Finding Genius Podcast

Virologist Jonathan Latham explains his view of living organisms in opposition to genetic or biological determinism. He shares a wide range of thoughts, including A theory of how COVID-19 began in a group of miners in Wuhan in 2012; How our societal structure self-corrects to understanding science through genetic or biological determinism, prioritizing genetics facts; and A different way to conceive of living organisms as constantly changing with nonhierarchical layers of cooperation rather than an over-emphasis on the importance of genetics. Jonathan Latham, PhD, is the executive director and cofounder of the Bioscience Resource Project. He's the editor of Independent Science News and director of the Poison Papers project, which publishes documents on the chemical industry. In this podcast, he begins by engaging with ideas presented in a previous podcast when Richard spoke with famed biologist Denis Noble. Noble said that there's no privileged level of causation in biology and Latham continues to address this issue, offering his own commentary over the course of the show. He explains that he became interested in the kind of prominence that scientists give to genes and DNA and eventually came to the realization that there are a lot of flaws in how we think about organisms that stem from adherence to genetics facts and emphasizing the importance of genetics. He asserts that the only agency that exists in an organism is the one that derives from the organism itself and explains what this means in more concrete terms. He also touches on current projects such as a paper he and Allison Wilson wrote about their theory on the origin of SARS-CoV-2, which he believes was through a group of miners who experienced a mysterious disease in 2012. After explaining in more detail, he returns to the ideas of genetic determinism and talks about a book he's authoring on the topic. To find out more, he suggests getting on the mailing list of Independent Science News. Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK

In 2014, physician Diva Nagula was surprised to face a startling diagnosis. His medical and personal journey is now a part of non hodgkin's lymphoma stage 4 survival stories and he shares some of what he's learned post cancer treatment. He shares with listeners How he handled his diagnosis and understanding of different types of non hodgkin's lymphoma and cancer treatments; How he was able to find the spark again and claim a healthy place and lifestyle for himself; and How he advises patients based on his own journey to find a place of healing the mind and body. Dr. Diva Nagula is an author, physician, and stage 4 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma survivor. He began his career as a board-certified osteopathic physician and has extensive knowledge and training in Integrative and Functional Medicine. He adds his particular experience as a physician encountering symptoms of non hodgkin's lymphoma. He tells listeners the different phases of his diagnosis, from his first doctor visit to his waiting period before undergoing chemotherapy and his non hodgkin's lymphoma treatment. He describes spiraling into a fight-or-flight mode at this time as well as an angry phase that left him alone and without social support. His research led him into examining non hodgkin's lymphoma survival rate by age and basic non hodgkin's lymphoma survival rate for stage 4. As a physician, he was able to understand non hodgkin's lymphoma medicosis and non hodgkin's lymphoma histopathology in a way that other patients couldn't but he still struggled with the unknown. He discusses his cancer treatment and eventually remission. But he adds that he then landed in a phase of depression. Though he was happy the cancer was in remission, it had been his only relationship and such a sharp point of focus for so long. After the treatments he found himself basically alone and asking "what's next?" He talks about how the "spark" eventually came back to him through a chance encounter with a previous trainer. He then describes his own lifestyle changes, from eating choices to exercise to mindfulness and spiritual practices. He's written a book about the experience and offers consultations for patients through his website. For more, see his website at fromdoctortopatient.com. Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK

ER doctor Jeff Gusky presents a strong case for key prevention measures of COVID-19 transmission and is eager to spread the word. He tells listeners about The connection between low humidity and Vitamin D levels increasing COVID-19 infections, Numerous examples that show how this is mirrored in hot spots and differences in country contagions, and Ways to mitigate these causes and how his grassroots movement is trying to spread the word. In addition to being an ER doctor, Jeff Gusky is a National Geographic photographer and an explorer. In this podcast he addresses urgent concerns he has about COVID-19 in light of the approaching flu season as well as for folks with vitamin D deficiencies. His concern for flu season actually centers on the low humidity levels in cooler months. Therefore, he's launching two grassroots initiatives to spread his concerns: 1. Don't Go In and 2. Get started, Get Tested, Get Right. The first initiative emphasizes the dangers of low humidity and urges people to get a hydrometer and not enter spaces below 50% absolute humidity. He asserts that COVID-19 infection only happens indoors in dangerously dry air and is completely tied to weather conditions. He's concerned that as fall approaches and the air gets dryer, the virus will infect more easily. He mentions findings and studies to support this trend and describes different climates that have seen different infection rates. His second initiative connects vitamin D and coronavirus infections. Studies have shown a correlation between vitamin D deficiencies and trouble with COVID-19; therefore, he urges listeners to get their vitamin D levels assessed and supplement if low. He provides more detailed numbers and findings in the podcast as well and discusses his free webinar to promote these issues. Jeff Gusky just completed this 16-minute webinar about GOING ON OFFENCE AGAINST THE VIRUS. For more information, watch his webinar. He's also happy to take questions by email: jeffgusky@gmail.com Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK

Microbes perform functions from digesting our food to cycling elements in the environment. Aindrila Mukhopadhyay works to unpack some of their huge potential in her work. She explains to listeners The variety of microbe roles, from biofilms that hold the desert down to carbon-eating strains of microbial life; How types of membrane transport and signaling lead to various lab modifications for effective studies; and Examples of lab discoveries, including a fungus-bacteria combination that produces sustainable dyes. Aindrila Mukhopadhyay is a Biological Engineer Senior Scientist at Berkeley Lab. She studies types of membrane transport and stress response in microbiology, specifically bacterial stress response. She helps listeners understand her field by describing the capability of microbes, including their ability to make compounds and products that are valuable and can address some of the biggest challenges facing us. She offers some fascinating examples such as Pseudomonas putida KT2440, which can eat carbon sources that other microbes have difficulty eating. She also explains how she works with these organisms in a lab setting, describing plasmid transport and utilizing stress responses in microbiology to allow cells to take in media. She also discusses how her work implements engineering strategies and how that dictates which organisms she may use. For example, she stays away from organisms with a bacterial stress response of spore production because manufacturing necessitates predictable and stable organism. Finally, she gives examples of current projects as part of her work with the Bioenergy Research Center funded by the Department of Energy. She leads a group that studies organisms that produce biofuels and other bio products. For examples of her work, google her name for a list of publications and see her institution web site: biosciences.lbl.gov/profiles/aindrila-mukhopadhyay. Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK

What exactly does a virus do to invade our bodies? Scientist St. Patrick Reid addresses the mechanics through specific virus pathologies. He addresses how viruses use proteins to undercut the immune system and ensure replication, how the chikungunya virus infection has become more prevalent and often leaves chronic symptoms, and why these lasting effects from this RNA virus are especially puzzling and how scientists approach such questions. St Patrick Reid is an assistant professor in the Department of Pathology and Microbiology at the University of Nebraska. He focuses on the virology of proteins encoded by highly pathogenic viruses like the chikungunya virus infection. He explains what this means by describing his graduate and early career studies on Ebola and other host-pathogen interaction examples. Ebola is able to invade an organisms by encoding for proteins that block the immune system from responding. This gives the virus enough time to amplify itself and replicate. When the body is finally able to react, the virus is so pervasive it over reacts, often unleashing a dangerous over-response; in fact, this is what happens with COVID-19. Dr. Reid than describes the history of the chikungunya virus infection and how it has made its way from one part of the world to another, including South America and the southern United States. Transmitted by mosquitoes, it often results in a debilitating arthritis that can last for years and scientists don't understand how or why. In fact, that's one of his areas of research, to understand its pathology. As an RNA virus, it does not invade the nucleus and change the genome. He explains some possible theories and his own approach to solving this mystery. He also discusses his thoughts on COVID-19 from his protein-focused research and describes the magnanimous ways researchers are working together across the world to find ways to combat its effects. The best way to keep an eye on his work and learn more include following him on Twitter as @StPatrickReid3 as well as reviewing his university lab web page at unmc.edu/pathology-research/microbiology/virology/reidlab. Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK

In Kathy Louise Ruddy's lab at Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, brain-computer interfaces (BCI) are used to study the brain, improve aspects of human behavior, and generate evidence of the efficacy of a new technique in stroke rehabilitation. Tune in to learn: How electroencephalography and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) BCI techniques work Why the current gold standard in stroke rehab (constraint-induced movement therapy) only works for some people, and how TMS can fill the gap When a new stroke rehab therapy could be brought to the clinic For people who are recovering from stroke, there's a new therapeutic technique being researched that could hold great promise: transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). TMS is a type of BCI that magnetically stimulates the brain to cause a response (i.e. movement) in the muscle. These responses are recorded and used as feedback for the BCI, which enables the user to see and control those responses using various strategies. For example, if the user wants to increase the intensity of the muscle response in a finger, they might imagine forcibly pushing an object with that hand; if the user wants to decrease the intensity of the muscle response, they might imagine that their hand is cold or detached from the body. The hope is that when this is applied to the affected limb of a stroke patient, it will build and strengthen the neural pathways that were used to trigger movement in the muscle prior to the stroke, thereby increasing function and use of the affected limb. Ruddy discusses all the details of this technique and more, including past and upcoming research, results and feedback from research subjects, the use of electroencephalography to train users to control their brainwaves/neural oscillations, and what the near and long-term goals look like for Ruddy's team. Learn more by visiting http://translationalbrainhealth.com/. Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK

Researcher Victoria Orphan implements environmental microbiology to understand the ecology of organisms in deep sea spaces unsuitable for human life. Her research has broad implications: these life forms process methane, a compound involved in global warming. In this podcast, she discusses Some of the symbiotic relationships in these ocean depths, from the farming yeti crab that grow their own bacteria food to the archaea and bacteria symbionts that she studies; How these microorganisms sequester methane and why that's important; and What this has to do with discovering life on Mars. Victoria Orphan is the James Irvine Professor of Environmental Science and Geobiology and the director of the Center for Environmental Microbial Interactions at Caltech. She studies the ecology of microbes and the minerals and elements that they cycle. This means utilizing tools of microbiology to understand how these microorganism function. Because she focuses on deep ocean systems, these interactions are often between undomesticated organisms that exist in extreme environments like hydrothermal vents. She's trying to learn how they influence the cycling of geological systems and elements like carbon and methane. She discusses some of her ventures into the ocean, describing the curious yeti crabs she observed—crabs that have a symbiosis with oxidizing bacteria and wave their arms over sulfur-rich vents to feed these bacteria that coats their arms and that they then eat. A lot of her focus, however, is on the microscale ecology of what is happening in these spaces. This includes microorganisms that are involved in the transfer of methane. She describes her study of a microbial symbiosis that is occurring between an archaea and a bacteria that use sulfates from seawater, removing methane. She expounds on the challenges of such a study and how this may help understand what exactly ends up in the atmosphere and causes warming. To find out more, see her lab's website: orphanlab.caltech.edu. Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK

Researcher Marc Vermulst and his team have discovered how years of prion-like proteins cause neurodegenerative disorders. He explains That while the copying of 3 billion base pairs inevitably lead to mistakes, certain mistakes are more significant; Why those mistakes are not evident for years; and Why a particular copying mistake leads to a misfolded protein that can take on a life of its own, causing diseases connected with the human aging process. Marc Vermulst is an assistant professor of gerontology at the University of Southern California. He has had a lifelong interest in the human aging process and signs of aging and studies how our genome changes. He measures that change and works to understand how this impacts our health. Early in his career while studying premature aging syndromes, he noted that most were characterized by an instable genome—in other words, these early signs of aging were accompanied by a genome that faced changes at a faster pace than most normal genomes. This pushed him to his current interest in genome change and aging. He's been trying to link the natural aging process in a mechanistic way to age-related diseases. He comments that while we see those disease occur as a result of the aging process, what exactly is happening to cause those diseases has not been clear; however, his work has identified what they think may be a key cause, namely misfolded proteins that lead to prion-like proteins, which result from transcription errors. These proteins take on a life of their own and force other proteins to conform to their shape, a shape that seems to be toxic to cells. He explains this process in more detail and suggest long term goals these findings may address such as medically relevant therapies. For more, see his website: https://gero.usc.edu/faculty/marc-vermulst-phd/ Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK

Associate Scientist in Marine Chemistry & Geochemistry at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Amy Apprill, joins the show to share insight on her area of expertise: the microbes of the animals in the ocean and the marine ecosystem in general. Tune in to discover: Where corals get 80-90% of their nutrition, and by what mechanisms they ingest bacteria and zooplankton What types of protective mechanisms explain why it is rare to see an animal sitting on a coral What type of evidence suggests that microbes have different roles within coral depending on their location What's been revealed by microbial research on the coral reefs in the Florida Keys—one of the most disturbed reef ecosystems in the Caribbean A coral reef is an entire ecosystem with its own rocks, animals, and plants in the most biodiverse environment in the ocean. Apprill's work is centered around research on the microbiome of corals. She and her team have found that different microbes inhabit three primary regions of the coral: the mucous layer, the tissues, and the skeleton. She explains how the use of microscopy has helped shed light on the role of different bacterial communities within the coral depending on where they live. The team has also been looking at the composition of microbes and cells that can live as symbionts with the corals in the water within the 30 centimeters surrounding corals. She shares what they've learned so far from this research, and what's to come. Apprill also describes some of the signs which indicate unhealthy coral, and the research they're doing to determine what factors help healthy corals stay that way. She talks about the importance and sensitivities of ocean ecology, and the impact of human activities on coral reef microbial communities. To learn more about Apprill's work, visit https://www2.whoi.edu/site/amy-apprill/. Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK

Biodiversity and protected area specialist, Julian Bayliss, shares the details of his interesting work in conservation biology, ecology, and area management over the years, with a special emphasis on his discovery of a lost forest. Tune in to learn: How Bayliss discovered and confirmed the existence of the forest What common African folklore is shared among the locals near Mount Lico regarding the mountain What new species were discovered in the lost rainforest atop Mount Lico Over 15 years of biodiversity research and surveys in Africa eventually led to the discovery of a lost rainforest atop Mount Lico in Northern Mozambique. The expeditions that led to this are a part of a larger conservation program that aims to bring attention and focus to the importance of protecting the high-altitude mountains and biodiversity in this region. Ultimately, it is about providing the necessary evidence to justify the funds for protecting and managing this region of Africa. According to the locals surrounding the base of the mountain, no one had ever been up there…up the steep circle of rock cradling a rainforest about one kilometer in diameter. With this information, Bayliss and his team set out to explore the secret forest he'd identified through satellite imagery, with the expectation that they would be the first humans to ever step foot there. However, they were in for quite a surprise when they discovered three upturned clay pots arranged in a triangular shape beside a stream. How did they get there? When were they put there? And by whom…and why? These are a few of the questions Bayliss talks about on today's show. He also explains what types of new species were found in the rainforest, the DNA sequencing they're doing to learn more about the animals found, and what he's planning for the future. To watch a National Geographic special on the lost forest, click on the link here: https://youtu.be/aDoanNM7O_s. Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK