Science Diction

What happens when the cells of the nervous system, which are called neurons, die? As approximately 86 billion of these cells are found in the brain, spinal cord, and throughout the body, their failure can be devastating. On this episode, we discuss how our nervous system functions like an electrical grid, nature's impact on the nervous systems of the living and the unborn, and where you might firs...

Generic pharmaceuticals make up nine out of every 10 prescriptions in the United States and in 2025 drugs for COPD, hypertension, high cholesterol, cancer, and many other disease conditions have expiring patents, so can be produced as generics. These drugs are as effective and work the same as the name brands, but typically cost consumers significantly less. On this episode, we discuss how they're...

There are potentially billions of different types of bacteria, which are found almost everywhere. Some are friends while others are foes. For the few microbes that have the potential to make you sick, you can try to kill them with an antimicrobial cleaner or soap, or an antibiotic. But those that survive may actually become stronger. In this episode, we discuss the threat presented by antimicrobia...

New pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, and fungi are emerging at an unprecedented rate and spreading faster than ever before. This makes the ability to detect these threats – even unknown ones – more critical than ever. In this episode, we discuss how agnostic detection methods translate customer needs into panel design, their importance in pandemic preparedness, and the trade-offs associated...

Chemicals are all around us, from the foods we eat to flame retardants in the carpet. But how do we know that they're safe? In this episode with Dr. Kristin Aillon, we discuss the data that supports public health, whether eliminating risk is possible, and how researchers keep up with an estimated 2,000 new chemicals that are introduced each year.      

The majority of synthetic opioid overdose deaths in 2023 were due to one drug – fentanyl. On this episode, we discuss why it's so potent, the scale of the problem, and how MRIGlobal is helping first responders do their job safely and effectively when putting themselves in harm's way.

Research scientists are putting CRISPR gene editing to work in agriculture, diagnostics, disease therapeutics, and even in the fight against climate change. Dr. Julie Lucas offers insight into why ensuring its responsible use is critical and how it may help us find new pathogens before they impact human health.

Sleep is an incredibly important process that involves multiple states and stages, each with different functions for health. It is also not a single homogeneous state, but a period that involves the complex interplay of neurotransmitter systems and physiological processes. Dr. Ian Colrain shares his expertise on its complexity and the impacts of sleep deprivation, being a teenager, and even alcoho...

Infectious diseases can emerge from anywhere in the world, and when they do, it's critical that officials are prepared with detection and diagnostic methods for use in environments that have space, time, and resource constraints. Jennifer Stone shares with us how field forward detection and diagnostic devices are developed and their role in providing care to remote communities around the world.

Have you ever swabbed inside your nose and used that sample to help diagnose if you have the flu or COVID-19? Or maybe you peed on a pregnancy test. The technology that makes those and other diagnostic tests like them possible is rooted in chemistry. Dr. Karen Peltier shares with us how the pandemic helped improve access to diagnostics and the chemistry that provides you an accurate diagnosis.

Picture this: a toolkit of standardized genetic components, a canvas of principles borrowed from engineering, and the artistry of constructing biological systems with unprecedented functions. Molecular biologist Richard Winegar, Ph. D., shares expertise on synthetic biology, the diseases it may help defeat, and how it is changing the landscape of diagnostics, biosecurity, and food security.

On the warfront or home front, chemical weapons are a threat. Working with government and commercial customers, we specialize in evaluating equipment to detect, decontaminate, and mitigate these threats. Our Cristina Youngren tells us about her interest in Novichok, what SLUDGEM means, and why it's so important to do our job well.  

You are host to the deadliest viruses in the world. Researcher Kristin Bates offers insight into bacteriophages, how they are such effective killers of bacteria, why they could be so effective in field-forward settings, and how they could one day serve as an alternative or complementary treatment to antibiotics.

Gene therapies, immune modulators, cell therapies and monoclonal antibodies, and even some vaccines are biologics. They are critically important in treating diseases that presently have no other treatments available. As an analytical chemist, Dr. Rachel Ginther oversees drug product development and has a personal interest in these targeted treatment approaches

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, tuberculosis was the leading infectious disease killer in the world. The pandemic then had a devastating impact on the diagnosis, treatment, and research of tuberculosis. And through it all, Erin Merritt and her team continue leading efforts to eradicate this disease.

Live attenuated vaccines, a technology that has existed for more than 100 years, can be uniquely suited to protect against particular diseases. Virologist and immunologist Dr. Christopher Weiss shares his expertise on why diseases like COVID-19 and chikungunya are good candidates for this vaccine technology and how it can help strengthen a future pandemic response.

Vaccines are developed and administered to prime an immune response that either prevents or lessens disease severity when a microorganism is encountered in the future. As a virologist and immunologist, Dr. Christopher Weiss offers insight into the benefits of live attenuated vaccines, which generate a long-lasting response in combatting today's recurrent and emerging disease threats.

Before therapeutic pharmaceuticals go into clinical trial to ensure their safety, they must be received from the manufacturer and precisely stored and managed and then shipped to their destination for use in that trial. As director of pharmaceutical sciences at MRIGlobal, Dr. Jon White leads a team that facilitates this critical step of the supply chain.

Dr. Luca Popescu is a veterinarian turned global infectious disease expert who is focused on testing medical countermeasures like vaccines and therapeutics in response to infectious diseases. We spoke with him about the history of MRNA vaccines, why they've been so critically important to the COVID response, and what's next for their use in supporting global health.