Podcasts about thymine

This week we talk about Evo 2, bacteriophages, and antibiotics.We also discuss AI models, medical innovations, and the Red Army.Recommended Book: The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A. NormanTranscriptA bacteriophage, sometimes just called a phage, is a type of virus that only infects bacteria. “Phage” means to devour, and that's what bacteriophages do—they infect and replicate within bacteria that they target, injecting their own genome into that target's cytoplasm, which are all the materials contained within the bacteria's cell membrane.Phages are super-abundant, by some measures more abundant than every living organism, including bacteria, on earth, combined. And they're interesting in that they range from incredibly simple to quite complex, and have at times been used as alternatives to antibiotics, because they attack and feed on bacteria.The use of phages to counter bacterial infections was all but abandoned in the mid-20th century when antibiotics were discovered and commercialized, their production industrialized and the substances themselves proving a lot easier to mass-produce, and a lot more predictable in their utility than phages. Phages were kinda sorta almost understood, but we didn't really get what they were doing or why, so their application often felt more like folk remedies than real-deal science, despite the actual science underlying the practice.Also, phages were primarily used as antibiotic treatments by the Red Army, the Soviet Union's military. So throughout the West, which was rapidly scaling its production of antibiotic treatments, the use of bacteriophages was associated with Stalinist communism, and so the Red-scare, the demonization of anything associated with the Soviet Union, was partially responsible for the shelving of this approach and this realm of research, at least for a while.Much of that existing research was also done in the Soviet Union, and the published documents were thus published in Russian or Georgian languages. And because much of the rest of the scientific publishing world was reorienting around English at this time, that meant these published works were often either ignored or unintelligible to the rest of the scientific community.As with much of our microbiota, the invisibly small viruses, bacteria, archaea, and so on that make up the human microbiome, we have a general sense of how bacteriophages interact with some of what makes us, us, but only a general sense. We know that healthy individuals tend to contain a host of bacteriophages that people who have chronic conditions, like Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis are less likely to have, for instance, and there's a chance that this lack is associated with those conditions—though each person's body composition is unique, and this facet of biology is still relatively obscure; we really don't know for certain what does what, because of how complex these interactions are.What I'd like to talk about today is a recent development in the world of bacteriophages, and why the researchers behind it are both celebrating their accomplishment, and warning about potential dangers associated with the same.—Back in 2025, a nonprofit called the Arc Institute, which has a stated goal of accelerating scientific progress and understanding the root causes of complex diseases, announced the release of a new language model, a new AI system, called Evo 2.The Evo family of foundation models—a foundation model being a type of AI model that's been trained on a huge corpus of data, but which is applicable for all sorts of purposes, including serving as the foundation of large-language models like ChatGPT or Claude—this family of foundation models is open-source and trained on raw genetic sequences, something like nine trillion nucleotides-worth of such sequences, making it distinct from other models in this space that have been trained on descriptions of biological systems, using human language.The initial version of Evo was released in early 2024, and the newest version, Evo 2, which is an upgraded version of the Evo 2 model that is more efficient, so it can be run on less powerful hardware, was released in February of 2026.So while many of the AI systems that non-biologists interact with on a regular basis have been trained on human language-based libraries, showing relationships and interactions between the words we use to communicate, these models have been trained on the fundamental building blocks of life; the nucleotides, Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine, and Guanine, ATCG of DNA, if you remember that from biology class, that are strung together into 64 different possible three-letter combinations. Chains of these nucleotides instruct cells to build proteins out of amino acids, and from that baseline, we get life.We also get non-living things like viruses, which have no cells, metabolism, or independent reproduction, and phages are viruses.And while other AI models have been shown to be great at designing proteins, before 2025 there was little evidence that such systems could design viable genomes: the combination of genetic information that makes up a complete, fully functional organism.That's what Arc decided to tackle with this Evo AI model. And back in 2025, Arc announced that it had successfully validated the first viable genome designs, created using generative AI.These designs were for 16 bacteriophages, which were modeled on a virus that infects E. coli bacteria, and some of them worked just as well or better at infecting E. coli when compared to the actual, real-world phage they were modeled on. They were produced in the real world, a bacteria coaxed into producing them, and then they went on to successfully gobble up the E. coli test subjects they were meant to gobble up, demonstrating that they worked in practice, not just theory.And a new paper published in early August of 2026 by the Arc Institute and Stanford University expounds upon this research, showing the results of an attempt to create entirely new viruses, not just altered existing viruses.Rather than mutating that E. coli gobbling phage, as with the last experiment, tweaking an existing virus, this time they tasked Evo 2 with modeling how that E. coli attacking and eating process works, and then told it to come up with entirely new viruses that operate on the same premise, but which are structured differently; new viruses that eat the same thing in a similar way, but which are distinct from the original model.Ultimately, it gave them 16 viable viruses of very different sizes and structure, all of which were created in a lab and successfully ate the targeted E. coli strain, as intended.This is being seen as a pretty big deal, because while creating viruses in a lab is very modern technology, and mutating those viruses shows a lot of potential for manipulating what we already know works and then tweaking virus behaviors to, perhaps, help us create new medical treatments, the ability to generate, from scratch, entirely new viruses that hold together, with genomes that don't just fall apart when they come into contact with the real world, and which can still do things, like attack bacteria—that opens a lot of new doors, potentially giving us the ability to say, okay, this bacteria is no longer responding to antibacterial drugs that we have available, so let's make a virus that will kill the bacteria instead, and let's make one that won't harm the human that's housing that bacteria.We might also be able to create phages that eat other things, or which in some other way help the human body, or other biological entities, fight off chronic conditions, or recover or rebalance; there's a lot of potential here, because this suggests AI systems trained on the right materials, on the building blocks of life, could generate all sorts of viable biological systems that we can then actually create. It's a huge step forward, compared to systems that are also impressive, but which mostly help us understand the biological world better—like Alphafold, which solved the protein folding problem.Those involved with this research have also been been flagging potential dangers with this development, though, including the potential for creating new viruses and other biological systems that could trigger unpredictable outcomes in other biological systems. There are a lot of potential hazards with this sort of research, and they've been very careful up till this point, sticking with test subjects that only target E. coli, but not everyone will necessarily be so careful, which might mean accidents, or it could mean people with less than benevolent intentions using these techniques to develop highly infectious viruses or other such pathogens; starting from smallpox to produce even more contagious and deadly ailments, for instance.The optimistic view of this research is that it could contribute to the surge in new discoveries and technologies that we're seeing around the world right now, that are resulting in new medical approaches and in some cases entirely new medical fields, which could help us do all sorts of things, including big-sky ambitions like curing cancer and doing away with chronic illnesses entirely.Like most major scientific developments, though, these are also big developments for those who might want to do harm, and it also creates new opportunities for very serious, dangerous, deadly accidents, which means we'll probably have to develop and implement more stringent safety protocols and regulatory efforts if we want to enjoy the full benefits of these innovations, without suffering significant new downsides, in the process.Show Noteshttps://press.asimov.com/articles/ai-phageshttps://arcinstitute.org/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/aug/06/safety-fears-as-scientists-make-first-viruses-designed-by-aihttps://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y3j3ngevmohttps://www.cnn.com/2026/08/06/health/ai-viruses-bacteriophageshttps://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-07/ai-models-design-viruses-not-found-in-nature-for-first-time/107007854https://www.wired.com/story/scientists-used-ai-to-create-16-new-viruses/https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aec2657https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteriophagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evo_(AI)https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/06/science/ai-viruses-bacteria-arc.html This is a public episode. 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David Hansen - October 26th, 2025 - Recognition, Repentance, Redemption 1. Recognition ROMANS 1 20 -22 Human DNA: about 3.2 billion base pairs within helical ladder, in a specific order. Presuppose ladder rails mounted on abundance of 4 nucleotide rung pairs: Thymine, Cytosine, Guanine, Adenine. “A” goes with “T”, “G” goes with “C”, both pairing via weak H+ bonds. Start Stacking! Stir for billions of years, add energy, isolate as needed, warm/cool as needed. BINGO! DNA! DNA is not alive but is the key to life, the cell in which it exists is a wonder of symbiosis: The cell membrane itself is a wonder: Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Genesis 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Psalm 14:1 - The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works….. Daniel 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. RECOGNIZE ACCOUNTABILITY - Cognitive - I am created. (In fact, God is my Creator.) Moral I have sinned. (In fact, I am in a condition of sin. Yet God must be glorious and holy.) 2. Repentance - Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. PSALM 139 14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, marvelous are thy works and that my soul knoweth right well. 15 My substance was not hid from thee when I was made in secret … 3. Redemption ! - Mark 2 14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye and believe the gospel. Hebrews 9:27 … and as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment… Hebrews 11:6But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. 1 Timothy 2 4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth, 5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

Follow Shane and Duncan along the twists and turns of the double helix as they unravel the history of genetics and DNA profiling. From Watson and Crick to the Human Genome Project, from Green River to the Golden State Killer, learn how genetic material holds the key to solving seemingly unsolvable crimes and curing formerly incurable diseases.  ~ In this episode:   Deoxyribonucleic Acid: The "Blueprint for Life" The Structure of DNA Nucleotides: Adenine, Cytosine, Thymine, Guanine Sugar Phosphates Friedrick Miescher Photo 51 Rosalind Franklin Watson and Crick The Eagle Pub Nature Magazine DNA Sequencing Frederick Sanger The Human Genome Project DNA Profiling Jeffrey Glassberg Alec Jeffries Murderer Colin Pitchfork: The First Success Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism The Green River Killer: Gary Ridgeway The Golden State Killer: James D'Angelo Junior CODIS: The Combined Data Index System Touch-DNA The Pitfalls of Partial DNA Successes ~ Support the show by becoming a Midnight Minion, Menace, or Maniac, and unlock exclusive bonus content over at PATREON ~ Chat with fellow insomniacs and vote on episode topics via DISCORD ~ Join the Midnight Masses! Become an Insomniac by dropping a review, adding us on social media, and contacting us with episode ideas.  And we now have Midnight Merch! Show your Insomniac pride and pick up a tee shirt or coffee mug to spread the word!  Midnight Merch  ~ Leave an Audio Message! ~  Instagram ~ Podcast Website ~ Episode Transcript          

Artist, Twitch personality and slime aficionado Thymine joins the reunited RPG Pals to discuss Dragon Quest XII, Dragon Quest III HD-2D, and everything announced during last week's Dragon Quest 35th Anniversary livestream. Fanbyte Podcast Network (We do other podcasts too!) Follow us on Twitter (Yell at us on Twitter in good ways.) Talk to us on Discord (Talk to us and our loving community. Also we have a pets channel that is very good.) Twitch Live Streams (Hang out with us live.) Rate and review our show (Please show us your support by rating and telling Paul how much you love his work to make his heart feel good.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If there is one rule in biology, it is that there is an exception to every rule. This includes even the basic biochemistry of DNA, which was once thought to be universal. On this episode, host Lauren Richardson and Judy Savitskaya (a16z bio deal team member and synthetic biology expert), discuss the results and implications three related articles co-published in Science, which all advance our understanding of a very unique kind of DNA. If you open any biology text book, it will say that the genetic code is made up of 4 bases: Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine, and Guanine, or ATCG. But, back in 1977, scientists discovered a phage — the technical term a virus that infects bacteria — that encodes its genome in ZTCG. Z is a derivative of A that has an extra amino group tagged on, and while that may sound minor, it changes some of the key properties of DNA. These three new articles seek to understand how Z is made and how it is incorporated into DNA. This is essential information for taking Z from a weird, wild bio story into a practical application. The conversation covers what makes Z different than other bases, what these three articles reveal about the synthesis and polymerization of Z, and how we can use use Z in a wide range of applications, from bio-containment to new therapeutics to DNA storage.The three articles discussed are:"A widespread pathway for substitution of adenine by diaminopurine in phage genomes" by  Yan Zhou, Xuexia Xu, Yifeng Wei, Yu Cheng, Yu Guo, Ivan Khudyakov, Fuli Liu, Ping He, Zhangyue Song, Zhi Li, Yan Gao, Ee Lui Ang, Huimin Zhao, Yan Zhang, and Suwen Zhao"A third purine biosynthetic pathway encoded by aminoadenine-based viral DNA genomes" by Dona Sleiman, Pierre Simon Garcia, Marion Lagune, Jerome Loc’h, Ahmed Haouz, Najwa Taib, Pascal Röthlisberger, Simonetta Gribaldo, Philippe Marlière, and Pierre Alexandre Kaminski"Noncanonical DNA polymerization by aminoadenine-based siphoviruses" by  Valerie Pezo, Faten Jaziri, Pierre-Yves Bourguignon, Dominique Louis, Deborah Jacobs-Sera, Jef Rozenski, Sylvie Pochet, Piet Herdewijn, Graham F. Hatfull, Pierre-Alexandre Kaminski, and Philippe Marliere 

Susanne Somerville is the CEO of Chronicled, founded in 2014 with the hopes of building the ultimate enterprise blockchain platform. And more recently in 2017 she founded the Mediledger Network, one of the largest and most active healthcare/blockchain consortiums. Current working group members and partners include Genentech, Gilead, Bayer, Pfizer, PWC, SAP, Deloitte, IQVIA, GS1, Walmart and more. Susanne is trailblazing a path for pharma companies to use blockchain tech in a way that will improve their supply chain operations and revenue management processes. https://www.chronicled.com/ https://www.mediledger.com/ Show Notes •Introduction of Susanne's background •Journey from ChemE to Pharma supply chain to blockchain •Origins of Chronicled and Mediledger - value proposition, problem statement •How is COVID19 impacting healthcare supply chains? •Most challenging Supply Chain problems fit for DLT - data entry, track and tracing, temperature monitoring, fraud, counterfeits •What responsibilities does Chronicled have as the custodian of the MediLedger network? •Industry Standards – GS1 and HIBCC (Health Industry Business Communications Council) database •Customer mapping process and how different trading partners can align interests •Does Mediledger need blockchain? Why? •“It’s like putting your own private embassy behind your trading partners firewall” on the benefits of blockchain for multi-party data exchange •Chronicled Products - Product Verification / Contracts and Chargebacks •Network stakeholders - Healthcare providers, GPOs (Group purchasing organization), Manufacturers, distributors •Technical specifications (architecture) of Chronicled network •Permisssioned Blockchain protocol – Substrate/Parity Tech Stack •Data storage •Node participation and governance •Libp2p messaging •Smart contracts •FDA DSCSA pilot experience and learnings from regulators •Managing between data transparency and privacy •Chronicled team and culture around privacy and security •Industry Partners and concept traction - existing partners and pilot projects •Can you describe the competitive landscape and any direct competitors to your business? •Platform/Ecosystem roadmap 2020 and beyond •Favorite book – Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie •What do you believe in that most people would disagree with? •Who's your favorite US president of all time? •How are you handling with the physical distancing measures? •Final takeaways News Corner The COVID19 pandemic has highlighted how Genetic data may reveal susceptibility to certain diseases. On June 8, 23andme announced it has been conducted research studies to determine if blood type is associated with lower risk of infections or symptoms. In a person’s DNA, a Thymine base on their ABO gene determines if that person has blood type O. Early results suggest Individuals with O blood type are between 9-18% percent less likely than individuals with other blood types to have tested positive for COVID-19. This research study is continuing to grow and people are beginning to reconsider the role of genetic data in our digital world. https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/23andme-finds-evidence-that-blood-type-plays-a-role-in-covid-19/ Remember, the Health Unchained podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and we are not providing any sort of legal, financial, or medical advice. Please do your own research and due diligence before making any important decisions related to these matters. Special thanks to Bert Miller and Christiane Wirrig who both have newsletters covering the industry. https://bert.substack.com/ https://bluesteens.substack.com/ Health Unchained Links Website: https://healthunchained.org Telegram: t.me/healthunchained Twitter: twitter.com/Healthunchaind

Interview with Dr. Howard Kornfeld, member of the Frontline COVID-19 Critical Care Working Group. They are promoting the MATH+ protocol to treat COVID-19 patients at the early stages of hypoxemia, based on the conventional drugs methylprednisolone, ascorbic acid, thiamine, heparin, zinc and vitamin D. Testing is being done by experienced emergency doctors familiar with similar protocols using steroids, ascorbic acid and heparin for other ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) diseases of the lungs. See Covid19CriticalCare.com Email topics: Suggested doses for Vitamin C and Zinc as preventative measures; The challenge of finding existing antiviral drugs that might work against Coronavirus

Interview with Dr. Howard Kornfeld, member of the Frontline COVID-19 Critical Care Working Group. They are promoting the MATH+ protocol to treat COVID-19 patients at the early stages of hypoxemia, based on the conventional drugs methylprednisolone, ascorbic acid, thiamine, heparin, zinc and vitamin D. Testing is being done by experienced emergency doctors familiar with similar protocols using steroids, ascorbic acid and heparin for other ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) diseases of the lungs. See Covid19CriticalCare.com. Email topics: Suggested doses for Vitamin C and Zinc as preventative measures; The challenge of finding existing antiviral drugs that might work against Coronavirus

UV excitation of the DNA single strand (dT)(18) leads to electronically excited states that are potential gateways to DNA photolesions. Using time-resolved infrared spectroscopy we characterized a species with a lifetime of similar to 100 ps and identified it as a charge separated excited state between two thymine bases.

Dr Norman Cohen introduces four key characteristics any set of inherited instructions needs to have.

Transcript -- Dr Norman Cohen introduces four key characteristics any set of inherited instructions needs to have.

Dr Norman Cohen introduces four key characteristics any set of inherited instructions needs to have.

Transcript -- Dr Norman Cohen introduces four key characteristics any set of inherited instructions needs to have.

highwaybluespodcast2

Wed, 1 Jan 1964 12:00:00 +0100 http://epub.ub.uni-muenchen.de/3438/ http://epub.ub.uni-muenchen.de/3438/1/066.pdf David, Charles N. David, Charles N. (1964): UV inactivation and thymine dimerization in bacteriophageΦX. In: Molecular and General Genetics MGG, Vol. 95, Nr. 4: pp. 318-325. Biologie