Finding Genius Podcast

Catherine Freije and Cameron Myhrvold are working on a test for the Covid-19 virus that will provide faster results than what's currently in use. They explain Why more prevalent and faster testing is vital in fighting the virus, How the development of a CRISPR-based diagnostic test, which primarily uses a nasal swab collection, can provide faster results—from an hour to a half hour, and The mechanics of how this test actually works with the CRISPR process, Cas13, and reporter signaling, and how the general process has worked with other viral infections. Cameron Myhrvold is a postdoctoral fellow in the Sabeti Lab and Catherine Freije is a Ph.D. student in Harvard University's Program in Virology and is also working in the Sabeti Lab. These two virologists discuss an exciting step forward in rapid testing for the Covid-19 virus that involves CRISPR. First, they discuss some general concerns of understanding how long the virus may linger and when exactly we can know when someone is contagion-free. They explain that if we could test a lot of people more rapidly, it would be really helpful step forward. They tell listeners that their test is quantitative and can let you distinguish between infection levels that are really low or moderate versus high. They then explain the mechanics of the virus test: basically, they use a CRISPR process called Sherlock that picks a target with Cas13 and amplifies it for inspection through the cleaving process and reporter signaling. They explain that this general process has been used for other viral infections like the Zika virus and Dengue, but must be specified for Covid-19. They add that they are still in the optimization phase, getting the test to work as well as possible. However, the turnaround for use will likely be accelerated by the FDA. They address other concerns about testing for the virus and challenges they may face. For more, see the lab website: https://www.sabetilab.org/

Dr. John Knight helped oversee a global competition to produce a more affordable dialysis system. He discusses challenges that face users of dialysis, including the exorbitant cost that makes members of poorer countries more vulnerable to kidney disease deaths, the competition The George Institute set up to find a more cost-effective alternative, and the innovative result and how it may help people across the globe. Dr. John Knight is a Professorial Fellow of the Renal and Metabolic Division and Professor of Medicine at UNSW Sydney and is Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics and Child health at their Children's Hospital. He was in private practice for several years focusing on pediatric chronic kidney disease. He recently joined a non-profit medical research group called The George Institute for Global Health in Sydney. He describes their focus on questions about kidney treatment around the world including dialysis complications and chronic kidney disease: dialysis is highly successful but highly expensive. In most western countries, the community picks up the cost through taxes. The rest of the world can't afford that and many die from their kidney disease instead of receiving dialysis. Around 10 million world-wide need dialysis but only about 2.6 million are able to get it. Knight describes the global competition called the Affordable Dialysis Prize, which The George Institute organized with the following terms: inventors should invent a low cost dialysis that uses solar power, is portable, can purify water from any source, and costs less than $1000 to manufacture. Dr. Knight tells listeners about the winner, about the group called Ellen Medical Devices Party, Ltd., he created to manufacture it, and describes the next phase of making it available worldwide to address dialysis complications and chronic kidney disease. For more, see https://www.ellenmedical.com/, where viewers can sign up for a newsletter.

Debra and Miriam Aczel, wife and daughter of Amir D. Aczel, talk about goals of the foundation and what they've accomplished thus far. They tell listeners about Aczel's inspirations, including his childhood friendship with a ship's steward that led him on the path to mathematics and science research, The foundation's involvement with K-127, the earliest dated artifact that uses zero, and its place in Cambodia's history, and Future goals of the foundation, including partnerships with groups helping to contribute to upcoming generations participating in mathematics and science research. Debra G. Aczel, co-founder and co-director, and Miriam Aczel , co-director, talk about the Amir D. Aczel Foundation for Research. Miriam is also obtaining her PhD in London on environmental policy emphasizing global environmental change and climate science. In 2019, the Amir D. Aczel Foundation for Research held the "Symposium on the History of Mathematics: The Number Zero" in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Debra and Miriam talk about the symposium as they explain how the foundation lives up to the spirit of what Amir wanted to bring about in the world. They touch on the story of Finding Zero, Amir's love for all things math, and how he believed telling a good story was a vital way to reach people about math and science. His involvement with the k-127 artifact was substantial as he wrote about it as a key to understanding the zero symbol's origin in the region. The 2019 symposium prioritized this important history and Cambodian's place in the story. Miriam explains that the conference itself had two goals centered on sustainability: first, prioritizing the sustainability of relationships they were building between Cambodian mathematicians and world mathematicians; and second, substantiality through food and venue choices emphasizing global environmental change and climate science. For more and to contact the foundation, see its web site at https://amiraczel.org/

Shiraz Shah, a Senior Researcher at COPSAC, or Copenhagen's Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood, uses microbiology to track and analyze the viruses and corresponding health conditions in the two cohorts that the center follows. This podcast explores The types of data COPSAC is collecting about these children, Findings thus far from seemingly disparate types of data, from effects of fish oil to having a cat, and How a majority of viruses may, like bacteria, be beneficial to living beings and why. COPSAC currently is following two cohorts (or groups) of children with asthma, one born in 2000 and one born in 2010. The research center is trying to figure out why asthma occurs. Asthma is the most prevalent disease in children as well is the most common reason children see doctors and are being medicated. COPSAC is using microbiology and data analysis to understand why. Dr. Shah explains that the center is measuring everything that they can about these children, from when they started daycare to the food they eat to their respective genomes. The prevailing theory centers around the immune system attacking its own body and corresponding inflammation. Examples of single-study findings include one where mothers who take extra fish oil while pregnant have kids who were a third-less likely to develop asthma. He describes other similar findings but ultimately there's no overarching finding at this point. Dr. Shah also describes what microbiology can discover from collecting data on the viruses and bacteria present in these children as they try and understand if, in one example, asthma is really five different diseases with the same physical effect. He explains how viruses dominant our earth and each living organism. As our understanding of bacteria has evolved over the past several hundred years, he describes how our understanding of viruses is also changing and explains how intimately involved they are with human evolution. For more, see http://copsac.com/ and search Shiraz Shah's name in pubmed for his past work on CRISPR.

Assistant professor at the University of Copenhagen, Henrik Munch Roager, PhD, discusses a number of interesting topics in his area of expertise: the role of gut microbiota in nutrition and health. On this episode, you'll discover: What effect a Mediterranean diet vs meat-heavy diet has on the metabolites produced in the human gut How a small capsule can be designed to collect samples from specific regions throughout the human GI tract What Dr. Roager thinks might be at play in personalized responses to diet (i.e. why would one person's response to a diet differ from another person's response to the same diet?) When investigating the ways in which diet affects the microbiome, most scientists analyze the composition of microbes in the gut. Dr. Roager is moving beyond this by looking at the activity of microbes in the gut through metabolomics, the study of metabolites produced by the gut. In Dr. Roager's opinion, the study of these small molecules is key to moving the whole microbiome research field forward. His work is focused primarily on human intervention and cohort studies, where his task is to use mass spectrometry to measure the metabolites in stool, blood, and urine samples in order to detect changes or patterns that occur in correlation with dietary interventions. Dr. Roager shares the findings of past research, including a study that looked at the effect of a whole grain versus refined grain diet on the gut microbiome in overweight but otherwise relatively healthy Danish adults, as well as a Mediterranean diet intervention in which meats were largely replaced by nuts, fruits, and vegetables. He explains the challenge inherent in human intervention studies looking at gut microbiota and nutrition, what type of work is being done by other researchers in an attempt to noninvasively collect samples for analysis from different places in the GI tract, the important role of short chain fatty acids and other groups of metabolites in the human body, and his research goals for the near future, which include looking at personalized responses to diet and nutrition, as well as the gut microbiome in infants. Tune in for the full conversation and follow Dr. Roager on Twitter at @HRoager.

After turning from conventional medicine when it didn't offer answers to her health struggles, Cheryl Meyer discovered life-changing information in the functional medicine world. She explains to listeners her own story of autoimmune disease and how she researched her way out of pain, what testing and information functional medicine offered to help her understand what changes to make, and what are some fundamental ways to make similar changes in our own lives such as eating choices and reference sources. Author Cheryl Meyer was living a stressful lifestyle running a high-profile jewelry business. One day she woke up with bodily swelling and so much pain she couldn't get out of bed. She details this story and how she turned to her regular doctor whose only solution was steroids and therapy, a response indicative of what she describes as our broken healthcare system. After Cheryl turned elsewhere through research, she discovered the world of functional medicine. She then explains how testing revealed she had 18 food sensitives, a concept in functional medicine that conventional medicine doesn't explore in the same way. She goes into more detail about this testing and her various sensitives and how they led to damage to her gut over time called leaky gut syndrome. She describes how our bodies react to that leaking material, causing even more physical distress. Cheryl explores how understanding her autoimmune disease led to enough life alterations that she's now pain free. She then talks about coaching others through this process of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, acknowledging how yes, it is hard for people to deal with giving foods up but she says the payback is worth it. She reminds listeners how much better it is to reduce the pain and have so many healthy days. Cheryl believes our broken healthcare system is itself a symptom of our lack of understanding and attention to the toxins that surround us and the foods that are harming us. She is the author of the award-winning It Feels Good to Feel Good and will be publishing another book over the next month. For more information and to contact her about speaking or coaching, see https://cherylmhealthmuse.com/.

Professor and N. Neal Pike Scholar in Health and Disability Law at Boston University discusses viruses and the role of bacteria in viral pandemics. By tuning in, you will discover: How bacteria differ from viruses, and why antibiotics should not be taken by a person who only has a viral infection Why the number one safety feature in a hospital room is the toilet lid, and why public restrooms may need to be redone in light of the current coronavirus pandemic What types of non-traditional antibacterial therapies CARB-X is looking to support Over the past 15 years, Kevin Outterson has become increasingly interested in researching the market for antibiotics. Initially, he wanted to understand why patents weren't incentivizing highly effective antibiotics in the same way as other high-priced drugs in the system. About four years ago, he started working in a different yet related capacity in supporting the small companies that conduct potentially groundbreaking research on antibiotics that can effectively treat what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) consider the biggest bacterial risks to human health. Outterson currently serves as the executive director of Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X), which is a company that is focused on combating bacterial superbugs through novel technologies leading to cures, diagnostics, and prevention against bacterial infection. Outterson reminds listeners that many of those who have passed away from the coronavirus fell ill to secondary bacterial pneumonia, and that each year 33,000 people die from drug-resistant bacterial infections. In light of this, he emphasizes the need to attack disease transmission on multiple levels. He discusses the cleanliness and safety of even the best hospitals in the country, and what needs to be done in order to limit infection. Outterson also mentions a few of the most common sources of bacterial infection, as well as one that was seen primarily in veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan who had been injured in explosive events. He explains the difference between viruses and bacteria, the ways in which a person's immune system can be suppressed (making them more susceptible to infection), how phage therapy works, and so much more.

CEO of KORE Power, Lindsay Gorril, discusses renewable and electrical energy storage systems and technology. On this episode, you will learn the following: Why the energy cost per kilowatt-hour per user has increased in California despite billions of dollars having been spent on solar energy What impact the current global pandemic has had on energy supply and demand What KORE Power plans to accomplish in the next few months, which includes global integration of their products KORE Power has been around for three years, and has been in communication with global companies for about a year. The main goal is to become the leading developer of high-density, high-voltage energy storage solutions for global utility, industrial, and mission-critical markets. As a cell manufacturer, the team at KORE Power produces lithium ion cells and places them into modules which can then be placed in small energy storage platforms or used in massive peaker plants. In essence, these batteries store any excess or what would otherwise be wasted energy so that it can be used at times of low energy production or peak usage times. In turn, this not only makes solar grids and renewables more efficient, but also limits the amount of time the peaker plants are being run, which reduces greenhouse gasses and lowers the environmental impact. Gorril discusses how the coronavirus pandemic has affected the supply and demand for energy, and how it has shed light on the need for and usefulness of more energy storage to alleviate certain challenges. He also explains why cost has historically been one of the greatest constraints on the technology now being developed by KORE Power, a recycling plan for the batteries they produce, how KORE's technology can be delivered to and used in remote locations where power lines are not connected to large areas or by FEMA during global disasters, the three main parts of a battery and the technology behind the development of such high-density and high-voltage systems, and more. Tune in and learn more at https://korepower.com/.

This podcast explores how researchers are working on generating blood from a patient's skin cells for optimal stem cells therapy. When you listen, you'll learn How blood stem cells are produced in our own body and reside in bone marrow before responding to signals to form progenitor cells that will differentiate, What steps Dr. Sugimura is taking to create Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (IPS), and What ingredients are still missing from these IPS cells and how Dr. Sugimura thinks they will be able to solve these issues. Rio Sugimura is a Research Fellow at Boston Children's Hospital with the Daley Lab working on producing lab-grown blood. First he explains our body's process for making blood, detailing the importance of bone marrow as the home for blood stem cells that generate all types of blood cells in our body. Along the way, he explains the benefits of gene editing and different means of stem cells therapy. Specifically, he is using skin cells instead of bone marrow to generate blood stem cells. He explains the challenges this process presents compared to our natural system and provides two essential categories in which the IPS cells lack the same efficacy. Specifically, these lab-generated IPS cells lack components of genetic regulators that tell the cells how to behave and also lack the environmental benefit a home of bone marrow provides. However, he is working on solutions for these issues, including efforts toward manufacturing bone marrow organoids. He finishes by explaining the next steps in developing and testing how these cells will work in bodies and how this exploration works in tandem with benefits of gene editing. For more, Google his name for papers, see the Daley Lab website, and find him on Twitter as @RioSugimura.

Graduate student Dr. Ayanna Jones is studying the complex rhizosphere surrounding plant root structures. In this podcast, you'll learn The nature of the rhizosphere, a coating-like zone in the soil surrounding plant roots with various interactions between the plant itself, bacteria, and other microorganisms, Roles of these rhizosphere microorganisms in serving the plant's needs such as responding to wounds, and Applications for these findings that show the importance of plant health, from climate change protections to managing lack of crop space. Dr. Ayanna Jones is a chemistry PhD student and is bringing systems chemistry to her work at Emory with a focus on rhizosphere microorganisms. She describes the rhizosphere as a very unique zone with all kinds of interactions including channels where these microorganisms can move about. Some are associated with wounding processes, for example, that help repair the plant. She explains that studying the rhizosphere is important because it allows scientist to better understand how plants regulate behavior at these wounded and non-wounded sites and heal and protect themselves. When a plant is wounded or torn, the act ignites a response from the plant just like humans respond to a wound with certain biological processes such as a release of white blood cells. Dr. Jones is looking at kinetic models of wounded versus non-wounded sites specifically with monocot plants such as sorghum because they offer a simpler model for study. She describes the various strengths of this research approach and elaborates on what they can learn, such as the behavior of a pathogen's ability to wound a plant and how a plant may defend itself. Such findings will lead to healthier plants and better crop production. For more including related publications, see https://www.lynnlabemory.com/.