities working together to share information and better engineer a state in equilibrium with their environment. William B. Miller, Jr., left a career in radiology to become an evolutionary biologist. His ideas have helped Richard, who's interviewed thousands of scientists, understand evolution in a fundamentally different way—a step beyond Darwinism theory. Miller has a publication in Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology called "Cellular senomic measurements in Cognition-Based Evolution," which establishes this evolutionary concept. This podcast explains in clear and understandable language the gist of the article and where these ideas stands in the era of biological evolution. "It's not your father's evolution," jokes Miller. Richard replies with the opening line of the abstract: "all living entities are cognitive," and this is the center of Miller's article. Miller asserts that scientific examinations have proven that all cells are intelligent: a cell can take in information, process it, and make decisions: in other words, it can adapt. As Stephen Hawking said, intelligence is the ability to adapt. Furthermore, it can communicate to other cells purposefully what it has measured and why. Cellular intelligence may differ than human intelligence, but it is complex, able to solve a maze, retain memory, and collectively work together with other entities. He emphasizes that cells work together, and not just haphazardly, to get better information; in fact, he says that "each cell is in service to other cells," and this is central to cognition-based evolution. Their conversation takes a deep dive into the essentials of this concept with concrete examples, from our immune system to breast feeding to biofilm construction. Listen in for a fascinating exploration of one of the most revolutionary scientific theories of our time. Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK

Almost 500,000 Americans utilize the dialysis process to stay alive and even more face a disease of the kidney, yet rarely can we get a close look at how this dialysis process works. This podcast provides just such an opportunity as Dr. Stephen Gluck takes us through the methods and goals. Listen and learn What are the most common causes of kidney disease and dialysis and kidney transplantation, How two different types of dialysis work: kidney dialysis that cycles blood and peritoneal dialysis that works through the intestinal peritoneal lining, and What advances are available now and in the near future to slow down and prevent kidney damage from various diseases. Stephen Gluck is a professor in the Division of Nephrology at UCSF. He shares his expertise with listeners, providing a helpful overview as well as a detailed look at how dialysis works and happens during those hours by the machine. He offers a general comparison of acute and chronic kidney disease differences and says that the number one cause for dialysis is diabetic kidney disease. However, he adds that there are exciting new drugs on the horizon that may change this over the next few years. Dialysis is indicated when the kidney struggles to filter and control extracellular fluid composition, often through reduced nephron function. Most patients who do out-patient dialysis come in three times a week for several hours. The dialysis machine cycles the patient's blood, passing it through a filter and treating it with cleansing fluid. This allows waste products to pass across a membrane, using negative pressure to draw out excess fluid. The clean blood goes back to the patient. Dr. Gluck explains exactly what the machine cleans from the blood and why, but also describes peritoneal dialysis, which is a more common at-home system and usually is used overnight. He explains the differences and applicability for each. Listen in for a helpful perspective on what these processes look like and ways kidney disease cures are progressing. For more about him, see his website at UCSF: profiles.ucsf.edu/stephen.gluck. Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK