Finding Genius Podcast

Michael Betts and his lab have focused on recoverable viruses like influenza and those that never leave human bodies like HIV. He explains different mechanisms of responses as well as what's been unusual about our immune system and COVID-19. He describes How initial human immune system responses are similar across viruses, How our bodies are able to clear some viruses and not others and examples of each, and What unusual and specific immune cell activities they've observed thus far with COVID-19. Michael Betts is a professor of microbiology at the Penn Institute for Immunology. His lab studies human-specific responses to viruses. He begins by explaining the immune system in general from a microbiologist perspective. He comments that our initial response to most viruses of lethargy and fever is pretty similar. This is an active phase to eliminate the virus if possible. He adds that with viruses like HIV, your body is not able to eliminate the virus. He explains in what ways the virus replication is always a step ahead and how its high replication rate is an advantage for the virus. He provides other examples, like the ability of CMV to encode an MHC complex decoy to evade detection by the CD8+ T cells. He also describes what the field of immunology has observed with COVID-19 and describes his lab work specifically. He says that the initial response is not different from other infections, but the continuing outcomes and manifestations of those outcomes run the gamut. They've focused on reactions of T-cells and the innate immune system, which is mediated by several types of cells like monocytes. They are noticing that severe COVID-19 has an impact on the innate lymphocyte population. They are seeing very dramatic changes in cell surface protein expression and in the population of cells called neutrophils, namely an extreme elevation of these in the blood. The cell surface protein effect is most pronounced in people with severe disease, not mild or moderate, which means it may help gauge reactions and treatments. To learn more, see his lab's website, bettslab.org, or look him up and contact him. His Twitter account is @BettsLab.

Dr. John H. Rex, MD, has worked in the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) field his entire career. In this podcast, he explains key elements in antimicrobial drug development. He describes The developmental challenges for antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral drugs; How we need to reframe antibacterial drugs as akin to fire extinguishers and why; and What a fungus and a human have in common and what that means when trying to develop fungal infection treatments. Dr. Rex has several roles, including Chief Medical Officer of F2G, Ltd, which is an antifungal biotech company; Operating Partner for Advent Life Sciences; and Adjunct Professor of Medicine at McGovern Medical School. He began his career as an academic medic focusing on new drugs for fungal infections. He then became head of Anti-Infection Development at AstraZeneca for several years before leaving to take on freelance roles and his work at F2G, Ltd. He explains the difficulty of drug development for fighting bacteria by describing the three challenges of antibiotic development: antibiotics are hard to discover, hard to develop, and nobody pays for them. He offers an analogy to explain these challenges: antibiotics are the fire extinguishers of medicine. We need to be willing to pay for their very existence though we may not use them. He describes the push and pull maneuvers in the drug development industry and what must happen for both efforts. He also tells listeners about the nature of bacteria, fungi, and viruses, and how their different functions mean different efficacies and ease of drug developments to treat resulting infections. A fungus and bacterium, for example, though challenging, don't equal what developers face when trying to fight a virus. Therefore, while the development of drugs for a fungal infection are difficult as are the outlooks for new antibiotics, viral infections present the greatest challenge. Yet, he says, the path forward is not bleak, just tough. For more, sign up for his newsletter and see his blog at his website: https://amr.solutions/

Rick DeLano Bio: Rick DeLano has worked as an executive producer, and financial consultant in the music and film industries for more than 20 years. A writer and filmmaker, DeLano is best known for producing the controversial movie, THE PRINCIPLE, an endeavor that has rocked the scientific establishment by using its own discoveries to prove that the Earth is centrally located in the universe and sits in a favored position. His newest production is the film, THE END OF QUANTUM REALITY, a work based on the discoveries of former MIT mathematics professor, Dr. Wolfgang Smith. The movie details how it is that Dr. Smith has solved the legendary "quantum enigma" - the paradox whereby Schrodinger's cat is both alive and dead or one particle can be at two places at once, something that Albert Einstein futilely spent the last 30 years of his life trying to understand. THE END OF QUANTUM REALITY, releases to theaters on January 10, 2020. Writer and producer of the film The End of Quantum Reality, Rick DeLano, discusses a number of fascinating topics, including the following: The fundamental difference between Newtonian mechanics and quantum mechanics, and why it's so important What the many-worlds interpretation is and what quantum mechanics has to say about it How an Aristotelian theory may have answered a critical question in quantum mechanics When Rick DeLano set out to write the independent film The Principle, which deals with matters in cosmology, he didn't know that it would ultimately be the key to not only a great friendship with Wolfgang Smith, but also all of the intriguing and compelling information required for what would become his second film, The End of Quantum Reality, in which the genius Wolfgang Smith—who entered Cornell University at age 14 and was teaching mathematics at MIT by age 25—examines quantum theory. DeLano discusses what he says is perhaps the most widespread belief among humanity today, which is that the world is composed of fundamental particles—what many people call atoms. However, it might not be that simple. How so? DeLano tackles this question by exploring the inconsistencies between Newtonian mechanics and quantum mechanics, the clouds of probability associated with atoms which disallow us from identifying where or how fast or what direction a particle is moving at any particular time...that is, until the very moment that particle is measured, Wolfgang's criticism of Heisenberg's equation, and the profound and fundamental difference between the pre-measured and post-measured system of a particle. He also explains the many-worlds interpretation (MWI), the Boltzmann constant, what Wolfgang means when he refers to the "physical universe" and in what ways it is a very different place than the world we live in, Heisenberg's take on Aristotle's notion of potentia and how it might help solve the problem of wave-particle duality, what he sees in the near future of particle physics, and so much more. To watch The End Of Quantum Reality, visit www.theendofquantumreality.com.

Dr. Corry's Bio: David B. Corry is Professor of Pathology & Immunology and Medicine; Vice Chair for Immunology, Department of Pathology & Immunology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Dr. Corry further holds the Fulbright Endowed Chair in Pathology. He received his M.D. degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and after residency training in Internal Medicine at Duke University Medical Center, he completed his clinical training in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of California at San Francisco. In 1992, he joined the immunology laboratory of Dr. Richard Locksley to study mechanisms of T cell differentiation and immune injury. He then joined the faculty at San Francisco General Hospital as Adjunct Assistant Professor and in 1999 joined the faculty at Baylor College of Medicine. The primary objectives of Dr. Corry's research are to discover the fundamental immune and environmental causes of chronic human inflammatory diseases to improve the diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy of these often profoundly disabling conditions. Dr. Corry's laboratory discovered the seminal importance of the of the IL-4/IL-13 signaling pathway in asthma; the fundamental role that environmental and endogenous proteinases play in the pathogenesis of TH2-dependent allergic inflammation; the fibrinogen-Toll like receptor 4 interaction in the control of antifungal immunity and allergic inflammation; and the fungal infectious basis of allergic airway disease of humans, including chronic rhinosinusitis and asthma. In collaboration with Dr. Farrah Kheradmand, the Corry laboratory discovered the critical role that matrix metalloproteinases play in orchestrating allergic inflammation; first demonstrated the autoimmune TH1/TH17 basis of human emphysema; the critical roles that peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPAR-g) and osteopontin play in emphysema; and that the primary disease-causing factor in tobacco smoke-related emphysema is nanoparticulate carbon black. Dr. Corry's laboratory further pioneered the study of microRNAs (miRs) in pulmonary disease and discovered the pro-inflammatory role of let-7 miRs in experimental asthma and the critical role that miR-22 and histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4) play in organizing pathologic TH17 responses in experimental emphysema. Most recently, Dr. Corry's laboratory has discovered that low-grade fungal sepsis due to the yeast Candida albicans produces a durable cerebritis with features resembling Alzheimer's Disease. Current research in the Corry laboratory is directed at translating these discoveries into improved diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for human allergic, smoking-related, and degenerative central nervous system diseases. Dr. David Corry is a physician and professor at Baylor College of Medicine who joins the show to discuss allergies, fungal infections, immunology, and so much more. In this episode, you will discover: What the most common reason is for death in people who suffer from asthma How a fungal infection could actually be the underlying cause of your allergic reaction to allergens in the environment Where in the body mycobiomes can be found, and what type of conditions they have been linked to Ever since the early days of his training as a physician, Dr. David Corry gravitated toward a strong clinical interest in diseases of the lungs, and discovered one of the major problems facing pulmonologists today: textbook and even the most advanced treatments don't always work on some of the most common illnesses, including chronic sinusitis and asthma. Further, the more severe the disease, the less likely it is that treatment will work. This sparked Dr. Corry's interest and compelled him to examine what is really going on with these conditions and how diagnoses and treatments for them might be improved. Dr. Corry's clinic focuses on treating advanced, potentially life-threatening inflammatory airway diseases, as well as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or emphysema that are complicated by sensitization to pollens or molds, which in turn leads to a particular pattern of inflammation called eosinophilic bronchitis. By using techniques that have been developed over the course of ten years' worth of research using mouse models, Dr. Corry and his team have been targeting the core problem that underlies these different conditions. What might that problem be? This question leads him to explain one of the most important discoveries uncovered through his research, which is that in addition to continual exposure to an allergen such as pollen or cedar or mold, there is a factor that drives these allergies: airway mycosis, or the growth of mold in the airway. Dr. Corry explains what is really meant by the broad term "allergies" and the many different forms it can take in different people, how airway mycosis not only worsens but can also cause the symptoms of allergies, and how he treats his patients having been equipped with this knowledge. He also discusses the difficulty in prescribing antifungal medication, the presence of mycobiomes in the human body, and some of the most common sources of mold growth that you might not think of (and what to do about them). He shares the specifics of the research he and his team are currently conducting, which aims to determine why only a small percentage of people develop serious disorders related to airway mycosis. He explains his two-fold hypothesis and when they expect to have sufficient data on the matter. Tune in for all the details and visit https://www.bcm.edu/people-search/david-corry-19841 to learn more.

Integrative medical doctor Dana Cohen talks about the importance of hydration as well as some surprising nuances as discussed in her book Quench, which she coauthored with Gina Bria. She describes for listeners Why the ubiquitous eight-glasses-a-day is not an effective guideline and why; The ties between energy levels, brain sharpness, and hydration; and Some basic daily steps toward better hydration. Dr. Dana Cohan is a nationally-renowned integrative medical doctor with a multidisciplinary approach to her practice. She trained under Dr. Atkins and has been practicing for more than twenty years. She begins the podcast by recounting how few of her patients come in to her office feeling as if they hydrate enough. She feels that proper hydration is the single most important thing one can do to treat and prevent chronic illness. This along with Dr. Gerald Pollock's findings of a "fourth phase of water," were the impetus behind writing the book. She describes some of the ways just focusing on drinking lots of water leaves an individual behind in hydration, and believes many of us function in a place of low-grade dehydration. She says that one of first signs to look for is fatigue because hydration is a source of energy in the body. Hydration provides electrical energy and helps us store our energy better. But if we only focus on water, we can dilute our electrolytes and minerals. She explains ways to avoid this, including a daily regime that includes front-loading our water intake first thing as well as filling ourselves with water from foods like vegetables and fruit. She gets into more detail about what this looks like and other handy ways to hydrate, including certain movements. For more, her book Quench is available from multiple retailers.

Dr. Shepherd has worked in key areas like Botswana to address infectious diseases. He shares with listeners How HIV and TB are still tremendous problems in many parts of the world, Why the covid-19 shutdown has frozen many global treatment centers for infectious diseases like HIV and tuberculosis, and How tuberculosis stands as the top infectious disease killer in the world. Dr. James Shepherd is an infectious disease physician at Yale, New Haven hospital. For the past 20 years, he has advised and worked in TB and HIV global treatment programs. For example, he worked in Nigeria to roll out HIV treatment programs through the US-funded President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. He also ran the CDC's TB and HIV research program in Botswana to address HIV symptoms and curtail TB spread, which has one of the most severe TB and HIV co-epidemics in the world, and worked with the CDC WHO contingent in India, advising on their national TB program. He describes his work with governments and health issues in smaller countries, which have a lot more challenges. He comments that one has to get creative, adapt, and work around issues and prioritize because there isn't the luxury of picking and choosing. He adds that there's a lot of pragmatism: these parts of the world are limited by funds so they have to make very hard choices for their people. He also tells listeners about the covid-19 shutdown's effects on some of these programs, how the lack of PPE, resources, and the "cold chain" supply of vaccines and medicines are no longer reaching places like Botswana. He adds how they handled the covid-19 precautions very well from the start and have very limited cases, but are suffering from this lack of other needs met. Therefore, Dr. Shepherd expresses his concern for the near future of TB and HIV symptoms relief, prevention, and treatments as well as the lack of vaccines like measles. For more information on infectious diseases from a global perspective, he suggests seeing web pages from philanthropic organizations like the global health section of the Gates Foundation and the UK's Wellcome Foundation.

Dr. Mya Breitbart, Professor of Biological Oceanography at the University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, discusses marine microbes—microbes in the ocean, wastewater treatment, viruses, and her lab's current and past work. Breitbart earned her PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology at San Diego State University and a BS in Biological Sciences from Florida Institute of Technology. Podcast Points: An overview of bacteria and viruses How oceanographers take water samples for their research Methods for analyzing DNA viruses Dr. Breitbart discusses her lab's focus and objectives. As she explains, they use sequencing techniques to explore the diversity of viruses and bacteria. Specifically, Dr. Breitbart's lab's molecular techniques can be utilized to study the distribution, and ecological roles, of viruses and bacteria in a diverse range of varied environments. Her studies cover seawater, plants, animals, insects, coral reefs, zooplankton, stromatolites, reclaimed water, and more. While there is certainly a lot of interest in the larger species, etc. that inhabit our oceans, Dr. Breitbart and her team are keenly interested in the smaller things. As she explains, in every milliliter of sea water there are about one million bacteria and ten million viruses, so there's a lot to examine and study. She discusses bacteria and viruses' important roles in the carbon and nutrient cycles in the oceans, and explains that there is so much more to learn still, on top of what they already know. Dr. Breitbart discusses how bacteria adapt to different habitats. And she provides an overview of sampling procedures that oceanographers utilize, discussing the processes in detail. She explains how they can get specific with depths, capturing water samples at precisely the depth they want to study. She explains why viruses are harder to look at, one reason being is that they have such different types of genomes. And she expands upon how they can look at viruses in regard to pollution in the marine environment. Continuing, Dr. Breitbart discusses how their studies can provide insight into diseases that affect sea animals as well. And in regard to sequencing, she talks about single-stranded DNA viruses versus double-stranded, and the methods they've used to discover similarities and differences.

John M. Newsam, author, and CEO of Tioga Research, discusses skin in general, care for skin, and his work at Tioga Research. Podcast Points: An overview of transdermal drug delivery Active versus inactive ingredients Do enzymes break down proteins? — a focus on skin and products for the skin Newsam has provided his expertise in scientific and strategic consulting to multiple US Fortune500 companies, as well as early-phase biotech and materials companies around the globe, including the US, UK, and Korea. He has worked with notable government institutions such as IFP Energies Nouvelles, and he has been a respected member of many academic advisory committees. Newsam provides an overview of Tioga Research, their objectives in research, and overall mission. As he states, they are heavily involved in research and early development of formulations applied to the skin, including pharmaceutical (primary) as well as the beauty/skin care area as well. Newsam explains how 'active' ingredients are diffused into the skin in order to achieve the desired therapeutic benefit, and he talks about transdermal delivery of drugs, and why this method can be particularly useful. The research CEO provides an overview of active and inactive ingredients, and FDA-approved products. As he states, cocktails of molecules tend to work best for delivering the benefits to users. Newsam explains how they have worked to assemble a long list of safe compounds and mixtures, and databases of useful excipients (inactive substances). Continuing, Newsam delivers an overview of what manufacturers can claim regarding their products and the benefits they may provide. As he states, in theory, any claim of benefit should be supported by a scientific study, but the cosmetic industry is so large, with so many products on the market, it can be difficult to police every product that exists. Additionally, Newsam talks about other drugs, permeability, and how enzymes can degrade proteins. Newsam is a materials chemist by training, and he has authored in excess of 170 scientific publications. Visit these links to find out more about John M. Newsam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jnewsam/ https://www.researchgate.net/profile/John_Newsam https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=1fk9pdIAAAAJ&hl=en https://profiles.ucsd.edu/john.newsam https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_M._Newsam

Dr. Bility works with humanized mouse models to investigate infectious viruses like HIV. He explains his microbiology work by sharing with listeners The inspirational background for recapitulating human disease study with a new paradigm, How these humanized mouse models with human organ systems and immune systems are developed, and Their recent ability to control HIV in these mouse models that may enable vaccine development. Moses T. Bility, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology at the School of Public Health and the University of Pittsburgh. In this conversation he explains how Stephen Hawking's theory of model-dependent realism inspired his approach to studying infectious viruses. In an effort to rethink the paradigm that can explain and predict human disease in a more effective way, he works with rodent models that are humanized. He explains the technique for introducing human organ systems in mice, including the liver, hypothalamus, kidney capsule, skin, and the whole immune system. This realigns how a microbiology lab can analyze infectious viruses, from HIV to Covid-19. Dr. Bility describes his current investigation, namely in HIV interaction with macrophages and iron. Macrophages are multifunctional cells that play a role in maintaining tissue integrity and initiating an immune response. He describes how they developed a humanized mouse model with a human spleen and studied the model to see what allows the HIV virus to persist and how they could affect the virus. They had an exciting outcome, namely that they were able to control HIV in their mouse model. They now will do some machine learning and other studies to see how they can design a vaccine around their findings in terms of controlling the virus. For more, see his faculty page at https://publichealth.pitt.edu/home/directory/moses-bility.

Professor Bushman has been studying microbes since the early 80s and was involved in researching HIV pathogenesis, developing in vitro HIV integration that led to integration inhibitors for treatment. He shares interesting details about viruses with readers, such as Different types of retroviruses and which type are part of the human genome, The pathogenesis of some viruses and the variety of phages, and His recent study involving the development of a baby's microbiome and virome. Frederic Bushman, Ph.D., is the William Maul Measey Professor and Chair of Microbiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He shares with listeners how his own interest in the field developed and then begins by addressing ways we understand viruses as scientists consider efforts like gene therapy. For example, he explains that HIV integrates into the host cell, which is why it is so difficult to get rid of it. However, it does not act on the scale of endogenous retroviruses, which infect germ cells and expand into every bodily cell as we grow. He says that the human genome is composed of 8% viral genes from these viruses. The conversation then turns to the microbiome, virome, and bacteria phages and he reminds listeners of the vast number of viruses in the world. In fact, he talks of a "dark matter" existence level of viruses that researchers are just beginning to try and investigate. While the public may mainly hear about viruses in terms of pathogenesis and gene therapy, their involvement in our world and evolution is complex and far beyond these issues. He also talks about his findings about to be published in Nature. He and his team studied the development of a baby's microbiome and found that at birth, a baby is without bacterial colonists. He explains how the microbiome develops alongside integrative prophages. For prospective students wanting to enter the field, he suggests trying to formulate a question that's interesting, important, and answerable. To find out more, he suggests searching his name and the term "virome." In addition, his faculty page has links to some of his publications: https://www.med.upenn.edu/apps/faculty/index.php/g20001500/p2236488