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BONUS: Why Your Organization Is Still a Factory — And What an Octopus Can Teach You About Transformation Phil Le-Brun and Dr. Jana Werner both work inside Amazon, advising Fortune 500 leaders on transformation. But before Amazon, they spent decades in the trenches — Phil as International CIO of McDonald's, Jana leading change in banking and logistics. Together they wrote The Octopus Organization (HBR Press) to explain why most companies are still running on a hundred-year-old factory model, and what the alternative looks like. "We Want to Help You Make Your Own New Interesting Mistakes" "We keep saying, as Phil likes to say, can we help you make your own new interesting mistakes and avoid the mistakes that we see again and again." Jana and Phil are both practitioners who have led large-scale changes — and made mistakes they're now happy to share. Jana describes working with incredible, smart, thoughtful people inside large organizations who weren't trusted, weren't allowed to do the work they could do, and couldn't be their best selves. She managed to turn teams considered underperforming into rock stars simply by listening and giving them space. Phil saw the same pattern at McDonald's — incredible people who knew the answers but weren't allowed to act on them. A disastrous standardization push from 2002 to 2004 taught him that top-down efficiency mandates don't work. The CEO left, and Phil got the opportunity to tap into people lower in the organization, define a common mission, and start building from there. The Factory Model Nobody Questions "There was no upside for her people taking ownership because you could have career-limiting effects if you made a mistake, if you were seen to be making a mistake or overstepping." Jana shared two sides of the same problem. A CEO of a large investment company told her he has to sign off on every small decision — and his people assume he wants to. Neither side wants this, but nobody questions the processes in place. On the other side, a COO told Jana "my people don't want ownership." After half an hour of coaching, the COO realized there was no upside for her people to take ownership — mistakes meant career-limiting consequences. Jana is honest about her own experience too: a team member told her she was micromanaging, and she denied it. They created a secret signal — scratching an ear in meetings whenever she micromanaged. He was scratching a lot. Phil adds that what he calls "yoga babble" — abstractions like "we're going to become an agile platform-based culture" — lets leaders avoid saying what they actually mean. Nobody challenges it because the boss said it, and it sounds sort of right. The result: completely meaningless direction. The Octopus — Distributed Intelligence in Practice "It has two thirds of its intelligence, its neurons, in its arms. The arms connect independently — they don't always need a central brain, but they also have one, so they can stay aligned but also work independently." The octopus has distributed neural clusters in each arm. It can adapt, shape-shift, change the texture of its skin, and even alter its RNA to switch between cold and hot water within hours. For Jana and Phil, this is the organizational metaphor: teams that can think locally and act without waiting for permission from the center, while staying aligned on mission. Phil translates this for team leaders of 8-10 people inside traditional enterprises: Put together teams with cognitive diversity and encourage constructive conflict — what Linda Hill at Harvard Business School calls "creative abrasion" Invest in the storming, norming, performing cycle instead of cutting through it Leave the "how" to the team — the leader's job is the "why" and the "what" Don't jump to the answer — Einstein said if you have an hour to solve a problem, spend 55 minutes understanding the problem Start executing quickly through rapid experimentation; you can't plan your way to success in novel situations Don't Build the Pedestal — The Monkey Comes First "Get to the most tricky problems first, and try and solve them. If you can't, figure out fast — and if you can't, just stop, because your whole project is useless." Astro Teller, CEO of Alphabet X's Moonshot Labs, says: "If you want to teach a monkey on a pedestal to recite Shakespeare, don't start by building the pedestal." Jana explains that organizations, once they get a project through the gauntlet of approvals and business cases, start working on the easy, visible things to show progress — the pedestal. But if you can't get the monkey to speak, the pedestal is useless. The counterintuitive move: when passionate people dispassionately tell you the hard problem isn't solvable, give them hugs, put them on a pedestal themselves, give them bonuses — because they just freed up resources for something better. Phil reinforces that this isn't a money problem. At McDonald's, before building a handheld order-taking device, they built a block of wood to test how comfortable it was to hold. Organizations waste far more money trying to plan for things they can't possibly plan for than they would by running quick experiments. Single-Threaded Leaders — The Pig at Breakfast "Who's that person waking up every morning saying, are we actually putting the focus on the things that are going to get us to the finish line of delivering value — not within my function, but across the organization?" Phil tells the classic joke: a pig and chicken are walking down the road. The chicken says "let's open a restaurant." The pig asks what they'll sell. "Ham and eggs, of course," says the chicken. The pig stops: "I need to be far more committed than you." Organizations are full of chickens — people who lay their half-baked decisions, want to sign off, want to say no. What's needed are pigs. Amazon calls them single-threaded leaders. Apple calls them directly responsible individuals. The key: one person owns an initiative end to end, waking up every morning focused on delivering value across the organization, not just within their function. Mow the Lawn — Bureaucracy Grows While You Sleep "Your bureaucracy grows while you sleep. Think about your bureaucracy like mowing a lawn. You can't mow a lawn once." Jana references Parkinson's Law — a senior Royal Navy leader found that even as the fleet shrank, the number of administrators grew by 5-10% annually. This applies to every organization. Middle managers fill their time by adding processes. One person's mistake becomes a process that penalizes 10,000 people. The solution is continuous gardening. At Google, a senior leader added positive friction: if you want more than 5 interviews in the hiring process, you need my approval. At Amazon, the principle "invent and simplify" asks everyone every year: what are we simplifying? The simplification work has to come from those closest to the problems — most leaders don't know half of what people are actually doing. Innovation Belongs to Everyone — Not a Lab "Psychological safety — it's not even a prefrontal cortex thing, it's not a conscious thought, it's that fight-or-flight reaction you have in the moment." Phil makes the case that innovation starts with psychological safety at the team level, not an organization-wide mandate. It's the team leader asking questions, being humble, responding to disagreement with "tell me more" instead of "I don't agree." It means celebrating intelligent failures — someone who tested a hypothesis, found it didn't work, and stopped. At Amazon town halls, executives open by making fun of Amazon's failures, like the Fire Phone. The message: if you're thinking big, you'll also fail. The Fire Phone didn't work, but it informed future hardware investments. The only true failure is not learning from experimentation. Phil and Jana both emphasize that once leaders experience what happens when people are truly freed to do their best work, they get addicted to it. About Phil Le-Brun and Dr. Jana Werner Phil Le-Brun is the former International CIO of McDonald's and now leads the AWS Executives in Residence team, advising Fortune 500 leaders on transformation. Dr. Jana Werner is an Executive in Residence at AWS who built their EMEA transformation practice after leading digital change in financial services. Together they wrote The Octopus Organization: A Guide to Thriving in a World of Continuous Transformation (HBR Press). You can link with Phil Le-Brun on LinkedIn and Jana Werner on LinkedIn. Book site: theoctopusorganization.com Book on Amazon: The Octopus Organization
SUMMARY DEL SHOW Futuros en verde con el mercado comprando más esperanza de acuerdo entre EE. UU. e Irán. La posible reapertura de Ormuz y alivio de sanciones petroleras presionan el crudo a la baja y reducen parte del miedo inflacionario. $SPCX fija su IPO en $135 por acción, levanta cerca de $75 Billones y alcanza una valoración cercana a $1.77 Trillones, convirtiéndose en una prueba clave para mega IPOs de tecnología, espacio e inteligencia artificial. $NVDA estaría ofreciendo CPUs Vera a clientes en China. $SHEL firma acuerdos con Venezuela para proyectos de gas y petróleo. $NVS avanza con datos positivos en una terapia RNA para una enfermedad neuromuscular rara.
One of the most surprising and remarkable discoveries in recent scientific history has been CRISPR. Short for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, CRISPR is a form of immune system that evolved in bacteria more than a billion years ago to defend against persistent viral threats. Under attack, bacteria can snip a small fragment of a virus's DNA, store it in the CRISPR region of their genome, and then use it to recognize and destroy the same virus if it returns. The CRISPR-Cas9 system, to give it its longer name, consists of a short strand of guide RNA that identifies where to cut the DNA and a protein that acts as the molecular scissors. What made this system truly revolutionary was the demonstration in 2012 that it could be reprogrammed with different pieces of guide RNA to edit virtually any genome in any species, and at a level of precision and ease that far surpassed existing gene-editing tools. Since then, the editing capability of CRISPR has been tested on everything from developing disease treatments to engineering drought-resistant crops to resurrecting genes of extinct species. The possibilities have expanded so rapidly that researchers, ethicists, and regulators have found themselves struggling to keep up. One person acutely aware of the power of CRISPR is Jennifer Doudna, co-developer of the technology. Doudna, who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020 with Emmanuelle Charpentier for this pioneering work, has been a prominent voice not only for its vast potential but also for its responsible and ethical use. In this episode of The Joy of Why, Doudna tells co-host Janna Levin how her early, “rebellious,” decision to study RNA led her on a serendipitous path to one of biology's most transformative discoveries. They also discuss the breakthroughs, barriers, and frontiers that will define CRISPR's true impact.
In 2011, Stéphane Bancel walked away from the security of leading a 6,000-person diagnostics company to join a startup of about 50 people, built on an idea most scientists had dismissed: that messenger RNA could become medicine. Almost everyone told him not to do it. He gave the bet roughly a five percent chance. Nine years later, that same bet helped the world face a pandemic in 63 days.Stéphane Bancel is the Chief Executive Officer of Moderna. Under his leadership the company designed a COVID-19 vaccine on a computer within days of the genetic sequence being posted, delivered the first dose to a human just 63 days later, and scaled from zero manufacturing to a billion doses in twelve months. Today Moderna is building personalized cancer vaccines and using AI to reinvent how medicines are discovered and made.This conversation sits right at the heart of what I believe about leadership. That the chief executive is really the chief energy officer. That the boldest decisions are rarely about appetite for risk, they are about the asymmetry between what you could give the world and what you could actually lose. Stéphane lives both, and he is refreshingly honest about the storms, the doubts and the mistakes along the way.In our conversation, we explore: → The five percent bet: how he weighed an enormous upside against a manageable downside, and why his wife was the only one who said yes → What sailing without GPS taught him about staying calm when the storm hits, and why a storm always passes → The 63-day sprint, and the Sunday phone call that saved the manufacturing of a billion doses → Why he slowed a trial down so it would be a vaccine for the world, not a vaccine for white people → The future he sees: personalized cancer vaccines, the human body mapped in silico, and why he calls chemotherapy tomorrow's barbaric history“I still believe that we have not invented yet our best drug.” Stéphane Bancel, CEO of ModernaIf you have ever faced a decision that everyone around you called too risky, this one is about how to think, and how to stay calm, when you choose to leap anyway.
BUFFALO, NY — June 10, 2026 — A new #research paper was #published in Volume 18 of Aging on May 18, 2026, titled “Transcriptional programs diverge in aging mouse and human skeletal muscle.” The study was led by co-first authors Charles D. Hwang and Siti Rahmayanti and corresponding author Indranil Sinha from Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard University. Aging is widely associated with the gradual loss of muscle mass, strength, and physical function. Much of what scientists know about these changes comes from studies in laboratory mice, which are frequently used to investigate the biological mechanisms of aging and to identify potential therapeutic targets. However, an important question remains: how closely do aging-related changes in mouse muscle reflect what actually occurs in humans? To address this question, researchers performed a detailed comparison of gene expression patterns in skeletal muscle from young and old mice and humans. The team analyzed RNA sequencing data from mouse gastrocnemius muscle and compared it with transcriptomic data from healthy young and older adults obtained through the National Institute on Aging's GESTALT study. The results revealed substantial differences between the two species. Despite both mice and humans experiencing age-related muscle decline, fewer than 5% of significantly altered biological pathways were shared between them. Many of the genetic programs that changed with aging in mice showed little resemblance to those observed in human skeletal muscle. Full press release - https://aging-us.net/2026/06/10/aging-muscle-follows-different-genetic-programs-in-mice-and-humans/ DOI - https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.206382 Corresponding author - Indranil Sinha - isinha@bwh.harvard.edu Abstract video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYKh4X1w8H0 Sign up for free Altmetric alerts about this article - https://aging.altmetric.com/details/email_updates?id=10.18632%2Faging.206382 Subscribe for free publication alerts from Aging - https://www.aging-us.com/subscribe-to-toc-alerts Keywords - hypoxia, angiogenesis, aging, skeletal muscle, regeneration To learn more about the journal, please visit https://www.Aging-US.com and connect with us on social media at: Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/aging-us.bsky.social ResearchGate - https://www.researchgate.net/journal/Aging-1945-4589 X - https://twitter.com/AgingJrnl Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AgingUS/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/agingjrnl/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aging/ Reddit - https://www.reddit.com/user/AgingUS/ Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/AgingUS/ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Aging-US Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1X4HQQgegjReaf6Mozn6Mc MEDIA@IMPACTJOURNALS.COM
For years, an indeterminate thyroid biopsy meant diagnostic surgery but molecular testing is now changing that reality entirely. On this episode of the BackTable ENT podcast, Dr. Ashley Agan interviews endocrinologist Dr. Erik Alexander about how molecular testing and a systematic, layered approach to thyroid nodule evaluation are reducing diagnostic surgeries and enabling more individualized patient care. --- Get the BackTable apphttps://www.backtable.com/app --- This podcast is supported by Veracytehttps://www.veracyte.com/ --- Timestamps 00:00 - Introduction02:48 - Incidence, Presentation, and Workup of Thyroid Nodules 06:26 - Hormonal Impact and Indications for FNA 10:49 - FNA workflow and Bethesda Categories 16:10 - Role of Molecular Testing for Indeterminate Nodules19:59 - Evolution of Molecular Testing and Afirma 23:51 - Basics of DNA based Testing and RNA based Testing 28:34 - Comparing DNA based and RNA Based Testing 32:10 - Utility of Molecular Testing and Sampling Techniques 35:55 - Cost Coverage and Practical Limits39:20 - Clinical Implications and Future Impact42:00 - Final Takeaways --- More about this episode Together they walk through the full evaluation pathway, including ultrasound risk stratification using the TI-RADS criteria, the role of TSH testing, and how FNA indications have shifted from biopsying every solid nodule to a more selective, risk-adapted approach. The discussion covers the Bethesda classification system and addresses why the one-third of patients landing in indeterminate categories (Bethesda III, IV, and V) have historically been the most challenging and most overtreated group. The conversation then explores molecular diagnostics as an additional layer of risk assessment, highlighting key differences between DNA-based mutation panels and RNA-based expression classifiers. Dr. Alexander also discusses practical considerations like insurance coverage, sampling technique, turnaround time, and the future potential of molecular testing to move beyond diagnosis toward individualized prognosis. --- Resources American College of Radiology: TI-Rads Guidelines https://edge.sitecorecloud.io/americancoldf5f-acrorgf92a-productioncb02-3650/media/ACR/Files/RADS/TI-RADS/TI-RADS-Assessment-Categories.pdf American Thyroid Association - Nodule Guidelineshttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4739132/ Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Ctyopathology https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK278969/table/thyroid-nod-canc-eld.T.bethesda_system_f/ --- BackTable ENT & Allergy is the go-to podcast for otolaryngologists, allergists, and head and neck surgeons. Download the free BackTable app to get early access to new episodes, cases, and courses curated by physicians in your specialty. ► https://www.backtable.com/app
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Tyler Menichiello, chief editor at Bioprocess Online, host of the Better Biopharma podcast, and my Life Science Connect (LSC) colleague, convenes the broader LSC editorial team once again for a midyear discussion on what's happening now in the life sciences industry, and what's to come in the second half of the year. Topics include AI manufacturing regulations and navigating supply chain pressures, outsourcing trends and onshoring, biotech market signals and IPOs, clinical development's slow shift to digitization, the move toward organoids and non-animal models (NAMs) in discovery, RNA modality growing pains, and more. Access this and hundreds of episodes of the Business of Biotech videocast under the Business of Biotech tab at lifescienceleader.com. Subscribe to our monthly Business of Biotech newsletter. Get in touch with guest and topic suggestions: ben.comer@lifescienceleader.comFind Ben Comer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/
Scientists had long been exploring RNA technology as a way to make vaccines before it had it's breakout appearance during the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, interest in the potential uses of RNA to make vaccines and disease treatments has bloomed. In late 2023 a government-funded platform began work to enhance New Zealand's capacity to design and make RNA. Three years in, how is the platform going? Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Learn more:RNA interference (RNAi) technology is being investigated to help honey bees fight off the varroa mite.US based Dyne Therapeutics conducted a clinical trial study of their RNA-based therapeutic for myotonic dystrophy in New Zealand.Our Changing World covered how the new RNA vaccine tech works in 2021.Dr Lisa Connor spoke to RNZ's health reporter Ruth Hill last August after the US made funding cuts to their RNA vaccine research.Guests:Dr Lisa Connor, Malaghan Institute of Medical ResearchDr Rebecca McKenzie, Malaghan Institute of Medical ResearchGo to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Good morning from Pharma Daily: the podcast that brings you the most important developments in the pharmaceutical and biotech world. Today, we delve into a series of significant advancements shaping the landscape of our industry. As technology continues to redefine traditional paradigms, the collaboration between Pfizer and Chai Discovery exemplifies this trend. By harnessing artificial intelligence, particularly through custom models like Chai-3, this partnership aims to revolutionize drug discovery. The integration of AI promises not only to accelerate the identification of biologics and antibodies but also to optimize resource allocation in research and development. Such technological integration could pave the way for an enhanced pipeline of innovative treatments, marking a transformative shift in how therapeutic candidates are developed. In the realm of regulatory developments, Lupin's Ranluspec has recently received FDA approval as an interchangeable biosimilar targeting VEGF-A for various retinal conditions. This move underscores the importance of biosimilars in providing cost-effective alternatives to expensive biologics, thereby expanding patient access to essential treatments for conditions like macular degeneration. Additionally, the MHRA's marketing authorization for Aujemflu, an adjuvanted trivalent influenza vaccine for adults aged 50 and over, reflects ongoing efforts to bolster protection against infectious diseases among vulnerable populations. Clinical trial advancements continue to highlight significant progress in therapeutic development. Otsuka Pharmaceuticals' Phase 3 data on Voyxact has shown promising stabilization of kidney function in patients with Immunoglobulin A nephropathy. This protein therapy targets autoimmune pathways, offering new hope for managing this chronic kidney condition. Similarly, Autobahn Therapeutics' Elunetirom has advanced to a pivotal trial following Phase 2 success in treating bipolar depression. This showcases the potential of small molecule therapies targeting thyroid hormone receptors. Meanwhile, Hikma Pharmaceuticals' victory in a landmark patent case regarding skinny labels marks an important development in pharmaceutical intellectual property rights. The unanimous Supreme Court ruling against Amarin supports the legitimacy of using skinny labels to market generic versions of drugs for non-patented indications. This decision could enhance market competition and drive down healthcare costs, setting a precedent for future intellectual property disputes. On the business front, strategic partnerships and mergers continue to shape industry dynamics. Gilead Sciences' acquisition of Ouro Medicines for $1.675 billion strengthens its autoimmune inflammation pipeline. This transaction exemplifies how major deals are reshaping therapeutic portfolios in response to growing demand for treatments targeting rare diseases. Financially, Solix Pharmaceuticals' success in raising $71 million to advance its siRNA pipeline across multiple therapeutic areas demonstrates investor confidence in RNA-based therapeutics as a promising frontier for innovative treatments. Conversely, challenges persist as evidenced by Takeda's $2.5 billion legal provision over an antitrust case related to Amitiza, underscoring ongoing financial risks associated with litigation in the pharmaceutical sector. Corporate restructuring also signals shifts within the industry landscape. Fulcrum Therapeutics' decision to lay off 85% of its workforce following the discontinuation of its sickle cell disease candidate highlights the volatility and high stakes inherent in drug development. Overall, these developments illustrate a dynamic landscape where scientific innovation is propelled by AI-driven approaches and strategic collaborations while regulatory victories and financial maneuvers shape market dynamics. These trends have profound implications for patient care by potentially accelerating the availability of novel therapies and fostering a competitive environment that drives down costs. As we look ahead, stakeholders must navigate these complexities effectively to harness opportunities and address challenges within this rapidly evolving industry landscape. The ability to adapt and capitalize on emerging trends will be crucial as these sectors continue to evolve, ultimately enhancing patient care and advancing therapeutic frontiers globally. Thank you for joining us today on Pharma Daily; stay tuned for more insights into the ever-changing world of pharmaceuticals and biotech.Support the show
The 365 Days of Astronomy, the daily podcast of the International Year of Astronomy 2009
Dr. Al Grauer hosts. Dr. Albert D. Grauer ( @Nmcanopus ) is an observational asteroid hunting astronomer. Dr. Grauer retired from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2006. travelersinthenight.org From February 2026. Today's 2 topics: - In April 2029 on one of the luckiest Friday the 13th in human history the 1,500 ft by 500 ft asteroid Apophis will pass within 23,600 miles of the Earth's surface traveling at some 4.6 mi/s. This is extremely fortunate since an Apophis impact would release the energy of scores of nuclear weapons and cause wide spread devastation. NASA's OSIRIS-APEX will become the companion of the potentially hazardous asteroid Apophis on 5 June 2029. - On Earth living things are everywhere from the deepest ocean depths to the highest mountain tops. On our home planet RNA (Ribonucleic Acid) is a complex essential molecule involved in the process of translating genetic information into the working components of living cells. In a recent paper in the peer reviewed scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Yuta Hirakawa and his team of two coauthors report on their experiments to produce RNA under conditions similar to those which may have occurred in the early history of Earth and Mars. We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs. Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too! Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations. Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org.
AI Unraveled: Latest AI News & Trends, Master GPT, Gemini, Generative AI, LLMs, Prompting, GPT Store
Good morning from Pharma Daily: the podcast that brings you the most important developments in the pharmaceutical and biotech world. Today, we delve into the evolving landscape of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, where scientific advancements, regulatory updates, and strategic business decisions are reshaping the future. A significant development in this dynamic arena is the strategic withdrawal by Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim from planned investments in Germany. Both companies have decided to cut at least $1 billion each from their investments, a direct response to Germany's healthcare reforms targeting reduced branded drug prices. This decision highlights how governmental policy can significantly influence pharmaceutical investment strategies, prompting companies to be more cautious in markets with strict pricing controls. Another critical area of focus is clinical trials, where ADC Therapeutics has encountered a significant challenge. The company's antibody-drug conjugate, Zynlonta, which was granted accelerated FDA approval in 2021, recently reported three times as many deaths in its study arm compared to the control group. This raises important questions about the safety profile of antibody-drug conjugates, a class of drugs celebrated for their potential in targeted cancer therapy. The situation underscores the ongoing struggle to balance efficacy with safety in innovative cancer treatments. Regulatory oversight remains a pivotal aspect of the industry. The FDA recently issued a warning letter to Medline over recurring issues with toxic bacteria in finished products, emphasizing the critical need for compliance and safety within the medical device sector. Additionally, an untitled letter was sent to QOL Medical for potentially misleading promotional communications regarding Sucraid. Such actions demonstrate the FDA's vigilance in monitoring marketing practices that could mislead healthcare providers or patients. In drug approval news, AbbVie's Qulipta and Amgen's Imdelltra have secured approvals in Europe. These milestones are part of a broader strategy by pharmaceutical companies to expand geographically and enhance product portfolios through new indications. Meanwhile, Axsome Therapeutics successfully defended its narcolepsy medication Sunosi against generic competition until 2040 by settling patent litigation with a prospective generic manufacturer. This move reflects the intense patent battles common in the industry to extend product lifecycles and maintain market exclusivity. Turning to geopolitical influences, there is heightened scrutiny on China's biotech sector following calls from U.S. lawmakers for increased oversight. The potential application of the Comprehensive Outbound Investment National Security Act to Chinese biotech investments signals escalating tensions and could significantly impact international collaborations and investments. This reflects growing concerns over intellectual property protection and biotechnological advancements within international trade dynamics. In financial developments, Parabilis Medicines is preparing for an IPO with aims to raise $476 million to fund Phase 3 trials of its desmoid tumor drug candidate. This move illustrates continued investor interest in oncology innovations despite broader economic uncertainties. On the scientific front, Autobahn Therapeutics is making strides with its thyroid hormone receptor stimulator, showing efficacy in reducing depression symptoms in bipolar disorder during Phase 2 trials. This success paves the way for pivotal trials and highlights how hormone mimics can offer new therapeutic avenues for neuropsychiatric disorders. Meanwhile, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals has entered into a groundbreaking $2 billion agreement with Inceptive Nucleics to incorporate artificial intelligence into small interfering RNA design. By leveraging AI-driven methodologies, Alnylam aims to enhance precision and efficacy in siRNA therapies, potentially speeding up drug discovery processes. Operational challenges are also evident as companies navigate complex markets like Japan, underscoring the importance of integrating regulatory and strategic planning early on to mitigate risks and ensure market feasibility. These developments paint a vivid picture of a vibrant pharmaceutical and biotech landscape where scientific innovation is rapidly advancing alongside strategic partnerships and regulatory oversight. Breakthrough technologies such as AI-driven drug design hold promise for more targeted therapies while emphasizing personalized medicine approaches. However, these advancements come with challenges like safety concerns and regulatory compliance that demand constant vigilance and adaptability from industry stakeholders. The implications for patient care are significant as these scientific breakthroughs promise new treatment avenues for complex diseases while highlighting personalized medicine approaches. As these industries continue to evolve, staying informed about scientific innovations and regulatory landscapes will be crucial for stakeholders aiming to drive future growth and improve global health outcomes. Thank you for tuning into Pharma Daily. Stay informed and stay ahead with us as we continue to bring you the latest insights from around the pharmaceutical and biotech world.Support the show
AI Unraveled: Latest AI News & Trends, Master GPT, Gemini, Generative AI, LLMs, Prompting, GPT Store
Hey folks, Alex here, let me catch you up! I've had a feeling that this week is going to be crazy, as it started on the weekend MiniMax M3, then with Jensen announcing new RTX Spark, NVIDIA's first PC chip packing 1 petaflop of local AI power into thin laptops.A few days later at Microsoft BUILD, Satya & Mustafa from MAI dropped 7 AI models, completely pre-trained from scratch, including a new MAI-thinking-1, MAI-code and MAI-image 2.5 that started topping the image gen charts. Then other image models started racing to the top of the Arena benchmarks, IdeoGram 4 hitting becoming SOTA open weights image-gen model, and Reve 2 beating Nano Banana just a few hours after that. And then today, NVIDIA dropped Nemotron 3 Ultra, their latest 550B open weights model, data and training and Arena published a new agentic eval leaderboard and we got a new Gemma 4 12B. I've had the great pleasure to host Chris (@llm_wizard) from Nvidia, Peter Gostev from Arena and Karan from Nous Research (who were featured prominently by Jensen!) all on the show. Def don't miss this one! Let's get into the details. ThursdAI - Join the flock of folks who know what is happening in AI before everyone else.Open Source LLMs
HelixTalk - Rosalind Franklin University's College of Pharmacy Podcast
In this episode, we review key updates from the 2026 ACC-AHA Guidelines on the Management of Dyslipidemia. Key Concepts The PREVENT ASCVD equation is now recommended to calculate ASCVD risk, with thresholds at 3%, 5%, and 10%. The previous 7.5% threshold for statin treatment is now 5%. In addition to the 10-year ASCVD estimate, clinicians should consider the use of Lp(a), "risk enhancers", and coronary artery calcium (CAC) scans as a "tie breaker" with shared decision-making when the decision to treat is not clear. In addition to LDL goals of < 100, < 70, or < 55 (depending on risk), the new guidelines also suggest non-HDL-C and apoB goals once LDL cholesterol is at goal. Many patients will require non-statin therapies to achieve lipid goals. The recommended non-statin therapies include ezetimibe, PCSK9 mAb, PCSK9-interfering RNA, and bempedoic acid. References Writing Committee Members, Blumenthal RS, Morris PB, et al. 2026 ACC/AHA/AACVPR/ABC/ACPM/ADA/AGS/APhA/ASPC/NLA/PCNA Guideline on the Management of Dyslipidemia: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines. Circulation. 2026;153(17):e1154-e1276. doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000001423 Wiggins BS, Barac A, Benziger CP, et al. 2026 Dyslipidemia Guideline-at-a-Glance. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2026;87(19):2617-2623. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2026.02.4872 Superko H, Garrett B. Small Dense LDL: Scientific Background, Clinical Relevance, and Recent Evidence Still a Risk Even with 'Normal' LDL-C Levels. Biomedicines. 2022;10(4):829. Published 2022 Apr 1. doi:10.3390/biomedicines10040829
In this episode of the Epigenetics Podcast, we talked with Peter Becker from the Biomedical Center Munich about his successful career in Epigenetics, where he discovered the chromatin remodeler ISWI and dosage compensation complex MOF. Dr. Becker shares thoughts about his postdoctoral work with Carl Wu, where he developed embryo extract systems for studying chromatin assembly and transcription. He explains how work on Drosophila extracts led to the purification of ATP-dependent remodeling factors, including ISWI-related complexes, and how these studies showed that such factors slide nucleosomes and help organize chromatin. We also cover his move to EMBL and later to Munich, where his lab expanded into dosage compensation in Drosophila. He describes work on the MSL complex targeting, MRE sequences, ROX RNA, DNA shape features, and how biochemical reconstitution was used to study how the complex recognizes the X chromosome. Finally, we discuss his later work on TIP-60 and histone acetylation, including acetylome studies, and his reflections on leadership roles at EMBL and on the use of the term epigenetics. He emphasizes that epigenetics should be understood as one layer among genetics, environment, and socialization, not as a replacement for genetics. References Tsukiyama, T., Becker, P. B., & Wu, C. (1994). ATP-dependent nucleosome disruption at a heat-shock promoter mediated by binding of GAGA transcription factor. Nature, 367(6463), 525–532. https://doi.org/10.1038/367525a0 Varga-Weisz, P. D., Wilm, M., Bonte, E., Dumas, K., Mann, M., & Becker, P. B. (1997). Chromatin-remodelling factor CHRAC contains the ATPases ISWI and topoisomerase II. Nature, 388(6642), 598–602. https://doi.org/10.1038/41587 Corona, D. F., Längst, G., Clapier, C. R., Bonte, E. J., Ferrari, S., Tamkun, J. W., & Becker, P. B. (1999). ISWI is an ATP-dependent nucleosome remodeling factor. Molecular cell, 3(2), 239–245. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1097-2765(00)80314-7 Akhtar, A., & Becker, P. B. (2000). Activation of transcription through histone H4 acetylation by MOF, an acetyltransferase essential for dosage compensation in Drosophila. Molecular cell, 5(2), 367–375. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1097-2765(00)80431-1 Akhtar, A., Zink, D., & Becker, P. B. (2000). Chromodomains are protein-RNA interaction modules. Nature, 407(6802), 405–409. https://doi.org/10.1038/35030169 Villa, R., Schauer, T., Smialowski, P., Straub, T., & Becker, P. B. (2016). PionX sites mark the X chromosome for dosage compensation. Nature, 537(7619), 244–248. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature19338 Related Episodes Dosage Compensation in Drosophila (Asifa Akhtar) DNase Hypersensitive Sites and Chromatin Remodeling Enzymes (Carl Wu) The Mechanism of ATP-dependent Remodelers and HP1 Gene Silencing (Geeta Narlikar) Regulation of Chromatin Organization by Histone Chaperones (Geneviève Almouzni) Contact Epigenetics Podcast on Mastodon Epigenetics Podcast on Bluesky Dr. Stefan Dillinger on LinkedIn Active Motif on LinkedIn Active Motif on Bluesky Email: podcast@activemotif.com
At 88 years old, Joan Virginia Allen has little interest in slowing down.In this episode of Ojai Talk of the Town, Bret Bradigan sits down with the author of Navigating Dynamic Aging to explore what it means to remain engaged, curious, and purposeful throughout every stage of life.She will be signing copies of her book at an event at the Ojai Library on Saturday, June 13th at 2 p.m.Joan shares lessons drawn from a lifetime of reinvention — as an attorney, performer, teacher, coach, and author — and explains why aging doesn't have to be a story of decline. Instead, she argues that curiosity, courage, movement, and commitment can continue to open new doors long after many people believe their most meaningful adventures are behind them.Together, Bret and Joan discuss overcoming fear, embracing change, maintaining vitality, finding purpose after retirement, and cultivating the mindset needed to navigate life's inevitable transitions.We did not talk about Manu Masa's 1324 pilgrimage to Mecca, RNA drug delivery systems or the joys of falconry.Whether you're entering retirement, caring for aging loved ones, or simply wondering what comes next, this thoughtful conversation offers wisdom, perspective, and encouragement for the journey ahead.Learn more about Joan at her website ... https://dynamicaging4life.com/this-is-me-life-coach/
Good morning from Pharma Daily: the podcast that brings you the most important developments in the pharmaceutical and biotech world. Today, we're diving into some of the most significant advancements in scientific research, clinical trials, and regulatory landscapes within the industry. These developments are shaping the future of patient care and drug development significantly. Starting with Legend Biotech's LB2501, which achieved an impressive 100% response rate in a Phase 1 study for non-Hodgkin lymphoma using in vivo CAR T-cell therapy. This breakthrough highlights the transformative potential of CAR T-cell therapies in oncology, especially for B-cell lymphomas. Such success opens the door for accelerated regulatory pathways, offering hope to patients with limited treatment options. In another key development, JJP Biologics shared positive interim data from its Phase 1b trial of nebaprubart targeting CD89 in linear IgA disease. This monoclonal antibody is promising in treating autoimmune conditions by targeting specific disease mechanisms. Meanwhile, GSK's Velzatinib (IDRX-42) achieved a 61% response rate in Phase 1/1b trials for gastrointestinal stromal tumors, showing efficacy against cases resistant to treatments like imatinib. Johnson & Johnson's Nipocalimab met its primary endpoint in a Phase 2 study for systemic lupus erythematosus, underscoring the potential of FcRn blockade in managing autoimmune diseases. Zenas Biopharma's Phase 3 data for Obexelimab targeting CD19/FcγRIIB in IgG4-related disease further emphasizes the role of targeted therapies in managing complex autoimmune disorders. On the regulatory front, Foundation Medicine's FoundationOne Blood Test received FDA approval as a companion diagnostic for Pfizer's Talzenna (talazoparib) to treat prostate cancer with homologous recombination repair gene mutations. This approval underscores the growing importance of precision medicine and companion diagnostics in tailoring cancer treatments based on genetic profiles. Additionally, Lupin and Natco Pharma secured FDA approval for their generic version of Eribulin Mesylate Injection, essential for reducing healthcare costs and improving patient access to vital therapies. Eli Lilly's collaboration with Ascidian Therapeutics focuses on RNA exon editing for kidney diseases, potentially revolutionizing treatment approaches by correcting genetic errors at the RNA level. This partnership reflects a burgeoning interest in RNA-based therapies and their capacity to address unmet medical needs. Regeneron expanded its pact with CytomX Therapeutics to develop conditionally active bispecific antibodies, emphasizing innovation in oncology drug discovery. Such collaborations combine expertise across companies to expedite cutting-edge therapies' development. In terms of funding, NewLimit's successful $435 million Series C round aims to advance epigenetic reprogramming medicine towards human trials. This initiative highlights the burgeoning field of aging biology and its implications for extending healthy human lifespan through innovative therapeutic approaches. Similarly, Immu Biosciences raised $53 million to enhance its immunology platform using AI/ML technologies, underscoring AI and machine learning's critical role in accelerating drug development processes. Turning our gaze towards China's expanding influence on the global biotech stage, Akeso's presentation at ASCO 2026 marked a significant milestone as it became the first-ever Chinese dataset featured in a plenary session. This achievement underscores China's growing prominence in biotechnology and highlights its commitment to advancing innovative medical solutions globally. Simultaneously, Gilead's strategic partnership with Cencora aims to enhance access to CAR-T therapies like Yescarta and Tecartus by expanding their network of treatment centers. CAR-T therapies represent a paradigm shift in cancer treatment by offering personalized options for certain types of cancer. Despite challenges such as Roche's setbacks with its oral SERD drug giredestrant in breast cancer trials, innovation continues unabated. Zevra Therapeutics' launch of Miplyffa for Niemann-Pick disease type C exemplifies efforts to transform rare disease markets by improving patient outcomes through increased access and tailored treatment strategies. Finally, Eli Lilly's acquisition spree reflects broader trends where pharmaceutical companies increasingly integrate Chinese innovations into their development pipelines. This period marks a transformative phase characterized by collaboration between global pharma giants and Chinese biotechs, signaling an era where innovation is globalized and aimed at addressing critical healthcare challenges worldwide. These advancements reflect a dynamic period of innovation within the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. The focus on personalized medicine, targeted therapies, and groundbreaking technologies like RNA editing indicates a shift towards more precise treatment modalities. As these discoveries transition from research phases to clinical applications, they hold the potential to transform patient care significantly. Strategic partnerships and substantial funding initiatives illustrate a robust ecosystem supporting these innovations' rapid advancement. As regulatory bodies continue approving novel therapeutics and diagnostics, the emphasis on personalized healthcare will likely drive future developments, ultimately leading to improved patient outcomes worldwide. As we continue navigating these developments, it's clear that the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors are on the cusp of transformative breakthroughs that promise to redefine healthcare delivery across multiple domains. Thank you for tuning into Pharma Daily; stay informed and stay ahead.Support the show
In this week's episode, we start with news that Fulcrum Therapeutics is scrapping its lead pipeline program for sickle cell disease following concerns from the FDA about the drug's risks and benefits. Also on the docket, news of Eli Lilly's latest spending. The pharma giant has added its genetic medicines pipeline and capabilities by signing a $1.9 billion agreement with Ascidian Therapeutics to develop RNA exon editors for treating inherited kidney diseases. Next up, updates to an open-source model for binder design and protein function mapping. Finally, on the peer-review front, we dive into some of the latest vaccine research including insights into the mechanisms that cross-reactive T cells use to target multiple viral species in a single family and an improvement to standard polio vaccines. Join GEN editors Corinna Singleman, PhD, Alex Philippidis, Fay Lin, PhD, and Uduak Thomas for a discussion of the latest biotech and biopharma news. Listed below are links to the GEN stories referenced in this episode of Touching Base: Fulcrum Halts Development of SCD Candidate Pociredir, Sets Strategic ReviewBy Alex Philippidis and Kevin Davies, PhD, GEN Edge, June 2, 2026 Lilly, Ascidian Launch Up-to-$1.9B RNA Exon Editor Collaboration Targeting Inherited Kidney DiseasesBy Alex Philippidis, GEN Edge, June 3, 2026 Biohub Releases Protein Biology World Model to Address DiseaseBy Fay Lin, PhD, GEN Edge, May 27, 2026 Cross-Reactive T Cells Could Point to Broad Vaccines or Treatments for Measles, Nipah VirusGEN, June 2, 2026Experimental Adjuvant Could Strengthen Mucosal Immunity with Injectable Polio Vaccines GEN, June 4, 2026Touching Base Podcast Hosted by Corinna Singleman, PhD Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
England's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, joins former Health Ministers Steve Brine and James Bethell inside the Department of Health for our landmark 100th episode.Sir Chris breaks down the data behind the prostate cancer screening decision, why 45% of dementia cases can be delayed, the truth about childhood obesity and air pollution.In this special episode we sit down with the Government's Chief Medical Officer to tackle the science of uncertainty. From his pivotal role in the Tobacco and Vapes Act to the rise of localised air pollution from wood-burning stoves in urban environments, Sir Chris Whitty shares a masterclass on individual vs. societal risk. We also explore the future of the treatments over the next 20 years, including the revolutionary impacts of cancer immunotherapy, RNA vaccines, and AI diagnostics.A co-production by Calum Macdonald at Shortbread Media, and George Cooper at Footwork Media.--WhatsApp us: 0333 404 6507Email: hello@preventionisthenewcure.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
rWotD Episode 3317: ST motif Welcome to random Wiki of the Day, your journey through Wikipedia's vast and varied content, one random article at a time.The random article for Wednesday, 3 June 2026, is ST motif.The ST motif is a commonly occurring feature in proteins and polypeptides. It consists of four or five amino acid residues with either serine or threonine as the first residue (residue i). It is defined by two internal hydrogen bonds. One is between the side chain oxygen of residue i and the main chain NH of residue i + 2 or i + 3; the other is between the main chain oxygen of residue i and the main chain NH of residue i + 3 or i + 4. Two websites are available for finding and examining ST motifs in proteins, Motivated Proteins: and PDBeMotif.When one of the hydrogen bonds is between the main chain oxygen of residue i and the side chain NH of residue i + 3 the motif incorporates a beta turn. When one of the hydrogen bonds is between the side chain oxygen of residue i and the main chain NH of residue i + 2 the motif incorporates an ST turn.As with ST turns, a significant proportion of ST motifs occur at the N-terminus of an alpha helix with the serine or threonine as the N cap residue. They have thus often been described as helix capping features.A related motif is the asx motif which has aspartate or asparagine as the first residue.Two well conserved threonines at α-helical N-termini occur as ST motifs and form part of the characteristic nucleotide binding sites of SF1 and SF2 type DNA and RNA helicases.It has been suggested that the sequences SPXX or STXX are frequently found at DNA-binding sites and also that they are recognized as substrates by some protein kinases. Structural studies of polypeptides indicate that such tetrapeptides can adopt the hydrogen bonding pattern of the ST motif.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 01:20 UTC on Wednesday, 3 June 2026.For the full current version of the article, see ST motif on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Bluesky at @wikioftheday.com.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm generative Tiffany.
Neste episódio do podcast de Biotech and Health, Camila Pepe e Carolina Abelin conversam com o especialista em Genética Molecular e professor do Insper, Paulo Amaral, sobre os avanços das pesquisas com a plataforma de RNA mensageiro. Estudos promissores estão sendo realizados para vacinas contra o vírus Influenza, HIV e doenças infecciosas negligenciadas, como Zika, chikungunya e leishmaniose. Além do uso em terapias onde o sistema imunológico possa reconhecer proteínas específicas de tumores, por exemplo.#ORIGINHealth #MITTechReviewBR #Podcast #Videocast
The shift from purely clinical heart failure diagnosis to biomarker-guided management unfolded over decades of incremental evidence, institutional skepticism, and a handful of pivotal decisions by a small number of physician-scientists willing to champion tools before their adoption became mainstream.In this episode of Moving the Needle in Medicine, host Alexander Hajduczok, MD, a cardiologist and heart failure specialist at Oklahoma Heart Institute, interviews Jim Januzzi, MD, the Adolph Hutter Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, chief scientific officer and Gibson chair at the Baim Institute for Clinical Research, and a cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, to explore the formative experiences, clinical innovations, and leadership principles that shaped his career and, more broadly, the evolution of modern cardiology.Januzzi described nearly declining the opportunity to conduct the first US-based clinical studies with NT-proBNP in 2002, having positioned himself primarily as a troponin and acute coronary syndrome researcher. The foundational diagnostic and prognostic work he ultimately led at MGH established the NT-proBNP cutoffs now used internationally, and the test has since evolved from an emergency department dyspnea-evaluation tool into a biomarker applied across all phases of heart failure management. He noted sacubitril/valsartan as a particularly meaningful convergence of therapeutic and biomarker science, consistently producing substantial reductions in NT-proBNP regardless of baseline value, a finding he has incorporated as a practical signal for adequacy of neurohormonal blockade.On the broader arc of guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT), Januzzi reflected on witnessing the introduction of beta-blockers for heart failure as a fellow, a shift once considered counterintuitive, and tracing the subsequent addition of each pillar as a reminder that even well-established treatment paradigms remain open to displacement by rigorous evidence. He described his involvement in the endpoint committee for the EMPA-REG OUTCOME trial as the entry point for his work with SGLT2 inhibitors in heart failure, another opportunity initially approached with ambivalence. Despite four-pillar GDMT, he noted residual event rates underscore the continued need for novel therapeutics, and he expressed enthusiasm for gene-editing approaches and RNA-silencing therapies now entering cardiovascular development pipelines.Across the conversation, Januzzi returned to the role of mentorship and deliberate career planning, including maintaining clinical trial involvement from early protocol design rather than joining established programs at the phase three stage, advocating for sponsorship alongside mentorship, and structuring academic evolution in intentional five-year increments. The discussion positions biomarker-guided heart failure care not as a completed project but as a framework still being refined as the disease's diagnostic boundaries and therapeutic options continue to expand.
Jake Becraft is the CEO and co-founder of Strand Therapeutics, a company building one of the most advanced programmable genetic medicine platforms in biotechnology. Under his leadership, Strand is redefining what RNA medicines can do by enabling cell-selective targeting and therapeutic payload delivery inside the body, unlocking a new class of precision genetic therapies.This episode is brought to you by:Helix Sleep premium mattresses: HelixSleep.com/Tim (20% off any purchase) Incogni, which automatically removes your personal data from the web, helping shield you from fraud, scams, and identity theft: Incogni.com/Tim (use code TIM at checkout and get 60% off an annual plan)*For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsorsSign up for Tim's email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.Discover Tim's books: tim.blog/books.Follow Tim:Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss Instagram: instagram.com/timferrissYouTube: youtube.com/timferrissFacebook: facebook.com/timferriss LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferrissSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In this episode of Data in Biotech, host Ross Katz sits down with Arvind Rao, Professor of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics at the University of Michigan, for a discussion on the gap between what biomedical AI can do and what it can reliably be trusted to do in clinical practice. Arvind's research sits at the intersection of computational oncology and AI governance and his lab works across H&E histopathology, multiplex immunofluorescence, spatial transcriptomics, and single-cell RNA sequencing, not just to build predictive models, but to understand the full lifecycle from data to model to inference, and to ask where that lifecycle can be trusted and where it can't. The conversation moves through two of his recent papers on SPIFEE, a graph-based framework that replaces scalar interaction scores in the tumor microenvironment with spatially resolved functional representations, and a multimodal framework that traces a path from stained tissue slides to nominated drug targets via morphological pattern discovery and spatial transcriptomic mapping. What you'll learn in this episode: >> Why the field's central failure is not algorithmic but translational and the gap between a model that performs well on a benchmark and one that can be consistently trusted in a high-stakes clinical setting >> How SPIFEE replaces the conventional scalar edge representation of cell-cell interactions in the tumor microenvironment with spatially resolved functional edges >> How Arvind's multimodal framework moves from H&E pathology slides labeled with clinical outcomes, through morphological pattern discovery via multiple instance learning, to spatial transcriptomic mapping, to the nomination of molecular mechanisms and actionable drug targets >> Why Goodhart's Law applies directly to foundation model evaluation in biology >> What the AI literacy gap costs when it goes unaddressed in healthcare and pharma organizations Meet our guest: Arvind Rao is a Professor of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, with a joint appointment in Radiation Oncology, at the University of Michigan. His research focuses on establishing trust in biomedical AI predictions across the full data-to-decision pipeline, integrating H&E histopathology, spatial transcriptomics, multiplex immunofluorescence, and single-cell RNA sequencing to build models that are predictive, interpretable, and biologically credible. Alongside his research, Arvind develops AI literacy programs for healthcare and pharma professionals, helping clinical and procurement teams evaluate and govern AI systems with the rigor those decisions demand. Connect with Arvind Rao on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arvind-rao-3301301ba/ About the host: Ross Katz is Principal and Data Science Lead at CorrDyn. Ross specializes in building intelligent data systems that empower biotech and healthcare organizations to extract insights and drive innovation. Connect with Ross Katz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/b-ross-katz/ Connect with us: Follow the podcast for more insightful discussions on the latest in biotech and data science.Subscribe and leave a review if you enjoyed this episode! Sponsored by… This episode is brought to you by CorrDyn, the leader in data-driven solutions for biotech and healthcare. Discover how CorrDyn is helping organizations turn data into breakthroughs at CorrDyn. https://www.linkedin.com/company/corrdyn/
Episode Summary In today's episode, Anna and Avery cover six major space and astronomy stories: the growing implications of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket explosion for NASA's lunar plans; China's surprise maiden flight of the Long March 12B reusable rocket plus the return of the Shenzhou-21 crew; Starship V3 being grounded by the FAA following Flight 12 — with SpaceX's IPO in the balance; the upcoming launch of NASA's Roman Space Telescope and its mission to find 100,000 new exoplanets; new research suggesting Earth remained a global magma ocean for up to half a billion years; and a stunning new Hubble image of galaxy M88 on a perilous journey through the Virgo Cluster. Story 1 — New Glenn Aftermath: NASA Moon Plans Under Threat Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket was destroyed on May 28 during a pre-launch static fire test at Launch Complex 36, Cape Canaveral. As of June 2, the damage to Blue Origin's lunar programme is becoming clear: the Blue Moon Mark 1 lander — scheduled to deliver Moon Base 1 hardware in autumn 2026 — now faces likely delays, and the crewed Blue Moon MK2 timeline may slip as a result. LC-36 is Blue Origin's only orbital pad; rebuilding will take considerable time. NASA had signed a new New Glenn launch agreement for Moon rovers just two days before the explosion. Sources: Space.com, Time Magazine, TechTimes (June 1–2, 2026) Story 2 — China's Long March 12B Debut + Shenzhou-21 Returns China's new Long March 12B rocket completed its maiden flight on June 1 from Jiuquan, deploying Qianfan constellation satellites in a no-advance-notice launch. The rocket — China's answer to the Falcon 9 — features a 20-tonne LEO capacity, a 5.2m fairing, kerolox propulsion, and dual independent flight computers ('dual brains'). No booster recovery on this flight, but planned for future missions. Developed in just 21 months. In other Chinese space news: the Shenzhou-21 crew (Zhang Lu, Wu Fei, Zhang Hongzhang) returned safely on May 29 after a record 210-day stay aboard Tiangong, landing in a Shenzhou-22 emergency rescue capsule after their original return craft was damaged by a suspected space debris strike. Sources: SpaceNews, Global Times, Xinhua (June 1, 2026) Story 3 — Starship V3 Grounded: FAA Mishap Investigation Following Flight 12 (May 22), the FAA has formally classified the Starship V3 debut as a mishap and grounded the vehicle. The Super Heavy booster failed its boostback burn and hard-splashed in the Gulf of America; one Raptor Vacuum engine on the upper stage also failed. SpaceX must complete an FAA-overseen investigation before Flight 13. This is Starship's seventh grounding in three years. A July–August return-to-flight window is cited; a booster catch may be skipped on Flight 13. SpaceX's IPO (ticker: SPCX, Nasdaq) was filed May 20 with shares potentially trading from ~June 12. Sources: SpaceNews, Aviation Week, TechCrunch (May 27–June 1, 2026) Story 4 — NASA Roman Space Telescope: 100,000 New Worlds NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is on track to arrive at Kennedy Space Center in June, with a launch target of early September 2026 — ahead of its May 2027 commitment. Over its five-year primary mission, Roman is expected to discover ~100,000 exoplanets, hundreds of millions of galaxies, and billions of stars, generating a 20,000-terabyte data archive. Its Galactic Bulge Survey will observe ~100 million stars in underexplored Milky Way regions. Roman also features a Coronagraph Instrument to directly image nearby exoplanets and test techniques for future Earth-analogue imaging. Sources: NASA.gov, ScienceDaily, SciTechDaily (June 1–2, 2026) Story 5 — Earth Was a Lava World for Half a Billion Years A preprint from researchers at the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute (arXiv, June 2026) proposes that Earth's global magma ocean phase lasted up to 500 million years — far longer than previously assumed. Two key factors sustained the molten state: tidal heating from the newly formed, much-closer Moon; and a thick steam atmosphere that acted as a thermal blanket, slowing planetary cooling. The prolonged hot conditions would also have favoured the photochemical production of hydrogen cyanide — a key prebiotic molecule linked to the origin of RNA and amino acids. Sources: Universe Today, Phys.org (June 1, 2026) — preprint on arXiv Story 6 — Hubble Images M88 on a Perilous Virgo Cluster Journey NASA/ESA Hubble's June 2026 Picture of the Month features Messier 88 (M88/NGC 4501), a spiral galaxy 63 million light-years away in Coma Berenices. M88 is on a long inward journey through the Virgo Cluster, with a supermassive black hole ~100 million solar masses at its core. Ram pressure stripping is already depleting its cold gas reserves, visible as compressed gas on the galaxy's leading edge. In ~200–300 million years, M88 will make its closest pass to M87. Observed as part of Hubble program #18103 (PI: D. Thilker). Sources: NASA Science, ESA, ScienceDaily (May 29–June 1, 2026)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/astronomy-daily-space-news-updates--5648921/support.Sponsor Details:Ensure your online privacy by using NordVPN. To get our special listener deal and save a lot of money, visit www.bitesz.com/nordvpn. You'll be glad you did!Become a supporter of Astronomy Daily by joining our Supporters Club. Commercial free episodes daily are only a click way... Click HereThis episode includes AI-generated content.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) recently updated its colorectal cancer screening recommendations, adding new stool-based and blood-based screening options. What's changed in the new American Cancer Society screening recommendations • New stool DNA and stool RNA screening tests • The role of blood-based cancer screening tests • Why colonoscopy remains the gold standard • Why a follow-up colonoscopy is still needed after a positive screening test • Screening recommendations for adults ages 45–75 • The rise in colorectal cancer among younger adults and what patients should know The most important takeaway? Colorectal cancer is highly preventable, and the best screening test is the one that gets completed. This episode is intended for educational purposes only and should not replace medical advice from your healthcare provider.
Dr. Troy Rohn has spent two decades in neuroscience research, lived with anxiety his entire life, and co-founded a biotech company trying to treat it in a way no drug has managed before. In this conversation with host KAJ, he makes a quiet but striking case: that anxiety is not a mystery, it is a circuit problem — and gene therapy may finally be precise enough to address it at the source.The conversation covers what anxiety actually is, why current medications fail a third of the people who take them, the difference between RNA and DNA therapies, and what a world looks like where mental health treatment is personalised to your own genetic makeup. Accessible, honest, and quietly hopeful.=========================================KAJ Masterclass LIVEA video-first, live-first global conversation ecosystem — editorially independent, depth-driven, and supporter-sustained. Hosted by independent journalist Khudania Ajay (KAJ), KAJ Masterclass explores leadership, business, AI, careers, health, creativity, ideas, and the evolving human experience through thoughtful, unscripted conversations grounded in lived experience, clarity, and real-world insight.Every conversation is designed to leave you with something meaningful to think about, understand, or apply.
Dr. Gregg Day and Drs. Sonia Vallabh and Eric Minikel discuss scientific insights and the future of prion disease treatment, highlighting the importance of early diagnosis, personalized medicine, and hope for affected families. Learn about the clinical trial. Learn more about the Prion Alliance. Show transcript: Dr. Gregg Day: This is Gregg Day with Neurology Minute. I've just been speaking with Eric Minikel and Sonia Vallabh, a husband and wife team at the heart of the PRiSM trial, a first-in-human study of a prion protein-lowering, divalent, small-interfering RNA for patients with symptomatic prion disease. Eric and Sonia, could you provide us with a brief overview of the PRiSM trial and what this first-in-human study seeks to accomplish? Dr. Eric Minikel: The PRiSM trial is testing a short interfering RNA designed to bind the RNA that encodes the prion protein. That is the protein that causes Prion disease. We are at the heart of what causes this disease. Through doing this, we hope to make prion disease a treatable and preventable condition. We both want to stabilize symptomatic patients and prevent the disease in people who are at genetic risk. This is a personal mission for us. Sonia is a carrier of a prion disease mutation that she inherited from her mother who died of prion disease, and we, along the way, aspire to be a different kind of sponsor. We want to create our own clinical data that are shareable learnings for the entire field. Dr. Gregg Day: This is Gregg Day with Neurology Minute. Thanks for listening.
Send us Fan MailWe sit down with Dr. Lynn Pezzanite to explore a promising angle on aging-related equine osteoarthritis (OA): cellular senescence, the pro-inflammatory state where cells release a senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) that can amplify damage inside tissues over time.We walk through why horses are such a valuable One Health model for osteoarthritis research and why this team compared synovial fluid cells from the joint with peripheral blood mononuclear cells from circulation. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, the study teases apart immune and cellular heterogeneity that bulk methods can blur. One of the most striking takeaways is the compartment split: senescence-associated pathways can be down in peripheral blood yet up in synovial cells, suggesting the joint environment may create a more intense, specialized senescent phenotype.We also dig into the immune cell story, including why dendritic cells and gamma delta T cells keep showing up as important across both chronic natural OA and early post-traumatic OA work. Then we shift to what this could mean clinically: the promise and cautions around senescence-targeted therapies and the practical case for local intra-articular delivery. Finally, we talk translational hurdles like equine-specific dosing and safety, plus the next research steps to connect senescence burden with OA pain and treatment response.If you care about equine lameness, osteoarthritis biomarkers, and the future of disease-modifying OA therapy, subscribe, share this with a colleague, and leave us a rating and review wherever you listen.AJVR article: https://doi.org/10.2460/ajvr.25.09.0343INTERESTED IN SUBMITTING YOUR MANUSCRIPT TO JAVMA ® OR AJVR ® ?JAVMA ® : https://avma.org/JAVMAAuthorsAJVR ® : https://avma.org/AJVRAuthorsFOLLOW US:JAVMA ® :Facebook: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association - JAVMA | FacebookInstagram: JAVMA (@avma_javma) • Instagram photos and videosTwitter: JAVMA (@AVMAJAVMA) / Twitter AJVR ® : Facebook: American Journal of Veterinary Research - AJVR | FacebookInstagram: AJVR (@ajvroa) • Instagram photos and videosTwitter: AJVR (@AJVROA) / TwitterJAVMA ® and AJVR ® LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/avma-journals
Editor's note: In our first BioHub pod with Priscilla and Mark they discussed their acquisition of EvoScale, led by Alex Rives, who is now Head of Science at BioHub. With ESM-1 they trained language models on millions of protein sequences drawn from across life, with a simple “next token” objective: predict the amino acids that have been randomly masked out, based on the context of the rest of the sequence. But they soon found that these models also learned biological structure and function, including properties the model had never been explicitly shown AND that this ability scales predictably with compute, leading to ESM2 and ESM3.Today, Alex announced ESMFold 2, an open scientific engine to power prediction, design, and discovery across protein biology.Building on Cryo-EM data (discussed in the CZI pod), ESMFold2 reports state of the art performance on protein interactions, especially antibodies, a critical modality for therapeutics, and evidence that inference time scaling is also working across five targets in cancer and immunology.In a nod to that other famous AI x protein folding project, they are also releasing an atlas of 6.8 billion proteins, and 1.1 billion predicted structures, which you can play around with on their website. We are honored to work with them for this huge release!One of the refrains we've heard on the Science pod has been that protein folding, materials design, cellular biology, etc. are very different problems from Language Modeling. They definitely are. Yet Alex Rives and the ESM team at BioHub just released a preprint and model, demonstrating that vanilla BERT-like transformer models trained on sufficiently large and diverse data sets can beat specialized models like AlphaFold3 on some of the hardest protein-related problems. Andrew White had a great segment in our first LS-Science episode that explained how mind blowing AlphaFold2 was when it was released in 2020: it suddenly solved problems on a GPU on your desktop that DESRes had built custom-ASIC supercomputer clusters to solve. John Jumper and Demmis Hassabis received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this work.AlphaFold2 took advantage of an very clever observation: if multiple species co-evolve pairs of mutations, this implies that the mutations correspond to parts of the protein that are close in 3d space. This is usually shorthanded as MSAs (multi-sequence alignments), and is the key insight which makes AlphaFold2 so effective.Like other inductive biases, however, it hurts generalization.Scale-pilled before it was coolIf you take a look at the timeline for scaling laws for LLMs and release of structure prediction models, the ESM team notably doubled down on their MSAs-be-damned approach after AlphaFold2 released. This obviously requires a great deal of belief in the scale hypothesis.Why the conviction?ESM developed at a time when many of the scaling laws and the “Bitter Lesson” were proving increasingly correct. AlphaFold2's wild success must have been both exciting and bitterly disappointing. But using MSAs mean that the model is is dependent on training data that contains MSAs in order to be accurate in a given domain. For things like antibodies that don't have MSAs to train on, AlphaFold tends to do poorly.ESM takes a different approach: learn the relationship between different proteins by unsupervised training on as much diversity as you can find (sound familiar?) and then correlate that back to structures know from the Protein Data Bank (PDB) and other sources. In other words, a World Model.World Model for proteins“World Model” is a hype term that I define like this:Use unsupervised training to learn abstract patterns from the data:* The abstraction should be semantic - novel constructions represent things that obey the rules of the real world* The abstraction should be compositional - recombining different patterns leads to novel and often valid constructions* The abstraction should support generalization - it predicts things in the real world it wasn't trained on Once you have a world model, you can attach “heads” to it for downstream tasks: predict properties of a protein, decompose its functional features, or search the representation for proteins that meet design criteria. The two big models BioHub just released under MIT license map directly onto this:* World model → ESMC (a model trained on 2.8 billion sequences)* Structure-prediction head → ESMFold2One of the interesting ways the world model can “predict things” is to generate proteins sequences and then measure the predicted properties, such as binding affinity, in the lab. Alex talks in the episode about validating some of the harder molecules they predicted in the wet-lab. Very cool!Another way is to use mech-interp techniques such as Sparse Auto Encoders (SAEs) to extract semantic features from your model, and then find novel features that predict unknown biology. I won't spoil this part for you: it was one of the highlights of the episode for me!A cell is a computerWe have all heard that genes are like computer programs, but usually the analogy fizzles after that. Of course genes are transcribed into RNA and RNA is translated into proteins, so genes are programs for building proteins, but that carries the analogy only to “binary digits are programs.” Here's a better analogy: you can think of the cell nucleus as a storage device / storage controller, the ribosome as a JIT-compiler and runtime, and the semantic features that we learn from our world model via SAEs as functions, proteins as processes that interact together in workflows (signalling pathways) to produce behaviors and outputs (phenotypes). Like functions, the SAE features have a hierarchical composition from local, secondary and tertiary structures (mimicing protein structure), but also motifs that are conceptual, such as membrane integrations, disordered regions and disulfide bonds. As we learn to compose these features we into novel protein designs, we move further towards programmable biology. Alex goes into much more detail about this in the episode, as well as:* Principles for new data collection* BioHub's vision* Modeling the cellEnjoy!Full Video podcastplease like and subscribe!* X: https://x.com/alexrives* LinkedIn: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.latent.space/subscribe
What if the key to understanding autism isn't one gene — but thousands working together?In this episode of Research Renaissance, host Deborah Westphal sits down with Dr. Daniel Gershwind, Gordon and Virginia McDonald Distinguished Professor of Human Genetics, Neurology, and Psychiatry at UCLA, and Associate Vice Chancellor for Precision Health. A true pioneer in neurogenomics, Dr. Gershwind has spent over two decades reshaping how we understand autism and complex brain disorders — from building one of the first autism gene banks to applying transcriptomic network methods that revealed the molecular landscape of the brain in entirely new ways.This conversation is as much about the science as it is about how science gets done — through collaboration, curiosity, and a willingness to tackle the problems others walk away from.Key TakeawaysGenetics doesn't mean "everything is genetic" — all human disease has both genetic and environmental components, but genetics offers a powerful, tractable starting point for understanding causeLooking at gene networks (rather than single genes) transformed the field by making sense of hundreds or thousands of genes at once — and revealing how biological systems adapt and respond to disruptionAutism affects approximately 1 in 100 children today — not because rates have risen, but because our ability to diagnose it has dramatically improved over the past 30 yearsAbout 15% of people with autism can now be identified with a specific causative genetic mutation through whole genome or exome sequencing — pointing toward targeted, precision therapiesTranscriptomics (measuring RNA expression across the brain) revealed shared molecular patterns in autism brains across different patients — a surprising convergence that has since been validated in large sample sizesAutism, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder share some molecular pathology but are mostly molecularly distinct — a finding only visible at the transcriptomic levelCRISPR activation (without genome editing) has already been used in lab models to restore normal neuronal firing in certain autism-linked epilepsy syndromes — a proof of concept for future therapiesAI is now being used to connect gene networks to existing drugs, potentially accelerating drug discovery without needing full mechanistic understandingNeurodegeneration (including Alzheimer's and frontotemporal dementia) is closer to clinical trials than autism — but the two fields are informing each other in real timeAbout the GuestDr. Daniel Gershwind is the Gordon and Virginia McDonald Distinguished Professor of Human Genetics, Neurology, and Psychiatry at UCLA. He leads the Gershwind Lab and serves as Associate Vice Chancellor for Precision Health. He co-founded the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE), which became the leading data resource for autism genetics research for over a decade, and has been instrumental in developing transcriptomic network approaches now used widely across the field.Resources & LinksKaren Toffler Charitable Trust: karentoffler.orgAutism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE)UCLA Gershwind LabPsychENCODE ConsortiumEnjoyed this episode? Subscribe to Research Renaissance wherever you listen to podcasts, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, and share this episode with anyone who cares about the future of brain health research. Every share helps bring this science to more people.To learn more about the breakthroughs discussed in this episode and to support ongoing research, visit our website at tofflertrust.org. Technical Podcast Support by Jon Keur at Wayfare Recording Co.
What does it really take to progress from bench science to leading a Biotech platform as Chief Scientific Officer? In this episode of Careers in Discovery, Daniel Tardiff, CSO at Camp4 Therapeutics, shares a candid look at building and scaling science inside an early‑stage biotech. From his foundations in RNA biology to advancing antisense programmes for haploinsufficiency-driven neurodevelopmental disorders, Dan unpacks how translational judgement is developed over time, not taught. Key takeaway: Career progression isn't about having perfect answers. It's about making credible decisions under uncertainty and bringing others with you as the science scales.
This week we talk about the Democratic Republic of the Congo, malaria, and healthcare infrastructure.We also discuss militants, Uganda, and the Bundibugyo virus.Recommended Book: We Should Get Together by Kat VellosTranscriptEbola, which is more formally called Ebola Virus Disease or Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever, is caused by an infection by a type of RNA virus called an orthoebolavirus.There are six known species of orthoebolavirus, and four of them have at some point infected and caused illness in humans. Those four are the ebola virus, sometimes called the Zaire ebolavirus, which historically has been the strain responsible for the biggest, most devastating outbreaks of this disease, the Sudan virus, the Taï Forest virus, and the Bundibugyo virus, the latter three each causing a variant of the disease that carries the same name.The other two orthoebolavirus species that we know of, the Reston virus and the Bombali virus, have been known to infect animals, but have not, at this point at least, been known to make the jump to human hosts.Ebola symptoms vary a bit between specific viruses and between hosts and infection conditions, but in general those who are afflicted by ebola begin to experience symptoms between a few days and a few weeks after infection, and they'll start by experiencing cold and flu-like symptoms, like fever, sore throat, headaches, and general muscle pain. Soon after that, though, they'll start experiencing diarrhea and rashes, they'll begin vomiting, and they'll begin to experience liver and kidney dysfunction, and around that same time, they'll start to bleed internally and externally.Once infected, a person has between a 25 and 90% chance of dying, depending on the strain of ebola, and if they die, usually due to what's called hypovolemic shock—a severe and sudden loss of bodily fluids, including blood—they usually die between 6 and 16 days after those first symptoms are reported.What I'd like to talk about today is a new outbreak of ebola centered in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and why this one stands out from other recent outbreaks in the region.—Ebola was first officially reported in medical literature in 1976, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, and there have been semi-regular outbreaks in that region, of various sizes ever since, and very likely before that, too.This disease is spread through direct contact with the body fluids of someone who's infected, and it's thought that this is probably how the disease made the leap from animals, like primates, to human beings: locals sometimes come into close contact with local primates, either while just coexisting, or while hunting bushmeat, hunting monkeys for food.It's thought that fruit bats serve as hosts for the virus, long-term, and it then spreads to other animals, and then sometimes to humans, in some cases causing illness along the way in those other species, but not always; bats are not negatively afflicted by it, for instance, but humans very much are.Despite not being an airborne pathogen, so it's not spread by coughing or talking too close to someone, like a cold or Covid-19, ebola can still be spread person-to-person through bodily fluid contact. That means fluids like saliva and blood and semen and breast milk, and research has shown that even after someone survives and recovers from ebola, the disease can linger in their fluids for months. So if someone catches it, survives, and then breast-feeds their child, or kisses or has sex with their partner, or gets a cut and then someone else comes into contact with their blood, like a health worker, that can lead to the transmission of the disease, despite their having been well and seemingly fully recovered for weeks or months.That lingering contagiousness is a confounding factor with this disease, as it requires that people be very careful, even to an antisocial degree, and even well after it seems like that's no longer necessary, because they feel good and healthy again.This also means that if someone dies of ebola, contact with their bodies can be incredibly dangerous. And past outbreaks have stemmed from or been further enflamed by locals wanting to perform community funerals and wakes, during which the body is often on display and touched by attendees, and that has led to further spread of the disease—which in many cases is difficult to tie back to that wake, because again, symptoms don't arrive right away, and ebola symptoms are similar to what locals experience all the time from other afflictions, like colds and malaria.This past week, in Bunia, which is located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, locals stormed a regional hospital in an attempt to recover the body of a beloved local figure who died of ebola. In the process, the hospital's isolation ward, which was being used to keep ebola victims separate from everyone else, to keep the disease from spreading further, that ward was burned to the ground.There are no vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo Ebola species that is at the core of the outbreak, and the spread of misinformation in the area had locals believing that these health workers were trying to kill their patients, not save or isolate them so no one else caught ebola.The man at the center of this, who died five days after being admitted to the hospital, was thought, by his family, to have malaria, which is common in the area and has very similar symptoms, at least in the early days of an ebola infection.They demanded the hospital release his body so they could bury him, and the staff refused, saying doing so right now could lead to more ebola spread. The family gathered more locals, who threw stones at hospital workers, they broke through the gates of the hospital, police fired into the air to try to disperse the angry crowd, and the ebola ward caught fire during the melee. During that fire, five patients who were in the ward, all suspected of having ebola, fled, and they haven't yet returned—so they are possibly out in the open, no longer isolated, suffering and maybe dying from their infection, and possibly spreading it to others, as well.There's a lot going on in this story, and misinformation spread by local traditional healers who don't like the hospitals and the medical workers who tell locals medical information rather than folk healing information are part of the problem, but the local medical establishment not doing a good job of educating locals about what they're doing and why are arguably the flip side of that same coin; more investment in that kind of information dissemination by the government would go a long way to preventing this sort of thing in the future, and health workers globally could use more resources and overall infrastructure to help protect them while they're carrying out their work.That said, this is just one small facet of what's become a much larger story. As of the day I'm recording this, this new outbreak, which was first reported in the Ituri Province of the DRC, has caused 186 confirmed deaths, with 82 more confirmed cases and 836 suspected cases.As I mentioned, it's caused by the Bundibugyo ebolavirus, which is less common, at least at this scale, and thus typical response efforts used against the more common Zaire ebolavirus, don't seem to map onto this strain as well as was hoped, and the World Health Organization declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on May 16, as while this is unlikely to become as significant an issue as Covid-19 or other aerosol-spread infections on a global level, regionally it's causing a lot of damage, and its nature, and the state of international aid for this sort of thing—which is currently substantially reduced, in part because of pullbacks on such programs by the current US administration—means it could continue to flare for several more months, before eventually starting to slow, killing many, many people, in any incredibly painful and contagious manner, in the process.This is the 17th ebola outbreak in the DRC since the disease was first recorded in the medical literature, and the third outbreak of this strain—the first of which was in the Bundibugyo District of Uganda in 2007 through 2008, that's where it got its name, and then another in 2012 in the DRC.This isn't the deadliest strain of ebola, only killing between 25 and 50% of those afflicted, but because of those aforementioned issues, plus it having flared in a region where governance is complicated by the presence of several militant groups, this wave of infections has created a broad and precarious situation; lots of people have been uprooted from their homes because of conflict between these militant groups and the government, and those refugees have been spreading ebola to other areas throughout the region, making contact tracing difficult or impossible, and leading to surges of new infections in neighboring, and a few further-flung, provinces.According to a predictive model of the outbreak published by the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, the current number of infected people could actually be well over 1000, in part because of how difficult it's been isolating the infected, and because the early symptoms are so similar to other common local afflictions; so people are less likely to visit hospitals and get an accurate diagnosis, because they assume it's just a bout of something else, something less deadly and contagious.Getting resources into the area is becoming more difficult, too, as those militant groups are fairly active, one such group recently taking over a primary regional airport, which has disallowed the import of necessary medical equipment for regional hospitals.This hasn't had much of an impact globally, yet, though cases have been documented in neighboring Uganda—a total of five confirmed infections, as of the day I'm recording this—and the World Cup team from the DRC was ordered to isolate before entering the US to compete, forced to remain in Belgium for 21 days to confirm they aren't carrying the disease before being allowed into the States for the competition.Far more likely than mass global spread, though, is more regional spread, which could lead to temporary border lockdowns and similar efforts to keep those who are in currently impacted regions from scattering, understandably fleeing either the outbreak or the militants in these areas, and thus carrying the disease into different provinces or countries.Local and international aide organizations are scrambling to prevent this, and to identify and isolate infected people where possible, but it'll likely be a while before they have the necessary on-the-ground resources to do this correctly, and a lot more spread could occur before they're able to do so at an effective level.Show Noteshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebolahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_African_Ebola_epidemichttps://www.cdc.gov/ebola/about/index.htmlhttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5175058/https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/congo-ebola-outbreak-cases-are-top-iceberg-coalition-says-2026-05-21/https://apnews.com/article/congo-ebola-outbreak-who-4e08d8df6d9c34039a9e0b8bad7a8954https://www.wsj.com/world/africa/ebola-outbreak-explained-4ab4414fhttps://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2026/5/23/uganda-confirms-three-new-ebola-cases-bringing-total-to-fivehttps://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/may/23/dcr-world-cup-squad-isolate-ebola-outbreak-congo-united-stateshttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/22/world/africa/ebola-congo-clinic-burned-protests.htmlhttps://www.npr.org/2026/05/23/nx-s1-5831963/u-s-passengers-flying-from-ebola-affected-countries-reroutedhttps://www.cdc.gov/han/php/notices/han00530.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Ituri_Province_Ebola_epidemichttps://edition.cnn.com/health/maps-ebola-charts-vishttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/21/ebola-outbreak-public-healthhttps://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/suspected-ebola-cases-reported-rebel-held-congo-area-2026-05-21/https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/19/world/africa/ebola-outbreak-deaths-congo-who.html This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsknowthings.substack.com/subscribe
ReferencesDev Cell. 2023 Apr10;58(7):597-615.e10.CurrentBiology.2024. V.34, Issue 21pR1067-R1068November 04.RNA.2020 Aug;26(8):903–909Sci Rep. 2015. volume 5,Article number: 15292 SciRep. 2025 Jul 14;15(1):25389.Guerra, DJ.2026.Unpublished LecturesLennon/McCartney. 1967. Good Morning Good Morninghttps://open.spotify.com/track/0xIuNHHcKI1JDuBPlSwzb1?si=d9a84805b0144608Mozart, WA. 1785. The Haydn Quartets. Op 10.https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nFz2DrhfPWUriYaJw44iN4p4hBuem83Sc&si=j8s78fyUsC08bKTe
É uma das mais prestigiadas cientistas portuguesas na área da biologia molecular. Boa parte da investigação de Maria do Carmo Fonseca tem sido dedicada ao estudo do RNA, que está na base da primeira vacina contra a covid-19. Uma molécula que poderá ser a salvação para doenças até agora incuráveis. Em 2010, foi a primeira mulher cientista distinguida com o Prémio Pessoa. Desde abril é Conselheira de Estado da atual Presidência. E aqui dá conta dos futuros grandes avanços científicos para a Humanidade. Ouçam-na nesta primeira parte do podcast “A Beleza das Pequenas Coisas” de Bernardo MendonçaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This Week in Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence (AI) Podcast
In this episode, Jure Leskovec, co-founder and chief scientist at Kumo and professor of computer science at Stanford, joins us to explore two fronts of his work: AI for science and relational deep learning. We begin with AI Virtual Cell, a multiscale effort to learn data-driven representations from proteins to cells to patients using single-cell RNA-seq data, protein language models like ESM, and structure models like AlphaFold—without hand-encoding biology. Jure then dives into relational deep learning, reframing enterprise databases as graphs and training neural networks directly on raw multi-table data. He explains Kumo's Relational Foundation Model (RFM2), which performs in-context learning over subgraphs to make accurate predictions on new databases and tasks with no training, and how this approach benchmarks against RelBench and other multi-table datasets. We also discuss real-world deployments at companies like Reddit, DoorDash, and Coinbase, explainability via attention over tables and columns, integration with agentic systems, deployment options, and practical limitations. The complete show notes for this episode can be found at https://twimlai.com/go/768.
Dr. Deb Muth 00:04What if the future of healing isn’t about replacing cells, but about teaching your body how to heal itself again? We keep hearing the words stem cells and exoomes thrown around like they’re interchangeable, but they’re not. One is regulated, controversial, and often misunderstood. The other is rapidly emerging as one of the most exciting communication systems in human biology. Dr. Deb Muth 00:33And here’s the real question no one’s asking. Are we actually regenerating tissue or are we just stimulating the body to remember how it used to heal? Tired of being told your labs are normal, but you still feel terrible? At Serenity Healthcare Center, we don’t chase symptoms. We find the root cause. hormones, gut health, autoimmune conditions, chronic fatigue, brain fog. Dr. Deb Muth 01:02We use cuttingedge functional and regenerative medicine to get you real answers and a real path forward. This isn’t your average doctor’s office. This is medicine the way it was meant to be practiced. You deserve to feel like yourself again. Visit serenityhealthcarecenter.com to book your appointment today. Let us help you heal from the inside out. Dr. Deb Muth 01:28Welcome back to Let’s Talk Wellness Now. I’m Dr. Deb, your host. And if you’ve been following regenerative medicine, you’ve probably noticed the confusion. Patients are asking me every week, are exoomes stem cells? Are stem cells legal in the United States? I heard the FDA is shutting down all these clinics. Can I even get this therapy? Do I have to leave the country for treatment? Today, we’re cutting through the noise. This episode is not hype. Dr. Deb Muth 01:54It’s not sales. It’s education so you can understand the science, the regulatory reality, and the clinical difference between stem cell therapy and exoome therapy. And here’s what I want you to know right up front. Yes, these therapies are being used in the United States every single day. Yes, they’re being offered by highly trained physicians in integrative and regenerative medicine clinics across the country. Dr. Deb Muth 02:22Some are being used in FDA registered clinical trials. Some are being used in observational studies and some are being used in clinical practice under physician discretion. The landscape is nuanced and you deserve to understand it. So, grab your cup of coffee or tea and settle in for a deep dive into the most understood therapies in regenerative medicine. Dr. Deb Muth 02:43what they actually are, how they work, the regulatory landscape, and how they might support your body’s natural healing capacity. Let’s talk wellness now. So, let me start by asking you something. When you hear the word stem cell, what do you picture? Most people imagine damaged tissues magically regenerating or a torn meniscus growing back, cartilage reforming it into an arthritic joint or damaged brain tissue being replaced with healthy new beautiful cells. It’s a beautiful vision. Dr. Deb Muth 03:15And while it’s not quite that simple, the reality is actually more sophisticated and honestly more beautiful. Stem cells are powerful and they absolutely work, but the way they work and the mechanism by which they support healing is far more elegant and more so than most people really understand. And if you’re going to invest in regenerative therapy, you deserve to understand what you’re actually receiving. Dr. Deb Muth 03:44So, let’s start at the beginning. What are stem cells? At their core, stem cells are undifferentiated cells. That means they haven’t yet decided what they want to be when they grow up. Unlike a heart cell or a skin cell or a bone cell which have already committed to a specific function, stem cells exist in this beautiful state of potential. Dr. Deb Muth 04:05They have two remarkable abilities. First, they can self-renew. They can make copies of themselves, maintaining a reserve of these powerful cells throughout your lifetime. Second, they can differentiate under the right conditions. They can transform into specialized cell types. Bone cells, cartilage cells, nerve cells, muscle cells, even blood cells. Dr. Deb Muth 04:27This is why they’ve captured the imagination of the medical world. The potential is extraordinary. Now, there are several types of stem cells and understanding the differences matters tremendously for both understanding how they work and understanding how they’re regulated. Adult mezzenymal stem cells. We call these MSC’s are the most commonly used regenerative medicine. Dr. Deb Muth 04:54These come from bone marrow, atapost tissue, that’s fat, and other adult sources. They’re what we can call multi-potent, meaning they can become several types of cells, but not every type. A bone marrow stem cell isn’t going to become a brain cell, for instance. It has potential but it’s directed potential. Dr. Deb Muth 05:19Then we have perinatal stem cells. These come from umbilical cord blood cord tissue or something called Wharton’s jelly which is the gelatinous substance inside the umbilical cord. These cells are younger, more potent, and research by Weiss and colleagues published in stem cells back in 2006 showed that Wharton’s jelly derived MSC’s have superior proliferation and differentiation potential compared to bone marrow derived cells. Dr. Deb Muth 05:48They’re like comparing a 20-year-old athlete to a 50-year-old athlete. Both can perform, but one has more reserve capacity, more vigor, and more regenerative potential. And this isn’t this is very important because the perinatal sources umbilical cord tissue Wharton’s jelly amniotic tissue these are what many regenerative medicine clinics in the United States are using today and they’re using them because these tissues are incredibly rich in not just stem cells but growth factors cytoines and exoomes. Dr. Deb Muth 06:21Then there are embryionic stem cells. These are pur potent and they become any cell type in the body, but they’re highly regulated, ethically controversial, and honestly, they’re not being used in clinical practice in the United States outside of the very specific FDA approved research trials. Dr. Deb Muth 06:41So, when clinics talk about stem cell therapy, they’re almost never talking about embryionic stem cells. Now, here’s where it gets interesting and this is the part that changes everything about how we understand regenerative medicine. When you receive stem cell therapy, let’s say someone injects umbilical cord derived messenymal stem cells into your arthritic knee, those cells do not typically engraft or become new tissue in any permanent way. Dr. Deb Muth 07:12They don’t set up shop in your joint and start cracking out new cartilage cells for the rest of your life. So what are they actually doing then? Well, in 2011, researchers Arnold Arnold Kaplan and Dennis Korea published a landmark paper in stem cells translational medicine that fundamentally changed how we understand MSC therapy. Dr. Deb Muth 07:35They proposed that we should stop calling memal stem cells and start calling them medicinal signaling cells. Why? Well, because their primary therapeutic benefit doesn’t come from what they become. It comes from what they secrete. Think of stem cells as incredibly sophisticated biological pharmacies. When you inject them into damaged tissue, that arthritic knee, that inflamed autoimmune condition, that injured brain, that don’t just sit there passively, they sense the environment. Dr. Deb Muth 08:07They detect inflammation. They recognize the tissue damage and they understand that the immune dysregulation is present and they see that and respond. They start pumping out hundreds of bioactive molecules, growth factors that tell your cells to repair and rebuild, cytoines that modulate inflammation, chemocines that recruit your body’s own healing cells to the area. Dr. Deb Muth 08:32And these tiny membranes bound packages called extracellular vesicles, including exosomes, which we’re going to talk about extensively today as well. These secreted factors are giving instructions to your native cells. They’re saying, “Let’s reduce inflammation. Let’s modulate your immune response. Let’s promote angioenesis. Dr. Deb Muth 08:53” That’s the formation of new blood vessels, bringing nutrients and oxygen. Let’s stimulate your own resident stem cells to wake up and get to work. Reduce cell death in damaged tissue and restore normal cellular function. This is called paracrine signaling. It’s the cellto cell communication. And this is where the real therapeutic power lives. Dr. Deb Muth 09:14The stem cells themselves, many of them die within days to weeks, but the cascade of healing they trigger, the signals they send, the programs they activate in your own cells, those effects can last for months or even years. Now, this understanding is crucial because it explains why both stem cell therapy and exoo therapy can be effective. Dr. Deb Muth 09:38The stem cells are powerful not because they become new tissue but because of the signals they send and exoomes are those signals isolated and concentrated. The biggest misconception in regenerative medicine is that stem cells replace tissue and in reality they coach healing more than they become healing. They’re biological educators teaching your body to remember how it used to heal before chronic inflammation, toxicity, and disease turned off all those programs. Dr. Deb Muth 10:12So if stem cells don’t exactly end graft and become the new tissue, if their power is in their signaling and then next logical question is why do we need the cells at all? Well, if we could isolate the messengers themselves, what if we could deliver just the communication systems without any of the complexity of the living cells? Well, that’s exactly what exosomes are. Dr. Deb Muth 10:38And they represent the cutting edge of regenerative medicine. So, let me paint you a picture of how cells actually communicate. Because for most medical history, we had it wrong. For decades, textbooks taught us that cells talk to each other in two basic ways. through direct contact like shaking hands or releasing signaling molecules that floated through the extracellular space like messages in bottles, simple chemical messages. Dr. Deb Muth 11:09But in the 1980s and 90s, researchers started discovering something far more sophisticated. cells were releasing these tiny membrane bound packages like a biological FedEx envelope kind of you know it was filled with complex specific cargo and these packages could travel through the blood cross the barriers that normally keep things out like bloodb brain barrier and deliver their contents to distant cells with remarkable precision. Dr. Deb Muth 11:38These are called extracellular vesicles. And exoomes are one of the most therapeutic important types. So what exactly are exosomes? Well, they’re nanosized vesicles, typically 30 to 150 nanome in diameter. To put that into perspective, a human hair is about 100,000 nanometers wide. These are incredible and most impossibly tiny. Dr. Deb Muth 12:09They’re released by virtually all cells in the body, but the most therapeutically interesting exoomes come from mezenymal stem cells. And those medicinal signaling cells we just discussed. And according to a landmark review of Raposo and Stervogal, they published in the journal of cell biology in 2013, exoomes are not cellular debris. They’re not waste products. Dr. Deb Muth 12:35They are precisely engineered communication vesicles or vehicles. Think of them as sophisticated delivery systems carefully packed, carefully labeled, and sent to specific destinations. very specific instructions. Inside each of these exoomes, you’ll find an incredibly sophisticated payload. They are microRNAs. These are small RNA molecules that can literally turn genes off or on in the recipient cells. Dr. Deb Muth 13:06They can tell a cell to start making more collagen, to reduce inflammatory proteins, to activate repair programs that have been shut down by chronic disease for a very long time. There are messenger RNAs, actual templates for protein production. And exoome can deliver these instructions for making healing proteins. There are proteins themselves, growth factors, cytoines, enzymes, all the molecular tools a cell needs to heal. Dr. Deb Muth 13:34And there are lipids, specialized fats that help the exoome membrane fuse with targeted cells, delivering the cargo inside. When an exoome reaches its target cell, it can either fuse the cell membrane and deliver its contents directly inside like a Trojan horse, or it can bind to surface receptors and trigger signaling cascades, setting off a chain reaction of healing responses. Dr. Deb Muth 14:01Either way, it’s delivering very specific targeted instruction. And here’s what makes this so powerful. Those instructions are tailored to what this recipient cell actually needs. So, let me give you some concrete examples of what the research actually shows because this is where it really gets exciting. When researchers inject MSC derived exoomes into hearts that had experienced eskeeia, reprofusion, injury, that’s damaged blood flow being cut off and then being restored. Dr. Deb Muth 14:36Kind of like what happens during a heart attack. Something remarkable happened. A study by Lei and colleagues published in stem cell research in 2010 showed that exoomes significantly reduced the size of the damaged area, reduced inflammatory cytoines that drive tissue destruction and promoted tissue repair signaling. The exoomes were telling the heart cells stop the inflammatory cascade, activate your survival programs and repair the damage. Dr. Deb Muth 15:06In cartilage research, tow and colleagues published work in biioaterials in 2017 showing that exosomes derived from MSC’s could promote cartilage regeneration in osteoarthritis models. And the exoomes carried specific microRNAs that told condondroytes cartilage cells to proliferate and make more extracellular matrix, the structural framework of healthy cartilage. Dr. Deb Muth 15:30for autoimmune conditions. Research by Blazic and colleagues in Frontiers in Immunology in 2014 demonstrated that MSC derived exoomes could shift immune cell behavior from pro pro-inflammatory to regulatory. They could take an overactive self-attacking immune system and restore balance and promote tolerance. And perhaps most exciting brain research, a study by Zinn and colleagues published in the journal of extracellular vesicles in 2013 showed that MSC derived exoomes could cross the bloodb brain barrier. Dr. Deb Muth 16:07That protective shield around your brain that normally keep things out and promote neurological recovery in stroke models. They reduced brain inflammation, promoted neuroplasticity, supported the formation of neural connections, and for mitochondrial dysfunction, which underlies so many chronic conditions, Morrison and colleagues published research and scientific reports in 2017 showing that MSC derived exoomes can actually deliver functional mitochondria or mitochondrial components to damaged cells. They’re not Dr. Deb Muth 16:40just sending instructions, they’re sending spare parts. They’re restoring the cellular powerhouses to produce energy. So why are exoomes fundamentally different from stem cells? Well, exoomes contain no living cells. They can’t replicate. They can’t end graph. And they have virtually no risk of immune rejection or tumor formation. Dr. Deb Muth 17:03Concerns that exist elevate rarely with cellular therapies. They’re essentially biological software updates for your cells. As Fineian Pitiger wrote in their seinal review in stem cells in 2017, MSC derived exoomes represent the active ingredient of stem cell therapy delivered in a cellfree format. That’s the key insight in the in the therapeutic benefit of stem cells and it comes from what they excrete. Dr. Deb Muth 17:33Then exoomes are the secretion isolated, concentrated, and standardized. From a practical clinical standpoint, exoomes offer several compelling advantages. First, consistency. Because exoomes can be isolated, characterized, and standardized, each dose can be remarkably consistent. With living stem cells, there’s variability based on donor age, health status, processing methods, and one batch may be robust, but another might be weaker. Dr. Deb Muth 18:05With exoomes, you can measure the content, measure the potency, and ensure the quality control. Second is storage. Exoomes can be liophalized. They can be freeze-dried and stored at room temperature or refrigerated for extended periods. Stem cells require cryopreserv preservation, careful freezing, careful thawing. They’re fragile. Dr. Deb Muth 18:31Exoomes are remarkably stable. And third, their safety profile. Without living cells, the risk of adverse imunological reactions is dramatically lower. You’re not introducing foreign cells that your immune system might recognize and attack. You’re introducing molecular messages. Fourth is scalability. You can harvest millions, even billions of exoomes from stem cell cultures without ever injecting the cells themselves. Dr. Deb Muth 19:01And you can produce large quantities, standardize them, and make them available to patients. Now, there is a caution here in doing this. The scalability can produce rogue cells, and we want to be cautious of that. So, here’s what I need you to understand. Exoomes don’t force healing. They remind the body how healing works. Dr. Deb Muth 19:24They’re not replacing damaged cells. They’re re-educating the cells you already have. They’re turning back time on the biological programs that got turned off by inflammation, toxicity, trauma, time, and chronic disease. Your body knows how to heal. It’s done its entire life. Every cut that closed, every bone that mended, every infection you fought off, your body orchestrated that healing. Dr. Deb Muth 19:51The problem is that chronic disease, chronic inflammation, toxic exposures, poor nutrition, stress, all of these things disrupt the communication networks that coordinate healing. And exoomes restore that communication. They’re like rebooting a computer that’s frozen. They reset the system and remind it how it’s supposed to function. All right. Dr. Deb Muth 20:14So, this would not be complete if we didn’t talk about regulation because this is where a lot of confusion exists. And I want you to be given a real picture. Not fear-mongering, not pretending. There aren’t regulatory considerations, but the actual practical reality of how regenerative medicine is practiced in the United States today. Dr. Deb Muth 20:38Here’s what you need to understand. The FDA regulates these therapies and they have specific frameworks, but there’s important nuances between regulatory text enforcement priorities and actual clinical practice. And there are also state level regulations that provide additional pathways. The FDA regulates human cells, tissues, and cellular and tissue based products. Dr. Deb Muth 21:05We call them HCT/PPS under two main pathways. Section 361 products are those that meet specific criteria. They’re minimally manipulated, intended for homologous use, meaning these tissues perform the same basic function in the recipient as it did in the donor. They’re not combined with non-tissue components and they’re either autotogus, meaning they come from your own tissue, or they have had minimal systemic effect. Dr. Deb Muth 21:38An example of a clear 361 procedure, your doctor harvests your own bone marrow, we call this PRP, performs minimally processing to or uh perform Yeah. performs minimal processing to concentrate the stem cells through a centriuge and injects it into your arthritic knee the same day. That’s autogus same day but minimally manipulated. Dr. Deb Muth 22:04This is unquestionably legal and is being done in regenerative medicine clinics across the country every single day. So there’s section 351 where products are those that don’t meet all the section 361 criteria. They’re classified as drugs or biologic products and they require FDA approval through clinical trials. Dr. Deb Muth 22:27Now here’s where this gets more nuanced. There are regenerative medicine clinics across the United States using stem cell and exoome therapies in different contexts. First FDA registered clinical trials. These are formal research studies with investigational new drug applications. Patients enroll in trials. They sign informed consents. Dr. Deb Muth 22:48They receive therapies as part of their structured research protocols. And this is completely legal and represents the gold standard for gathering evidence. Second is observational studies and registry programs. Many clinics are collecting systemic data on patient outcomes using these therapies even outside the FDA trials. Dr. Deb Muth 23:12They’re documenting results, tracking safety, and contributing to the growing body of clinical evidence. Third, there’s clinical practice under physician discretion. There are physicians using these therapies based on their own clinical judgment informed consent from patients and their interpretation of the regulatory framework particularly around minimal manipulation and homologous use. Dr. Deb Muth 23:34Now there are also state regulations that provide additional legal frameworks. So, for example, Florida has enacted the Right to Try Act and specific regenerative medicine legislation that allows physicians to offer certain stem cell therapies under the state oversight. Utah has passed similar legislation creating pathways for regenerative medicine products. Dr. Deb Muth 23:57And these state laws recognize that patients should have access to potentially beneficial therapies, particularly when used by trained physicians with appropriate informed consent. The regulatory question often centers around are these products minimally manipulated. Some products clearly are not. They’ve been cultured. Dr. Deb Muth 24:20They’ve been expanded in laboratories and those require FDA approval that they don’t have. The FDA has appropriately shut down clinics using those products. But there are other products that undergo processing that many physicians and manufacturers argue constitutes minimal manipulation. And these tissues are cleared, potentially fragmented or particulated to make them more suitable for injection, preserved using methods like cryopreservation or liophalization and packaged. Dr. Deb Muth 24:54But the cells are not cultured or expanded in the laboratory. The FDA has issued guidance suggesting that many of these processing steps constitute more than manipul minimal manipulation. But many physicians, particularly those who specialized in regenerative medicine for years, disagree with that interpretation and they believe that the processing qualifies as minimal manipulation and that the product should fall under section 361 when used for homologous purposes. Dr. Deb Muth 25:24Is there regulatory debate? Absolutely. The FDA and some clinicians have different interpretations of what constitutes minimal manipulation. But here’s the practical reality. There are hundreds of well-trained, bore certified physicians across the United States offering these therapies every single day. Dr. Deb Muth 25:42They’re doing so based on their understanding of the regulations, their clinical experience, their commitment to patient safety, and their belief that these therapies can help people who have exhausted conventional options. The FDA’s enforcement priorities have focused primarily on the most problematic cases. Clin clinics making blatant disease cure claims, products with documented safety issues, clear cases of cellular expansion and culture, or clinics operating with no medical oversight. Dr. Deb Muth 26:15Reputable regenerative medicine physicians are using products from companies that provide comprehensive documentation of their processing methods. third-party sterility testing, certificates of analysis showing bioactive content, and quality control measures that meet or exceed industry standards. Now, let me be very clear about something. Dr. Deb Muth 26:36Quality matters enormously. Not all stem cells and exoome products are created equal. Research by Burger and colleagues published in the Orthopedic Journal of Sports Medicine in 2021 analyzed 12 commercially available stem cell products and found that many contained zero viable cells, high levels of bacteria, endotoxins and inconsistent growth factor concentrations. Dr. Deb Muth 27:01This is why the company providing these biologic matters tremendously. You want products from manufacturers who provide transport documentation in sourcing and processing. Conduct third-party testing and sterility and potency. Offer certificates of analysis for each batch. Use standardized validated processing protocols. Dr. Deb Muth 27:24Have quality control measures that ensure consistency and don’t make outrageous cure claims or promise. The best regenerative medicine physician carefully vet their suppliers. They don’t use products from companies making unrealistic promises. They use products from manufacturers who are transparent, scientifically rigorous, and committed to quality. Dr. Deb Muth 27:46Now, you specifically ask about homologous use and collagen defects. So, let me address this directly for you. Under the FDA guidance, homologous use means the tissue performs the same basic function in the recipient as in the donor. So for connective tissue, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, fascia, all of that which are collagenrich structures using MSC’s or their derivatives could be considered homologous use. Dr. Deb Muth 28:17MSC’s in their native environment provide structural support to produce extracellular matrix including collagen. Using them to support healing in damaged collagen rich tissues like arthritic joints, torn tendons or degenerative ligaments is arguably the same basic function. So using exoomes derived from MSC’s to support collagen synthesis reduce inflammation and promote tissue healing in the same structures. Dr. Deb Muth 28:46Many practitioners argue this also qualifies as homologous use because you’re supporting the structure and function that MSC’s would naturally support. So here’s the bottom line on the regulatory reality. Regenerative medicine is available in the United States. It’s being offered by highly trained physicians in integrative and regenerative medicine clinics across the country. Dr. Deb Muth 29:11Some therapies are offered in FDA registered clinics and some are offered in observational studies. Some are offered in clinical practice under physician discretion, informed consent, and careful attention to safety. The regulatory landscape is evolving. There are ongoing discussions both federally and state levels about creating clearer pathways for these therapies. Dr. Deb Muth 29:32So, if you choose to go down this road, you want to work with physicians who understand the regulations, who use quality products from reputable manufacturers with rigorous testing and documentation, who are transparent about what they’re using and why, who discuss the current regulatory landscape honestly with you, and who prioritize your safety and truly informed consent above all else. Dr. Deb Muth 29:55This is not a lawless wild wild west. But it is also not as simple as everything is legal and unavailable. It’s a nuanced landscape that requires ethical knowledge. And these practitioners that have this knowledge have got to provide informed patients who understand both the potential benefits and the current regulatory context. Dr. Deb Muth 30:17So let’s have some fun here. Let’s talk about what really matters to you that are listening and that’s what conditions are being supported with these therapies. What does the research show and what are clinicians seeing in actual practice with patients? Because here’s what’s really important. We have both published research evidence and extensive clinical experience. Dr. Deb Muth 30:38And when the two align, that’s when we can feel confident and comfortable about using these approaches. So, let’s start where we have the most substantial evidence. joint health and muscularkeeletal conditions. For arthritis, we have good data. A systemic review by Tan and colleagues published in arthritis research and therapy in 2021 analyzed 20 randomized controlled trials in MSC therapy for knee osteoarthritis. Dr. Deb Muth 31:05They found significant improvements in pain and function particularly in mild to moderate disease. What’s really interesting is when researchers start analyzing whether it was the cells themselves or their secreted factors doing the work. They found that exoomeenriched preparations showed similar benefits to whole cell therapy. Dr. Deb Muth 31:26Now towen colleagues in the biioaterials paper from 2017 demonstrated that MSC derived exoomes could promote cartilage matrix synthesize and reduce inflammation markers. The exoomes carried microarnas that told cartilage cells to make more collagen and proteoglycans, the building blocks of healthy cartilage. Dr. Deb Muth 31:49In clinical practice, physicians are seeing patients with knee, hip, shoulder, and spinal arthritis, experiencing reduced pain, improved function, better motility, and in some cases, measurable improvements in their tissue. I want to share a story here with you because back in 2006, my husband was injured at work. Some of you might have heard me tell this story before. Dr. Deb Muth 32:11Um, he broke two discs in his back and underwent surgery very early on when we started using stem cells. They had put cages and plates in and they used MSC’s to put inside the cage to create a hardened bone so that he could have a fusion and hopefully not have any pain. At the time, what the physician didn’t realize or mistakenly did was he did not put any human bone mixed with these dead cadaavver bone MSC’s. Dr. Deb Muth 32:42And so the MSC’s never grew. They didn’t have anything to grow by. So the plates and the screws just kind of went back and forth for six months before he could see another physician that would look at him differently and understand what actually happened. That was very early on. Today we know so much more than we did before. Dr. Deb Muth 33:01Fast forward to 2014 when my husband was having problems and he couldn’t feel his legs, he couldn’t feel his feet. We decided to undergo uh exoo and stem cell therapy again and we saw a physician in Florida who harvested cells from his bone marrow and his blood and his fat and mixed that all together and then put that back into the back. Dr. Deb Muth 33:27and he had tremendous benefit from it. So, I tell this story because I want you to see the trajectory of how long this has been going on that we’ve been using this and we’re learning as we’re going and things are changing rapidly in this in this world. And so, what we know today and what I’m teaching you today may very well change in a month or six months or a year from now, but we have the foundation at least to understand what is helpful, what is not right now. Dr. Deb Muth 33:54But just be aware that if you’re embarking on exoome or stem cell therapy or MSC’s that you understand that this terrain is going to change. So back to my conversation about what other things can we treat? Well, we can treat tendon and ligament injuries, chronic tennis elbow, Achilles tendonopathy, rotator cuff tears, chronic planter fasciitis. Dr. Deb Muth 34:17These were researched by PA and colleagues in the American Journal of Sports Medicine in 2017 and it showed that bone marrow concentrate injections resulted in improved pain and function compared to steroid injections. Now this mechanism appears to be enhanced collagen remodeling and reduced chronic inflammation. Dr. Deb Muth 34:39These are structural collagenrich tissues using MSC’s or their derivatives for structural support which makes biological sense. It’s homologous use. It’s similar. So clinically we’re seeing athletes, active adults and people with chronic pain who failed physically um failed physical therapy, failed conservative treatments finding relief in this functional uh improvement in this functional world that we live in today. Dr. Deb Muth 35:07So, I want to be clear about what we’re doing here for joint and muscularkeeletal issues. We’re not growing completely new cartilage from scratch or severely destroyed joints. We’re not magically regenerating tissues that’s been gone for decades. That’s not possible here. What you’re doing when you’re using MSSE’s and exoomes is supporting the body’s natural ability to repair, reducing inflam inflammation and damage, and we’re driving progressive degeneration uh or we’re stopping the progressive degeneration. By reducing the Dr. Deb Muth 35:41inflammatory damage, we’re stimulating resonant stem cells that have been dormant. We’re improving blood flow and uh uh oxygen to the tissues like cartilage and tendons. and we’re organizing the body to start creating its own quality collagen as it heals. So, it’s a regenerative support, not a tissue replacement. Dr. Deb Muth 36:07But for many people, this support is lifechanging. So, let’s talk about autoimmune disorders now because this is one of the most exciting and unrecognized applications. autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, MS, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, Hashimoto’s, they all involve the immune system and the immune system is deregulated. Dr. Deb Muth 36:30And so basically your immune system is seeing this tissue as foreign and it’s attacking it. These MSC’s and their exoomes have profound immune modulatory properties. They don’t suppress the immune system like steroids or imunosuppressive drugs. They modulate it helping to restore balance. So for rheumatoid arthritis, research by Weang and colleagues in stem cells translational medicine in 2016 showed that MSC derived exoomes could shift the balance of immune cells, reducing pro-inflammatory TH7 cells that drive joint disruption uh and increase Dr. Deb Muth 37:08regulatory TE-C cells that maintain immune tolerance. So for MS, a clinical trial by Kasus and colleagues published in archives of neurology back in 2010 evaluated autotogus MSC therapy and MS patients and they found evidence of reduced disease activity, improved neurological function and decreased inflammatory uh lesions on MRI scans. Dr. Deb Muth 37:34The proposed mechanism is MSC’s and their exoomes reduce inflammatory cytoine production promote regulatory imu immune populations support remination of damaged nerves that is rebuilding the protective coating around the nerve fibers and it reduces bloodb brain barrier permeability which prevents immune cells from attacking their brain and spinal cord. Dr. Deb Muth 38:02And so for inflammatory bowel disease, the research by Barnholm uh sorry Barnhorn and colleagues in gut in 2020 showed that MS cell MSC derived extracellular vesicles could support mucosal healing and reduce inflammation in the gut lining. They appeared to restore intestinal barrier function, healing that leaky gut and modulating local immune responses. Dr. Deb Muth 38:30So in clinical practice, physicians are seeing patients with autoimmune conditions, experiencing reduced disease flares, decreasing the need for imunosuppressive medications, improving energy and quality of life, and in some cases extending periods of remission. But here’s what I want you to understand. Dr. Deb Muth 38:52When you see these therapies for autoimmune conditions, we are supporting immune regulation and reducing inflammatory damage. We are not treating or curing the disease in a conventional sense. These therapies work best as part of a comprehensive functional medicine approach that also addresses gut health because 70% of your immune system lives in your gut and environmental triggers like mold, heavy metals, chemical toxins that can drive autoimmune responses, chronic infections that can trigger immune disregulation, stress and nervous system imbalance. And Dr. Deb Muth 39:29these nutritional deficiencies are necessary to help improve the immune function. So regenerative therapy without addressing root causes is like bailing water out of your boat without plugging the hole. You might get temporary relief, but the underlying problem still remains. So let’s talk about neurological conditions. Dr. Deb Muth 39:52And this is where the science gets truly fascinating. for traumatic brain injury and concussion. Research by Zang and colleagues in the Journal of Neurot Trauma in 2015 showed that MSC derived exoomes could reduce brain inflammation, promote neuroplasticity, that’s the brain’s ability to rewire itself and improve cognitive outcomes in animal models. Dr. Deb Muth 40:17The exoomes crossed the bloodb brain barrier, delivered neuroprotective proteins and microRNAs. They reduced inflammation, supported mitochondrial function in injured neurons and promoted both new blood vessels from new blood formation and neurogenesis and the birth of new neurons occurred. Neurological recovery requires a multi-systematic approach. Dr. Deb Muth 40:42Exoomes may support neural repair, but they work best combined with hormone optimization, growth hormone, testosterone, thyroid, pregnnolone, mitochondrial support compounds like NAD, CoQ10, PQQ, carnitine, all of those things that we use traditionally in functional medicine. Now for stroke recovery, there was research by Zinn and colleagues in the journal of extracellular vesicles that showed MSC derived exoomes reduced the size of brain damage and improved neurological recovery in animal models. There was a Dr. Deb Muth 41:19Parkinson’s disease study done by Kimoji and colleagues in the movement disorders in 2018 that suggested that MSSE derived exoomes could support dopamineergic neuron survival and those are the cells that die in Parkinson’s and it can help to reduce neuroinflammation. Clinically, physicians are seeing improvements in patients with postconussion syndrome, chronic traumatic brain injury, early stage cognitive decline, and other neurodeenerative conditions. Dr. Deb Muth 41:52These are not cures, but meaningful improvements in cognitive function, mood, energy, and quality of life. Now, let’s talk about autism spectrum disorder very carefully here because this is a very sensitive but very important topic for families. There have been several clinical trials that have explored MSC therapy for autism. Dr. Deb Muth 42:16Liv and colleagues published research in stem cell translational medicine in 2013 showing improvements in social interaction, communication, and behavioral symptoms in children with ASD who received cord blood MSC’s. Dawson and colleagues in 2017 conducted randomized trial autotogus cord blood infusion and found modest improvements in social communication particularly in children with higher baseline immune dysregulation. Dr. Deb Muth 42:47The proposed mechanisms for modulation of neuroinflammation support the mitochondrial function because many children with autism show evidence of mitochondrial dysfunction, reduction of oxidative stress, improvement in gut brain access dysfunction and modulation of immune dysregulation. In clinical practice, some physicians are seeing improvements in some children, better eye contact, increased language development, reduced sensory sensitivities, improved social engagement, but responses vary significantly, and we cannot predict which children will benefit most. So for Dr. Deb Muth 43:26families considering regenerative approaches for autism, these therapies are supporting the body’s healing mechanisms, reducing neuroinflammation, supporting cellular energy production, modulating immune function. These should only be considered as part of a comprehensive biomedical approach that includes dietary interventions to address food sensitivities, support gut health, environmental toxin removal, particularly heavy metals and chemical exposures, gut healing protocols with targeted probiotics and nutrients, Dr. Deb Muth 44:00metabolic testing and targeted supplementation, and evidence-based on behavioral and developmental therapies. These therapies should only be pursued with practitioners who are honest about what we know and what we don’t know and who follow rigorous safety protocols who never promise cures and who view regenerative medicine as a tool in the comprehensive healing strategy, not a standalone miracle. Dr. Deb Muth 44:26Not only that, these therapies will most likely need to be given several times over the course of this person’s lifetime, possibly even on an annual basis. And this is really important because it is not a oneandone. It is not a one-sizefits-all, and it needs to be looked at as a long-term option for working with autism. So, since we’re looking at stem cells versus exoomes, living cells, with stem cell therapy, you’re receiving living cells that can survive in your body for days to weeks. Dr. Deb Muth 45:02With exoome therapy, there are no living cells, just biological messages they would have sent. So, replication stem cells can potentially replicate. Although therapeutically this happens minimally, exoomes cannot replicate. They deliver the cargo and then they are cleared by your body. With stem cells, it’s primarily paracrine signaling. Dr. Deb Muth 45:28They’re coaching your cells to heal. With exoomes, it’s pure signaling, pure reprogramming your cells without any cellular component. Stem cells as we talked about can be autotogus from your own bone fat, blood or um bone marrow or allergenic from umbilical cord tissue or Wharton’s jelly. Dr. Deb Muth 45:50Exoomes are typically derived from cultured MSC’s often from umbilical cord or bone marrow sources and both can be given by local injection for targeted treatment of joints and tissues and exoomes can be given intravenously for whole body systemic support. both have um low immun immunogicity. I can’t say that word today. Dr. Deb Muth 46:17But exoomes have even lower risk since they contain no cellular material. Now, it’s absolutely critical for you to understand that there are massive quality differences. We’ve talked about this earlier. I want you to be very aware of this and have a conversation with any of the practitioners that you’re considering undergoing this treatment with. Dr. Deb Muth 46:37Here is where it matters more than anything when you’re considering regenerative medicine, the quality of the products and the expertise of the practitioner. Because the reality is not all regenerative medicine products are created equal. We all know that when we take different supplements and not all practitioners understand these therapies at the same depth. Dr. Deb Muth 46:58You want to look for practitioners that are board certified or have some kind of specialized regenerative medicine training. You want to know their clinical experience. How much have they done these procedures? How long have they done this? You want honest communication about the evidence and the limitations in this. Dr. Deb Muth 47:17You want a comprehensive functional medicine approach to go along with these therapies. And you want somebody that’s transparent about their informed consent and their regulatory status. If you have people that are uh claiming that they can cure disease or giving you guarantees, that is not that is not a good practitioner to work with. Dr. Deb Muth 47:37If you have high pressure sales tactics, you need to decide today limited supply for a week. These are marketing manipulations. It’s not medical care. You want to be cautious of extremely low prices because quality regenerative products are expensive to source, process, and test. and store. And if somebody’s offering stem cells or exoomes for a few hundred dollars, seriously, you need to question the quality, the safety, and where they got this from. Dr. Deb Muth 48:09So before undergoing any regenerative therapy, make sure you’re having a very, very lengthy conversation with the person and so you truly understand exactly what you’re getting, how it’s going to be delivered, and what they’re going to do. If there’s one thing I want you to take away from today is that your body has remarkable capacity to heal when given the right biological signals and the right environment. Dr. Deb Muth 48:35Stem cells and exoomes are powerful tools for providing biological signaling that can reduce inflammation, modulate immune function, support tissue repair, and restore cellular communication that’s been disrupted by chronic disease and inflammation. These therapies are available in the United States through trained physicians working in FDA registered trials, observational studies, and clinical practice, and using quality products from manufacturers with rigorous testing and quality control. Dr. Deb Muth 49:04So before you invest in regenerative medicine, do your homework. Ask detailed questions about product quality and source. Verify the products come from reputable manufacturers with certificates of analysis, third-party testing. Work with experienced practitioners. And remember, no injection, no infusion, no biologic can overcome ongoing toxic exposure, chronic stress, poor nutrition, gut dysfunction, and inadequate sleep. Dr. Deb Muth 49:34True healing requires your body and you to actively participate in this healing. If you are unwilling to address the root causes and change the lifestyle factors that disrupted your health in the first place, the biologics can amplify your healing signals, but you have to create the internal environment where healing can actually happen. Dr. Deb Muth 49:56So, I hope this episode has helped you understand regenerative medicine more clearly. Share it with somebody who’s looking for healing beyond the conventional approaches. And until next time, this has been Let’s Talk Wellness Now. Have a blessed day. >> Welcome to Let’s Talk Wellness Now, where we bring expert insights directly to you. Dr. Deb Muth 50:16Please note that the views and information shared by our guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Let’s Talk Wellness Now, its management, or our partners. Each affiliate, sponsor, and partner is an independent entity with its own perspectives. Today’s content is provided forformational and educational purposes only and should not be considered specific advice, whether financial, medical, or legal. Dr. Deb Muth 50:41While we strive to present accurate and useful information, we cannot guarantee its completeness or relevance to your unique circumstances. We encourage you to consult with a qualified professional to address your individual needs. Your use of information from this broadcast is entirely at your own risk. Dr. Deb Muth 51:00By continuing to listen, you agree to indemnify and hold Let’s Talk Wellness Now and its associates harmless from any claims or damages arising from the use of this content. We may update this disclaimer at any time, and changes will take effect immediately upon posting or broadcast. Thank you for tuning in. We hope you find this episode both insightful and thought-provoking. Listener discretion is advised.The post Episode 265 – The Future of Healing: How Exosomes Re-Educate Your Body to Heal Itself first appeared on Let's Talk Wellness Now.
TWiV explains mRNA delivery of mosaic-8 pan-sarbecovirus RBD vaccines, and how toll-like receptor 7 alters the maternal immune landscape during influenza A infection to increase maternal and fetal morbidity, Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, and Kathy Spindler Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode Support science education at MicrobeTV Positions in Rosenfeld Lab (email) RFK Jr. driving vast inquiry into vaccines (NY Times) Indiana plant biologist locked out of lab by school (Science) Trump cuts CDC role in PEPFAR (Science) Ralph Baric retires (The Assembly) Baric to fight NIH funding ban (Science) Ebola outbreak in DRC (npr) Persistence of Andes virus RNA in human semen (Viruses) mRNA delivery of mosaic-8 pan-sarbecovirus RBD vaccines (Cell Rep) Science will break your heart (TWiV 920) TLR7 and maternal and fetal morbidity during influenza (Sci Adv) Letters read on TWiV 1323 Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks! Weekly Picks Kathy – Bloomberg Connects app and What's in Bloom Peony Season 2026 Bloom Tracker Rich – Medpage Today: What you need to know about hantavirus Vincent – Apollo 11 Almost Never Left the Moon Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.
I wish I knew these anti-aging secrets in my 40s! Find out how to look younger, feel healthier, and slow aging naturally with these powerful anti-aging tips.
Molecular biology is often introduced through the central dogma: DNA makes RNA, and RNA makes protein. But biology is rarely that simple. In this episode, Sanjay discusses how discoveries such as non-coding RNAs have expanded our understanding of how genetic information works, and how he uses computational approaches to investigate the functions and structures of these mysterious molecules. Tune in to hear about the frontier of RNA biology, the shift from PhD to postdoc, and Sanjay's unique journey from the social sciences into biophysics. Hosted by Matthew Vaughan and Hannah Stuwe.
What if aging isn't about time, but about the cells your body can no longer replace?Dr. Joy Kong, triple board-certified physician and founder of Chara Health in Los Angeles, sits down with Luke Storey to break down what regenerative medicine actually does inside the body. Dr. Joy explains how umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells work through five core pathways: anti-inflammatory effects, immune modulation, antifibrotic action, antimicrobial properties, and angiogenesis. She covers mitochondrial transfer, where new cells pass fresh mitochondria into aging cells through a microtubular bridge, and senescent cell clearance, the same process that reversed aging in published mouse studies. Dr. Joy also addresses why minimally manipulated birth tissue cells used in the US can be safer than the cultured, expanded cells used overseas, why "more cells" is not better, and how stem cell therapy supports DNA repair through micro-RNA signaling.The conversation also covers the cesarean delivery and screening process behind ethical sourcing, the science of micro-chimerism, and why every organ inside the body ages alongside the skin you can see.Dr. Joy then opens up about her own four-and-a-half-year IV stem cell protocol and the reversal she's measured since 43. The episode closes with a deeper conversation on ketamine therapy, gamma brainwaves, and the philosophical roots of integrative medicine.Dr. Joy talks about:00:00 Why we age and why stem cells are the answer01:03 From Chinese medicine to UCLA psychiatry to regenerative medicine03:12 Anti-aging philosophy: treating disease before symptoms appear05:36 How umbilical cord stem cells are collected and screened11:12 Why your immune system accepts another person's stem cells13:08 The Y-chromosome study that changes how we think about cell transfer16:18 Bone marrow vs. fat vs. birth tissue stem cell sources19:30 How stem cells trigger cancer cell death through Trail ligand25:00 Anti-inflammatory, immune-modulatory, and anti-fibrotic effects explained28:28 Killing senescent cells to clear the path for regeneration30:54 Mitochondria transfer: getting a fresh cellular battery39:00 Ketamine, gamma waves, and the science of expanded consciousnessAdditional Resources:✨ Get My Famous Skin Cream CharaOmni: https://www.charaomni.com/ ✨ Subscribe to Luke Storey on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LukeStorey Visit My Clinic:Chara Health
In this episode of Careers in Discovery, Adrian Gabriel Torres, Chief Scientific Officer at Aptadel Therapeutics, talks about developing RNA aptamer–based cancer therapies and leading scientific strategy in a preclinical biotech start-up. Adrian also shares his journey from academic research into industry, reflecting on the differences between academia and biotech, learning new skill sets, managing teams, and making career decisions along the way.
On this, our 325th Evolutionary Lens livestream, we discuss Hanta virus and drought. First: what is the natural history of Hantavirus, do any Hantaviruses transmit directly from human to human, and what is going on with the M.V. Hondius, the cruise ship on which Hantavirus has made a stand? Given its mechanisms of action, Ivermectin is likely to treat Hantavirus (a negative sense single-stranded RNA virus), but the WHO dismisses the possibility. Moderna is working on a Hantavirus vaccine, even though the Number Needed to Treat is sky high. What is going on? Then: in Washington state, we're experiencing a very wet drought. The Department of Ecology has declared a drought (again), and the snow pack is low, but all other indicators—from rivers to reservoirs to soil moisture—are excellent. Cliff Mass, atmospheric scientist, puts the evidence in one place and calls bull on the drought diagnosis.*****Our sponsors:Xlear: Xylitol nasal spray that acts as prophylaxis against respiratory illnesses by reducing the stickiness of bacteria and viruses. Find Xlear online, or at your local pharmacy, grocery store, or natural products store.Fresh Pressed Olive Oil Club: Freshly harvested and delicious. Go to http://www.GetFreshDarkHorse.com to get a bottle of the best olive oil you've ever had for $1 shipping.CrowdHealth: Pay for healthcare with crowdfunding instead of insurance. It's way better. Use code DarkHorse at http://JoinCrowdHealth.com to get 1st 3 months for $99/month.*****Join us on Locals! Get access to our Discord server, exclusive live streams, live chats for all streams, and early access to many podcasts: https://darkhorse.locals.comHeather's newsletter, Natural Selections (subscribe to get free weekly essays in your inbox): https://naturalselections.substack.comOur book, A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century, is available everywhere books are sold, including from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3AGANGg (commission earned)Check out our store! Epic tabby, digital book burning, saddle up the dire wolves, and more: https://darkhorsestore.org*****Mentioned in this episode:Hantavirus and the elders: https://asm.org/articles/2024/october/indigenous-knowledge-solved-mysterious-outbreakToledo et al 2022. Evidence for human-to-human transmission of hantavirus: a systematic review. The Journal of infectious diseases, 226(8): 1362-1371: https://academic.oup.com/jid/article/226/8/1362/6369311Zaidi & Dehgani-Mobaraki 2022. The mechanisms of action of ivermectin against SARS-CoV-2—an extensive review. The Journal of antibiotics, 75(2): 60-71: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41429-021-00491-6The WHO on the recent outbreak: https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2026-DON599Cliff Mass – There is no drought emergency: https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2026/05/the-is-no-drought-emergency-in.htmlStatewide drought declared in WA: https://ecology.wa.gov/about-us/who-we-are/news/2026/april-8-statewide-drought-declared-due-to-dismal-snowpackSupport the show
Calvin of Answers in Genesis Canada tries to explain that evolution is a prerequisite for atheism, but he has to lie in order to get there.Cards:God Made Eve from Adam's Egg?!?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdCTlrt1XVIAIG Wants You To Be Misinformed About Science
Episode 223: Oncogenic Viruses Introduction Mehr: Hi everyone, welcome back to the Rio Bravo qweek podcast. Back by popular demand is Me, Mehr Boparai a third-year medical student at COMP-NW. Here with me is Jeremy Pan from COMP who is also a third-year medical student. How are you doing Jeremy? Jeremy: I'm doing great Mehr.Thanks for the kind intro; we had a fun time this morning doing street medicine and had some practice giving Toradol injections and wound dressings. So excited to be back for another podcast episode this afternoon! Mehr: This week, we are moving away from bacteria and antibiotics and diving deeper into cancer-causing viruses. Jeremy: Yes, and if you are interested at all in public health, this is one of those areas where medicine overlaps with public health in a really tangible way. I think one of the most underappreciated aspects of this topic is that we have vaccines that can prevent many of these cancers. If you told someone 50 years ago we'd be vaccinating against cancer, they probably wouldn't believe you! It's amazing to see how far medicine has come. How viruses cause cancer: Jeremy: Before jumping into specific viruses, I always think having a mechanism-based framework makes everything stick better. Mehr: Right, because they don't all cause cancer the same way. Medicine can never be easy huh? Jeremy: Yea…this career really is just a lifetime of discovery. So just to start, in broad terms, we can think of three main buckets of how viruses can cause cancer: Direct oncogenesis where viral proteins interfere with tumor suppressors like P53 and Rb. We will go over their specific mechanisms a little later in the discussion. Mehr: Chronic inflammation where viruses cause repeated injury through production of reactive oxygen species. They also increase the chance of mutation through repeated DNA replication, leading to cancer. Jeremy: Immune evasion or suppression leads to decreased tumor surveillance. What this means essentially is that our immune system is constantly removing abnormal cells before they become cancerous. This is completed by CD8 T cells and natural killer, or NK, cells. CD8 T cells recognize abnormal peptides presented on Major Histocompatibility Complex, or MHC, class I molecules and induce apoptosis in those cells. Mehr: And NK cells step in when cells decide to stop expressing MHC I, which abnormal cells like to hide to avoid being caught. So just to reiterate, there are two layers to dissect here: if a cell looks suspicious with an abnormal MHC, CD8 T-cells kill them. If the abnormal cell decides to hide its MHC, then the NK cell will kill it instead. Jeremy: So, for the final big picture, we can think of oncogenic viruses as either disabling tumor suppression, causing chronic damage over time through inflammation, and weakening the immune system's ability to catch cancer in time before it develops. HPV Mehr: Let's start with one of the most common viruses afflicting our population – Human Papilloma Virus otherwise known as HPV. Jeremy: Right, this notorious virus is probably the most clinically impactful oncogenic virus. The key players HPV utilizes are proteins E6 and E7. Mehr: Right! E6 binds to and inhibits p53, which normally acts to induce cell cycle arrest, and E7 inhibits Rb, which normally acts as a tumor suppressor gene that inhibits the G1 to S phase transition in a normal cell cycle. Jeremy: So essentially, we are losing both apoptosis and losing cell cycle control at the same time. What is interesting about HPV is that persistent infection, not just exposure to the virus, is what drives cancer risk. Mehr: Exactly, most HPV infections clear on their own, but the ones that persist are the problem. Clinically, many end up being asymptomatic. However, for high-risk infections, we can see genital warts that can itch, feel tender, or cause abnormal vaginal bleeding and discharge. Patients are sometimes not able to have a vaginal delivery because of the warts that are present along their genital tract. We can also see warts on the hands and fingers or plantar surface of our feet. Jeremy: Another interesting point is that we are also seeing a shift where there are more cases of oropharyngeal cancers in younger, non-smoking patients. This is why if we see an abnormal neck lymph node or persistent sore throat after swallowing in a young patient, HPV should definitely be on the differential. Mehr: Screening is very important as well! We typically discover high-risk HPV infections through routine Pap smears and other HPV specific tests through DNA PCR and RNA tests. We also encourage vaccination for effective prevention of both genital warts and high-risk HPV-related cancers. There was also a study in Scotland where there were zero cases of HPV in adults who received the vaccine between 12-13 years of age! Which is crazy! EBV HBV & HCV Mehr: Now let's shift to viruses that affect the liver, Hepatitis B virus and Hepatitis C virus. Jeremy: Both are strongly associated with hepatocellular carcinoma, but they actually get there in slightlydifferent ways. Mehr: Right. Hepatitis B is a DNA virus that can integrate directly into the host genome, which can disrupttumor suppressor genes and promote oncogenesis. Jeremy: Whereas Hepatitis C is an RNA virus, so it doesn't integrate into the host genome. Instead, it causes chronic inflammation Over time, that leads to repeated cycles of hepatocyte injury and regeneration, along withoxidative stress from reactive oxygen species, which increases the risk of DNA mutations. Mehr: One really important clinical pearl is that Hep B can actually cause hepatocellular carcinoma evenwithout cirrhosis. Whereas with Hep C, the pathway is usually chronic inflammation → fibrosis → cirrhosis → dysplasia→ cancer. Jeremy: So, screening becomes really important for both of these viruses. For high-risk patients—like those with chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis—we typically dosurveillance with liver ultrasound every 6 months, sometimes with alpha-fetoprotein levels to see if it is elevated. Mehr: From a prevention standpoint, the Hep B vaccine is a huge win. It significantly reduces the risk ofhepatocellular carcinoma. For Hep C, we don't have a vaccine, but direct-acting antivirals can actually cure the infection andreduce long-term cancer risk, which is why we screen between ages 18-79 nowadays. Global Hep B and C account for 65% of all HCC cases! So, it makes sense that primary care itself is increasing the treatment of Hep C cases as well since it is easier to prescribe and that you want to be treated ASAP. Jeremy: Yea, the ability to treat Hep C is so beneficial to population health. Now let's say you have a patient who develops hepatocellular carcinoma, options can include surgicalresection, liver transplantation, local therapies, or systemic treatments depending on stage. Even without trying, every night you go to bed a little wiser. Thanks for listening to Rio Bravo qWeek Podcast. We want to hear from you, send us an email at RioBravoqWeek@clinicasierravista.org, or visit our website riobravofmrp.org/qweek. See you next week! __________________________________ References: Barry H. C. (2024). Scottish Screening: No Cases of Invasive Cervical Cancer in Women Who Received at Least One Dose of Bivalent HPV Vaccine at 12 or 13 Years of Age. American family physician, 110(2), 201–202. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39172683/ Theme song, Works All The Time by Dominik Schwarzer, YouTube ID: CUBDNERZU8HXUHBS, purchased from https://www.premiumbeat.com/. Even without trying, every night you go to bed a little wiser. Thanks for listening to Rio Bravo qWeek Podcast. We want to hear from you, send us an email at RioBravoqWeek@clinicasierravista.org, or visit our website riobravofmrp.org/qweek. See you next week!
Screenshot Magnesium Magnesium is a major cofactor in over 300 enzymatic reactions in the body, less a supplement than a piece of physiologic infrastructure. It is required for energy production (ATP), insulin signaling, protein synthesis, blood pressure regulation, and proper muscle and nerve function, essentially touching every major system we care about. And it goes deeper: magnesium is necessary for the creation and protection of DNA and RNA and for the production of glutathione, one of our most important intracellular antioxidants/detox mechanisms. About half of our magnesium is stored in bone and most of the rest in soft tissues, with less than 1% circulating in the blood, tightly regulated by the kidneys, so the serum level we commonly measure is a very limited window into total body status.... Enjoy, Dr. M
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Brett Monia, Ph.D., CEO at Ionis Pharmaceuticals, talks about how antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) graduated from a late-1980s lab concept to real RNA-targeting medicines, and why Ionis stuck with a difficult modality despite multiple setbacks. Brett describes the company's shift from a partner-first model to building a wholly-owned pipeline, commercial function, and an expanded manufacturing operation, and how he as a founding scientist-turned-CEO bridged a skills gap in finance and investor relations. Access this and hundreds of episodes of the Business of Biotech videocast under the Business of Biotech tab at lifescienceleader.com. Subscribe to our monthly Business of Biotech newsletter. Get in touch with guest and topic suggestions: ben.comer@lifescienceleader.comFind Ben Comer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/
SpaceTime with Stuart Gary | Astronomy, Space & Science News
SpaceTime Series 29 Episode 50 *Key ingredients of DNA discovered in the asteroid Ryugu A new study has confirmed that all five fundamental molecules needed to make up the DNA and RNA which underpins life as we know it, have been discovered in samples collected from the asteroid Ryugu. *Discovery of a metal‑rich hot spot tied to ancient Martian lake NASA's Mars Curiosity rover has discovered the highest concentrations of iron, manganese and zinc ever found in the one place on the red planet. *The edge of the Milky Way revealed Astronomers have for the first time, identified where the star forming region of the Milky Way Galaxy ends, finding it occurs some 40,000 light-years of the Galactic Centre.. *The Science Report Study shows young Americans and Australians are less happy now than they were 15 years ago. A new study warns that gay guys with left-leaning political views are the most likely to be gold-diggers. Skynet's Terminators are becoming reality with new bipedal humanoid robots out performing people. Skeptics guide to scientists view on life beyond Earth.Our Guests This Week: Professor Kliti Grice from Curtin University Jan Cami from Western University And our regular guests: Alex Zaharov-Reutt from techadvice.life Tim Mendham from Australian Skeptics
Nels and Vincent discuss the development of a comprehensive transcriptomic atlas of early embryogenesis from 61 animal species to understand the control of gene expression transitions from maternally deposited products to newly transcribed zygotic RNA. Hosts: Nels Elde and Vincent Racaniello Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiEVO Links for this episode Join the MicrobeTV Discord server Evolutionary landscapes of zygotic genome activation across animals (bioRxiv) Timestamps by Jolene Science Picks Nels – Biologists Confirm Not Much Evolution Happened Today Vincent – How Trains Take Electricity from Wires Without Breaking Contact Music on TWiEVO is performed by Trampled by Turtles Send your evolution questions and comments to twievo@microbe.tv
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