Finding Genius Podcast

Creon Levit, Director R&D, Planet Labs, provides an interesting overview of the advanced satellites that are being launched to help us better understand and monitor our planet. Levit is a seasoned scientific expert. As an award-winning research scientist of the NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley for 33 years, he was a leader and manager of many advanced projects that combined new techniques in scientific computing, machine learning, and complex graphics, to find solutions for crucial NASA problems. Levit discusses his background and his current mission at Planet Labs, where they build, launch, and operate the world's largest constellation of satellites to make changes on Earth more visible and actionable. As he states, Planet Labs has launched over 300 satellites to date, though approximately only half of those are still in orbit currently. Many that were simply launched for testing have now re-entered the atmosphere and burned up. Levit explains their high-resolution satellites, discussing what they image and how they gather data. The research scientist talks about medium resolution satellites that image the Earth in visible, and near-infrared colors. He explains their resolution and quality level. Levit discusses their data set in regard to climate change, and he expounds upon their data that many environmental researchers access to further studies in multiple areas, such as climate, ice flow, species diversity, land use, and much more. The Planet Labs scientific expert provides an overview of some, particularly interesting use cases. He describes one specific use of their daily data that delivers valuable information to ranchers, informing them about the optimum stage of grass development for ruminate animals to graze. By utilizing this data, ranchers can manage grass health and animal health simultaneously. Additionally, Levit talks about the value of infrared and the many amazing things it can help researchers learn and differentiate. He explains spectral bands and elaborates on the detection of gases, specifically the tracking of environmentally-relevant gases.

As the president of Coughlin Associates, Thomas Coughlin is a widely-respected digital storage analyst and business and tech consultant with over 35 years' worth of experience in the data storage engineering industry. He also has six patents under his name and is the author of Digital Storage in Consumer Electronics: The Essential Guide. On today's episode, he discusses the future of digital storage technology, which may very well lie in the strands of synthetic DNA. He explains that DNA can store a high density of information, with a potential capacity 1,000 times greater than what's currently achievable with modern storage technology like hard drives. He explains what it will take to get there, the challenges that must be overcome, and a rough timeframe for when DNA-based data storage could become commercialized and mainstream. In addition, Coughlin talks about a number of fascinating topics, including the work being done towards using microfluidic silicon matrices as storage devices, technology obsolescence, neuromorphic computing, brain to electronics interfaces, artificial telepathy, deepfake technology, and the legal and ethical implications of these emerging capabilities. Tune in for all the details, including info about an August 29th conference on emerging memories and AI. To learn more about Coughlin's work, visit tomcoughlin.com and feel free to email him at tom@tomcoughlin.com.

There's a lot of research being done on the human genome, but less so on the genome of parasites. For a number of reasons, including their surprising and impressive ability to avoid attack by the human immune system, understanding more about how parasites function and behave could prove useful in preventing and treating the human diseases they cause. Dr. Richard McCulloch from the University of Glasgow joins the podcast to explain the ins and out of the research that's being done in his lab. He and his team are looking at two different parasites, both of which enter their host via the bites of sand flies, and both of which cause disease. Once in the host's bloodstream, however, these parasites behave very differently. In what ways do they behave differently, and what advantages are conferred to the parasite as a result of each behavior? How do they avoid attack from the human immune system on a seeming indefinite basis? And in what way do they utilize pseudogenes? These are just a few of the questions explored by Dr. Richard McCulloch—both in his lab and on today's episode. Press play to hear the full conversation and learn more about his work by visiting https://www.gla.ac.uk/researchinstitutes/iii/staff/richardmcculloch/#/researchinterests.

Nicole Hynson, Associate Professor, Pacific Biosciences Research Center, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, delivers an impressive overview of the fascinating research she and her team are conducting at Hynson Lab. Hynson heads the Hynson Lab for Community Ecology that is located in the Department of Botany at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. The lab's primary focus is the ecology of plant and fungal communities, with a particular interest in the symbiosis that exists between plants and fungi, which is known as mycorrhizae. Since 2012 her lab has been digging deep into the science of fungi. Their diverse laboratory group is comprised of advanced scientists with backgrounds in varying fields from ecology and evolution to physiology and computational biology. Hynson details the work they do in her lab, studying the interactions fungi have with other organisms, specifically—plants. She discusses the symbiotic interactions of fungi over time. Additionally, Hynson discusses how different capacities are required to gain nutrients, detailing the function of fungi in the symbiotic relationship with plants, in which fungi assisted plants to transition from a water growth environment to soil. In exchange, the plants provided the fungi with carbon to complete their lifecycle—a truly symbiotic exchange. The fungi expert and Ph.D. talk about the complexities of microbial symbiosis, explaining the intricate interactions that could take place between bacteria, fungi, plants, etc. As Hynson states, her job, as she sees it, is to untangle these interactions—to understand the role that they play, and how the interactions can change depending on the environmental context. Hynson says that one of her lab's goals is to use these microorganisms, specifically fungi, in restoration and conservation practices. Hynson elaborates on the other areas of great interest in regard to fungi, such as increasing crop yield, sustaining resources, and limiting the need for fertilizers. Hynson continues with her discussion of how nutrients are transferred to hosts and how competition and diversity impact the processes. Hynson received her Ph.D. in 2010 from the University of California Berkeley and worked extensively in the Bruns Lab. And she was a vital postdoctoral researcher in the well-known lab of Prof. Kathleen Treseder at the University of California Irvine.

As both a gastroenterologist and internist, Dr. Samantha Nazareth has become an expert and go-to resource for anything that has to do with our gut and the bugs that live within it. On today's episode, she talks about a number of interesting topics, including the most common complaints she receives from her patients, what leads to heartburn, stomach ulcers, bloating, internal bleeding, and how to go about treating or preventing some of these things, how sugar intake, neuropathy, and gut health are interconnected, how the gastrointestinal system communicates with the brain, probiotics, and a number of questions about the microbiome, including whether research is being done on a part of the microbiome that will provide a sufficient snapshot of an individual, whether or not there is a "normal" microbiome, and how further research on the microbiome could lead to an unprecedented level of personalized medicine that could take us a step away from pharmaceuticals. To read articles on these topics written by Dr. Nazareth or to contact her clinic, visit drsamnazareth.com

Plants: they add color and oxygen to our world, they release self-protective chemicals in response to the presence of pathogens, and they grow toward the sun. We know that plants are intelligent in the sense that they can adapt to their environment, but in what other ways might we be able to say that they are intelligent? Do they exhibit anticipatory behaviors? Are they goal-oriented? What does it mean in general to say that a living system is intelligent? These are the questions that Paco Calvo from the Minimal Intelligence Lab is exploring. And while he's more concerned with the acquisition of data rather than the ability to draw definitive conclusions, the work he's doing in the lab is revealing new and surprising information about plant growth and development. "We miss most of what plants do…these sophisticated behaviors…we simply miss them because of the timescale of observation…. when you slow down the scale of observation to the timescale of their behavior, then you are able to start unearthing some patterns which are really interesting," says Calvo. In order to do that in the lab, they're time-lapsing plant growth and development by taking pictures every one to five minutes and then assembling all of the footage after a few days. They've been taking this approach for over two years now, and while the data they're gathering is exciting, Calvo emphasizes the importance of considering all alternatives and never losing sight of the human tendency to anthropomorphize what we see and to commit confirmation biases. He details the experiments they're doing on three plant models in the lab, discusses the results they've gotten so far, and touches on the running hypothesis that at least some plants exhibit evidence of endogenous control over their behavior. Tune in for the details, and learn more about this work by visiting https://www.um.es/web/minimal-intelligence-lab/.

Keith Hengen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, delivers an interesting overview of his research and what it could bode for understanding disease development. Hengen discusses his self-described "wandering" path to get to the area of his current research. He outlines some context to explain the kinds of research he delves into. Hengen provides an overview of brain function, in regard to some of its processing. As he explains, the brain is not crystallized or 'locked in' and our synapses are responding to various experiences all throughout the day. Change is occurring rapidly and yet the final outcome at the end of the day so to speak is incredibly stable. We think a myriad of thoughts and learn things, but the foundation of who we are remains stable. He explains how our continuous narrative, our identity remains steadfast and firm, in spite of millions of interactions and inputs, and constant learning/changes. The brain is computationally stable, and this is one way our brains differ from artificial neural networks. Hengen's neuroscience laboratory at Washington University focuses on the investigation of the role of sleep and wake in chaperoning various interactions between specific and distinct plasticity mechanisms. Hengen recounts some of his experiences in the lab and some of the findings that have come forth during their research. He goes into detail about particular experimentation, discussing findings regarding cortex issues in healthy mice, discussing the organizational processes, and criticality. He explains how networks of neurons work, and how information is encoded. Hengen details how there are many variances to the same neural responses to the same stimulus. Neurons are not always predictable. While you can make predictions and averages, variances produce invariant behavior. And diseases can develop when there are variances. Hengen's lab's primary area of research and interests are based in the self-organization of select intact neural networks that support functions such as sensation, perception, and cognition, and how information transmission within these important systems is established during the development process, and ultimately disrupted in disease.

Brett Younginger, postdoctoral researcher at Washington State University, discusses the fascinating research into plant tissue and diversity. As a postdoctoral researcher, Younginger is interested in investigating the diversity and function of fungal endophytes, fungi that live in plant tissue without causing any symptoms of disease. Younginger talks about his interest in plants, his background, and his current focus. As a lifetime lover of plants, Younginger was fascinated with farming and the natural world. Starting with an undergraduate degree in biology, he advanced his study to plant microbial symbiosis. Younginger explains the areas of research they delve into currently, studying the symbiotic relationships some plants have with bacteria in the soil in which they grow. Remarkably, plants they study are able to convert nitrogen in the atmosphere into a plant useable form—essentially fertilizer. Younginger describes his work with fungal endophytes, and the bacterial issues he is researching. The postdoctoral researcher explains how nitrogen is dispersed when it is deposited in the soil. Continuing, he talks about 'partner choice' the process that plants and bacteria undergo in order to associate with different strains of nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Younginger explains how communities exist within the soil, and how nodules vary in size and shape, with variations in position and the bacteria that is present. Root nodules, specifically, are located on the roots of plants, mostly legumes, that form a coordinated symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, and with the precise nitrogen-limiting conditions, some plants can form a symbiotic relationship with host-specific strains of certain bacteria. Additionally, Younginger describes how applied science works in a practical sense. As Younginger explains, he is most interested in the processes that impact the patterns we see occurring in nature. And as new knowledge is gathered, Younginger hopes to see more progress toward combatting critical soil erosion and water pollution problems.

I realized that in medicine…we essentially treat symptoms; we have a sick-care system instead of a healthcare system," says Elizabeth Parrish, CEO of BioViva. It was her son's diagnosis and experience receiving treatment for type 1 diabetes that compelled her to learn more about childhood diseases, risks, prevention, experimental medicine, and stem cell regenerative medicine. She explains how effective cell type technologies and regenerative medicine can be at curing a multitude of childhood diseases while at the same time targeting one of the greatest unmet needs: treatment for diseases of biological aging, including cancer, heart disease, organ failure, and Alzheimer's. Among the regenerative therapies being explored is polymerase induction, which causes telomere extension for combating diseases of aging while at the same time treating progeria, a childhood disease known to cause "accelerated aging." Parrish discusses the details of all this and more, including the foundation of BioViva in 2015, her personal experience undergoing two gene therapies, and the global impact that this technology could have on the world. Learn more about the BioViva mission by visiting https://bioviva-science.com/.

Imagine walking down the streets of Durham, England and coming upon a cathedral—not just any ordinary cathedral, but one of the oldest in the world, with images depicting the history of the Universe and the evolution of human understanding of the Universe projected upon its walls. Dr. Richard G. Bower, professor at Durham University, was a member of the team who made this awe-inspiring piece of artwork a reality. But how did they do it? On today's episode, Dr. Bower explains how he and his team have programmed a digital universe that nearly mirrors what we observe of the actual Universe. With the use of the laws of physics in terms of mathematical equations and the theory of the Big Bang, and by teaching the computer program to understand how stars, galaxies, and even black holes might be formed, they've not only created a digital universe, but embedded a camera inside that universe to see what it would be like to live inside of it and look out through the lens of a telescope. This provides an unprecedented way to compare observations of the Universe to a universe programmed to follow the scientific laws by which we currently understand it. Tune in for a fascinating conversation and visit https://community.dur.ac.uk/r.g.bower/WordPressSite/blog/wordpress/ for more.