University of California Audio Podcasts (Audio)

RNA binding proteins help cells control how genetic information becomes working proteins, and Gene Yeo, Ph. D., M.B.A., at UC San Diego investigates how their disruption contributes to neurodegenerative disease. Yeo focuses on ALS, a severe motor neuron disease in which the RNA binding protein TDP-43 moves from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, loses normal RNA processing functions, and triggers crypt...

Aging is the leading risk factor for cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and heart disease, and Robert A.J. Signer, Ph. D., studies how aging stem cells shape pre-cancer and healthspan. As deputy director of the Sanford Stem Cell Discovery Center, Signer focuses on rare blood-forming stem cells that self-renew, generate all blood and immune cells, and normally sustain more than 35 trillion blood cells,...

Humans live in a world of ideas—born in the brain, shared through language, accumulated in culture across generations, and made reality. Professor Alysson Muotri, UC San Diego Departments of Pediatrics and Cellular and Molecular Medicine, examines how human brain evolution reflects the interplay between genetic innovation and environmental pressures, focusing on Neuro-oncological ventral antigen 1...

How can Tai Chi be medicine? Sunny Pak, MD, MPH, shares simple movements that steady the mind, strengthen the body, and enhance qi flow. Series: "UCSF Honoring Origins of Mindfulness Series" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41317]

UC San Diego’s Division of Extended Studies broadens the university’s public impact by connecting campus expertise to the evolving needs of people and workplaces. Dean Hugo Villar, Ph. D., M.B.A., describes a mission centered on lifelong learning that helps individuals build skills, pursue new opportunities, and stay adaptable as work and technology change. He explains how the division develops ap...

If you love seafood, you’re not alone — but every bite comes from a complex and fragile marine ecosystem. To keep our ocean ecosystems thriving and our seafood resources abundant, we need a deeper scientific understanding of how they function. Colleen Petrik, a professor of oceanography at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography, talks about her work studying the changing ecosystem of t...

Why did Grandma ask you to drink that soup? Herbalist Yvonne Lau invites you to uncover the hidden secrets and timeless wisdom of Chinese herbs. Series: "UCSF Honoring Origins of Mindfulness Series" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41316]

A common model of AI suggests that there is a single measure of intelligence, often called AGI, and that AI systems are agents who can possess more or less of this intelligence. Cognitive science, in contrast, suggests that there are multiple forms of intelligence and that these intelligences trade-off against each other and have a distinctive developmental profile and evolutionary history. Exploi...

Families with disabled students often face extra out-of-pocket costs—costs they wouldn’t have if their child weren’t disabled—to secure the same education other students receive for free, yet tax relief for those expenses is limited and unclear. Garret Hoff, J.D., argues that Internal Revenue Code Section 213 and its interpretations reflect a time when disabled people were not viewed as worth publ...

How did Chinese herbs take root in America? Join herbalist Yvonne Lau as she explores the resilience and healing wisdom carried across oceans and generations. Series: "UCSF Honoring Origins of Mindfulness Series" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41315]

Balancing caregiving and career, Elizabeth Jalazo, M.D. traces how her daughter Evelyn’s early feeding challenges and later diagnosis of Angelman syndrome reshape her priorities and professional path. Jalazo describes barriers many families face in rare-disease diagnosis, including a “wait and see” approach, specialist access, and insurance denials, and she emphasizes the value of answers for comm...

Contemporary populism is almost everywhere; a right wing phenomena that focuses on a politics of white working class grievance. A set of grievances that are to be addressed, when in power, with policies of expulsion, exclusion, and domination. Attempts by liberal states to deal with such movements paradoxically rely on a similar politics of exclusion, such as building so-called firewalls against t...

How can five flavors come together in one simple dish? Chef Martin Yan, M.S., brings his signature warmth and practical style to a fresh look at steamed fish, showing how Eastern and Western influences can work in harmony. Best known for Yan Can Cook and Martin Yan’s Healthy Kitchen, Yan explains why steamed fish is a longtime favorite in Chinese home cooking and restaurants, then adds his own twi...

The extractive linear economy and policies focused on endless growth have produced unparalleled socioeconomic inequality and the climate crisis. Communities around the world are calling for new economic models that are regenerative towards people, place, and ecosystems. Ancestral ʻŌiwi (indigenous Hawaiian) economic systems were built around people's relationships and understandings of wai (water)...

Dramatic advances in ancient DNA technologies have revolutionized our understanding of the human past. As part of the CARTA symposium on Ancient DNA, the panelists answer questions about the diverse applications of archaeogenomics in shaping not only a new vision of the human past, but also in creating a greater understanding of the present and our shared human future. Series: "CARTA - Center for...

Genetic data is transforming the understanding of our own species and refining historical chapters at different scales around the globe. However, despite the globalization of biotechnologies to analyze the human genome, indigenous populations from the Americas and Oceania remain underrepresented in large-scale genomic studies. Andrés Moreno-Estrada, Cinvestav, discusses recent efforts to character...

How are Indigenous communities in the U.S. facing challenges to their ways of life in the current political moment? Focusing on questions concerning repatriation, land access, education, and diverse forms of sovereignty, our panelists explore the intersection of Indigenous religious traditions and law. The discussion begins at the regional level, with specific reference to Chumash contexts, and th...

Large-scale optimization and machine learning shape modern data science, and Courtney Paquette, Ph. D., McGill University, studies how to design and analyze algorithms for large-scale optimization problems motivated by applications and data science. Paquette draws on probability, complexity theory, and convex and non-smooth optimization, and examines scaling limits of stochastic algorithms. Speaki...

The human genetic history of South Asia has been shaped by its pivotal location at the crossroads of East and West Eurasia, dramatic landscapes such as the Himalayas, and longstanding socio-cultural practices like endogamy. A consequence is the diversity of East and West Eurasian genetic ancestral lineages found in South Asians today. Maanasa Raghavan, professor at the University of Chicago, expla...

In an era of rapid political change, shifting global alliances, and deepening partisan divides, the Helen Edison Lecture Series is honored to welcome Ambassador Jeff Flake, former U.S. Senator from Arizona, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, and author of "Conscience of a Conservative: A Rejection of Destructive Politics and a Return to Principle." Flake explores the challenges and opportunities of democr...

Stem cell science is reshaping treatment for complex disorders of the brain and spinal cord. Researchers develop cell based therapies to replace lost dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson’s disease, fill gaps across spinal cord injuries, and calm seizure networks in refractory epilepsy by restoring the balance of inhibition and excitation. Teams test immune cell therapies against Epstein Barr virus in...

Ancient DNA has revolutionized the study of the human past, providing unprecedented insights into ancient migrations and interactions among populations. Central Asia, due to its geographic location between Europe and Asia, has seen experienced diverse human and hominin migrations, which have been a focus of genetic, archaeological, linguistic, and historical research. Ainash Childebayeva, professo...

We’re surrounded by digital devices — from phones and tablets to streaming platforms and social media. In this excerpt, Kristy Hamilton, Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at UCSB, shares findings on how cognitive self-esteem can change if a person is using a personal mobile device. Series: "GRIT Talks" [Science] [Show ID: 41214]

Over the past decade, archaeogenetics has analyzed more than 15,000 ancient genomes spanning 45,000 years of western Eurasian prehistory, uncovering dozens of migrations that reshaped Europe. Johannes Krause, Max Planck Institute, traces the earliest, unsuccessful attempts of modern humans to settle Europe after leaving Africa around 50,000 years ago, when they also interbred with Neandertals. Kra...

Dramatic advances in ancient DNA technologies have revolutionized our understanding of the human past. Since the publication of the first ancient human genomes in 2010, the field of archaeogenomics has grown at an astonishing pace, and today the genomes of more than 10,000 ancient humans have been sequenced. Kicking off this symposium are CARTA Co-Director and Salk Institute President Jerry Joyce...