The Life Sci Fantastic

For an idea to travel from a university laboratory to a patient's bedside is long and difficult. In this special double-header, Eliot sits down with two people who see that journey from opposite ends of the table. First, Professor Chas Bountra, former Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Innovation at the University of Oxford, explains how Oxford rewired its own culture to become the UK's most producti...

Most of the advice that genuinely helps you live longer is free, simple, and a little boring. That is probably why so few people follow it. That idea sits at the heart of this episode. Host Dr Eliot Forster sits down with Dr James McIlroy – a qualified medical doctor, founder and CEO of the Aberdeen microbiome company EnteroBiotix, and host of the gut-health podcast Inside Matters. Together they s...

We're not just raising children in a digital world – we're all living in it. In part two of this conversation, Eliot turns the lens around and asks Dr. Michael Rich what a lifetime of screens means for the rest of us: the adults negotiating the relentless pull of smartphones, social media, and now AI companions that tap straight into our emotional circuitry. Dr. Michael Rich – paediatricia...

What is happening to our children's brains as they grow up with a supercomputer in their pocket? In part one of this two-part conversation, Eliot sits down with Dr. Michael Rich – paediatrician at Boston Children's Hospital, associate professor at Harvard Medical School, and the man known to many as "The Mediatrician." Michael's path is unlike most doctors'. Before medici...

What if the next breakthrough in liver disease comes from an algorithm rather than a lab bench? In this episode, Eliot sits down with Dr. Quin Wills, clinician, geneticist, and co-founder and CEO of Ochre Bio, an Oxford-based biotech using AI to tackle chronic liver disease. In this episode we unpack what AI actually is (and isn't), how it's being used to discover new medicines, and why liver dise...

What does it actually feel like to live with ADHD – and what does the science say about why? In this episode, Eliot chats with Dr. James Brown: neuroscientist, author, and co-host of the ADHD Adults Podcast. Diagnosed with ADHD at 45, James brings both scientific rigour and lived experience to one of the most misunderstood neurological conditions of our time. They explore the biology behind ADHD,...

In this bonus episode, which concludes the first series of the ‘Life Sci Fantastic’, Eliot steps back from examining the science of biotech to look at the business of this rapidly developing industry. Eliot asks, what is driving those entrepreneurs to bring new treatments to patients, and what are the financial challenges in bringing these drugs to market?    Answering those questions is Bill Hick...

Across the world, people can now expect to live longer. These advances are thanks to better sanitation, vaccination, access to food and healthcare. But aging inevitably involves decline in many of our biological functions, making people more susceptible to disease. What - if anything - can be done to address the underlying mechanisms of aging to both prevent and treat illness? Can aging be ‘cured’...

In an age of rapid technological development in medical science, how does a new treatment come about? What is the process by which it goes from the mind of the scientist at the laboratory bench to the patient’s bedside? In this episode Eliot meets someone who has travelled that path.  Simon Westbrook is the founder of Levicept - a company that has developed a breakthrough medicine for osteoarthrit...

Cells are the basic buildings blocks of living organisms and are the smallest unit of life that can exist on their own. But what differentiates a healthy cell by from one that is harmful to our bodies?    In this episode Eliot finds out how new scientific developments are enabling cells to be used as a potentially powerful tool to fight disease. He meets Harpreet Singh who is the CEO of a company...

In this episode Eliot explores the little understood world of microbes and bacteria that live inside all of us. Collectively they are called the microbiome, and its well-being is something that is vital to our health. New research is now opening up the possibility of using these bugs as drugs to address a range of diseases.    To find out more Eliot meets two fascinating individuals, Trevor Lawley...

In this episode Eliot continues to look at cancer, and how science is offering new and promising treatments for this all-too-common disease. There is a far greater understanding now of how cancer arises, how it progresses, and how new treatments can be used to turn cancer against itself.    Dr Alise Reicin is a doctor and drug developer who is on the frontline of developing new medicines. In her c...

Cancer is sadly very common. In the UK, one in two adults will get cancer during the course of their lifetime. Despite being familiar to many, there are still big gaps in our understanding of why and how the disease occurs. But in recent years there have been considerable advances in our knowledge of cancer and its potential treatments.    In this episode of the Life Sci Fantastic, Eliot speaks to...

What is gene editing, how can it be used, and should we be concerned about the science that can alter the basic building blocks of our biology?    In this episode Eliot Forster is joined by Ness Bermingham , scientist, business leader, and presenter of the 'Between the Biotech Waves' podcast to explore an often misunderstood aspect of the science of our bodies.    Eliot will hear how gene editing...

In this episode Eliot asks: what are vaccines, and how do they work? To answer this question, he speaks to Tony de Fougerelles , who was vital in developing the COVID-19 vaccine, and has spent decades hunting for new medicines and treatments for different illnesses. In this episode, he explains how new scientific developments are bringing effective treatments more rapidly than ever before. Tony al...

Find out about the Life Sciences - the science of our bodies and the breakthroughs that are changing our lives on this exciting new series. Presented by Eliot Forster , a scientist and entrepreneur, this series will explain and demystify the exciting developments that are bringing fresh treatments to some old and new diseases.