Science Society

In this episode, we delve deep into the world of cognitive control with Dr. Fradkin as we discuss how people deal with unwanted thoughts. Although much research has been focused on external interferences, we shift the focus to internal, unwanted thoughts, examining the balance between reactive and proactive control in mitigating these. We discuss how reactive thought control entails slower respons...

In this episode, we welcome Dr. Lanna, who sheds light on a novel mechanism of T-cell rejuvenation that could significantly impact our understanding of immune protection. Traditionally, it's thought that T lymphocytes activate telomerase to avoid senescence. However, Dr. Lanna introduces us to a distinct process independent of telomerase action, where certain T cells, primarily naive and central m...

Join us in this thought-provoking episode with Dr. Dumas, where we explore the fascinating world of the developing brain and its cognitive abilities. Dr. Dumas presents a neurocomputational model of the developing brain, outlining three tasks of increasing complexity, from visual recognition to cognitive manipulation and conscious percept management. She emphasizes two crucial mechanisms in the de...

Join us in a stimulating conversation with Dr. Frank as we explore the concept of intelligence on a planetary scale. Shifting away from conventional views of intelligence as a property of individuals or collectives, Dr. Frank introduces the intriguing idea that the emergence of technological intelligence could be seen as a planetary transition. Drawing parallels with theories about the origin of l...

This episode presents a captivating discussion with James Weiss on his team's significant findings in the diverse world of microbes. Despite many microbial species escaping detection due to their low numbers or dormancy, Weiss's team has discovered the extraordinarily rare ciliate, Legendrea loyezae Fauré-Fremiet, 1908, in freshwater anoxic sediments. This discovery represents the sixth account of...

In this episode, Dr. Oliver shares his team's groundbreaking work on the use of a gallium-aluminum (Ga-Al) composite to enhance the formation of aluminum nanoparticles and facilitate water splitting to generate hydrogen at ambient conditions. He discusses how this Ga-Al composite can be synthesized using commercial aluminum, including post-consumer aluminum foil, eliminating the need for an inert...

In this enlightening episode, we are joined by acclaimed scientist Dr. Ed Boyden, a pioneer in the field of neuroscience. Dr. Boyden discusses the suite of tools his team is developing to map the location and identity of the molecular building blocks of biological systems like the brain, aiming to understand how their structures lead to function and dysfunction. He details the technology of expans...

In this riveting episode, Dr. Brujic delves into the fascinating world of particle self-assembly. We discuss a groundbreaking model system of colloidal droplet chains that leverage programmable DNA interactions to direct their folding into distinct geometries. As Dr. Brujic explains, it is possible to watch these droplets in real time and space, enabling researchers to unravel the rules of folding...

Dr. Hergenrother joins us in this episode to discuss his groundbreaking work on developing antibiotics for challenging Gram-negative bacterial infections. He delves into the difficulties of creating drugs that can effectively bypass the formidable outer membrane and efflux pumps of Gram-negative pathogens to reach biological targets. A key point in our conversation revolves around the enzyme FabI...

In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Guerra, whose innovative work involves the exploration of in situ resource utilization (ISRU) on Mars using non-thermal plasmas and conducting membranes. Dr. Guerra discusses how plasmas can convert different molecules directly from the Martian atmosphere to create essential feed-stock and base chemicals for producing fuels, oxygen, building materials, and fer...

Join us in this episode as we host Dr. McCracken, a leading figure in kidney regenerative medicine. Dr. McCracken shares his team's remarkable findings in the directed differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) into functional ureteric and collecting duct (CD) epithelia, which is a pivotal step in the field of kidney regenerative medicine. We begin our discussion by understanding how...

Join us for an enlightening episode featuring Dr. Miller, who shares his research focusing on the impact of mitochondrial DNA variants, particularly mitochondrial SNP rs2853499, on Alzheimer's Disease (AD), neuroimaging, and transcriptomics. Dr. Miller's team successfully mapped this SNP to a new mitochondrial small open reading frame called SHMOOSE, which has the potential to encode a microprotei...

Title: Revolutionizing Neuroscience: Wireless, Battery-free Optofluidics with Dr. Wu Description: On this episode, we're delighted to host Dr. Wu, who is at the forefront of developing innovative solutions for controlling neuronal activity in neuroscience research. His groundbreaking work centers on in vivo optogenetics and photopharmacology, techniques with vast potential but limited applicabilit...

In this episode, we dive deep into the mysteries of ancient Chinese bronze casting with our esteemed guests, Dr. Liu and Professor Pollard. The duo brings to light an intriguing aspect of archaeological research—understanding ancient alloying practices, key to the mass production of Chinese bronzes. Our discussion centers around the Rites of Zhou, an Eastern Zhou text which has perplexed researche...

In this episode, we're exploring the fascinating intersection of nanotechnology and biology with Dr. Boghossian, who has been delving into the remarkable properties and potential of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) for cell nanobiotechnology. Our discussion revolves around Dr. Boghossian's groundbreaking work examining the uptake of SWCNTs in Gram-negative cyanobacteria. Her research uncove...

Social touch is an integral part of communication among many species, yet understanding the underlying pathways and mechanisms remains an intricate challenge. In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Dobolyi, whose research has brought new light to this fascinating area. Dr. Dobolyi's study revolves around the discovery of a novel neuronal pathway from the posterior intralaminar thalamic nucleus (PIL...

Monitoring the release of neurotransmitters at spatial and temporal scales relevant to neuron function has always been a scientific challenge. This episode welcomes Dr. Beyene, who has developed an innovative solution to improve our understanding of chemical neurotransmission. Dr. Beyene's groundbreaking research revolves around a chemi-sensitive, two-dimensional composite nanofilm that allows for...

In this riveting episode, we delve into the intricacies of glioblastoma, a devastating and incurable type of brain tumor, with Dr. Varun Venkataramani. A key focus of the discussion centers around his groundbreaking research on tumor cell networks and the surprising influence of neuronal mechanisms on glioblastoma cell invasion. Dr. Venkataramani's team discovered that certain glioblastoma cells l...

In this episode, we explore how groundbreaking scientific advancements are providing solutions to prevent injury to the cardiac conduction system (CCS) during heart surgeries, a critical yet elusive network of cells embedded within the heart. Our guest, Dr. Goodyer, is leading the charge in this domain. Dr. Goodyer's team has engineered targeted antibody-dye conjugates that specifically bind to th...

In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Howard Salis, who has been pioneering research on the complex mechanisms governing transcription rates in bacteria. The focus of our discussion is his team's recent breakthrough in predicting site-specific transcription initiation rates for any σ70 promoter sequence in bacteria. A critical challenge in the field has been understanding how non-canonical sequenc...

This episode presents a fascinating conversation with Dr. Orly Lazarov about her groundbreaking research on Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and the pivotal role of hippocampal neurogenesis in memory deficits observed in this condition. The recruitment of new, immature neurons into the memory "engram" or storage, which is essential for hippocampus-dependent tasks, is significantly deficient in familial Al...

In this episode, we have the pleasure of talking with Dr. Helena Florindo, an innovator in the field of cancer immunotherapy. Our conversation revolves around her recent work focused on identifying novel small molecules that can modulate the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)/PD-ligand 1 (PD-L1) interaction, which has shown exciting clinical outcomes in diverse human cancers. While monoclonal...

Join us for an exciting discussion with Valtteri Wikström, who delves into the intriguing world of inter-brain synchronization during online gameplay. By using EEG hyperscanning, Wikström and his team investigated cooperative performance during real-time online two-player gameplay, where participants were physically isolated and communicated solely through on-screen actions. The results of the stu...

Join us for a fascinating conversation with Nik Kornder, MSc, as he enlightens us on the rather surprising self-cleaning mechanisms of the Caribbean tube sponge, Aplysina archeri. Contrary to common assumptions, these sponges actively move particle-trapping mucus against the direction of their internal water flow. This mucus-embedded waste is then expelled into the surrounding water through period...

Step into the intriguing realm of quantum technology with Dr. Serrano as he sheds light on the phenomenal properties of rare-earth ions (REIs). These solid-state systems hold great promise in building light–matter interfaces at the quantum level, thanks to their capacity for narrow optical and spin homogeneous linewidths, resulting in long-lived quantum states. In our conversation, Dr. Serrano exp...