Finding Genius Podcast

Place a fist in front of your eyes: that’s what someone with macular degeneration sees. But Mike Freeman and his brother have created a new medical technology to bring the center to the periphery through an augmented reality headset. Even better, this technology can serve surgeons when microscopic vision takes priority. Listen and learn How these smart glasses use augmented reality technology to rearrange their visionary field into clarity, How the augmented reality glasses utilize buffering and pixel adjustment to match and overcome the particular vision loss of the wearer, and Why this technology is applicable to surgeons as well, making for a much more effective system than current ocular microscopic aids. Mike Freeman is CEO of Ocutrx Vision Technologies. As Richard says, he’s a true visionary, creating brilliant augmented reality projects for medical use, from visionary issues to surgical accuracy. He gives listeners a clear explanation of augmented reality versus virtual ...

If lifestyle has a major impact on your health, shouldn't doctors address it in meaningful ways? Arti Thangudu believes partnering with patients to treat lifestyle habits is important and she has the data to show it makes a difference. Listen and learn What typical crossovers exist within endocrinology diseases like diabetes and thyroid diseases, How Dr. Thangudu's lifestyle work with retired police officers and firefighters made a substantive difference, and What endocrinology diabetes advancements are emerging and what the near future holds. Arti Thangudu, MD, is a triple board-certified physician and a thyroid, endocrinology, and diabetes specialist. While most of her work is clinical, she tracks her own outcomes and assesses her own data. She shares with listeners several key factors at work in the human endocrine system that lead to disease and what pathways are involved. She explains the connection between endocrinology diabetes mellitus and thyroid disease and ho...

What exactly is plant medicine? Can Psilocybin and other psychedelic medicinal plants really help treat mental health issues ? Nadia Doe’s plant medicine meditation practice and other shamanic programs could provide much-needed answers. Tune in to dive into: Links between shamanism and psychotherapy The importance of herbal medicine in shamanism Releasing social constructs and embracing individual healing Nadia Doe is the founder of Sacred Heart Medicine Sanctuary, a mobile religious institution for those who seek a non-traditional approach to spirituality. Her many titles include Ordained Minister, Reiki Master, Shadow Work Practitioner, and Spiritual Healer, along with holding a Bachelor of Science in psychology and a massage therapy license. Nadia began her journey into shamanism, spiritual healing, and plant medicine while pursuing a goal of personal spiritual enlightenment after struggling with addiction and mental illness for many years. Today, she offers the same hea...

“The lack of knowledge in the oncology field is profound, which contributes to tremendous suffering and death…Our research at Boston College is developing the very diet-drug combinations that will eventually lead to the resolution of cancer.” Those are bold statements, and Thomas Seyfried offers no apology; just evidence. Press play to discover: What question every cancer patient needs to ask their oncologist What is stopping countless physicians across the world from implementing treatment based on the metabolic theory of cancer How the standard of care in cancer treatment (namely radiation and chemotherapy) actually accelerates metastasis  How microbes that are inside cells facilitate energy generation by cancer cells Thomas Seyfried is a professor in the biology department at Boston College and author of over 150 peer-reviewed publications, as well as the book, Cancer as a Metabolic Disease: On the Origin, Management, and Prevention of Cancer. In the world of cancer ...

Is it possible to breed a species of bee with total viral immunity? Maybe, and the research being done in Michelle Flenniken’s lab could pave the way for it to happen.  Tune in to discover: Whether bees might utilize a form of preventative medicine In what way a honeybee model for insect immunity might be superior to the status quo fruit fly model Why the term “ honeybee viruses ” might be misleading Michelle Flenniken is Assistant Professor in the Plant Sciences Department and Co-Director of the Pollinator Health Center at Montana State University whose primary research is focused not only on understanding the impact of viruses on honeybees, but on the molecular mechanisms that bees have evolved to combat viral infections. Longitudinal monitoring projects looking at the prevalence and abundance of 16 pathogens across several bee colonies over time have led to interesting and useful findings. For instance, Flenniken’s lab has shown that bees that are infected with viruses h...

Bees are not alone in their fight to survive. While the backyard beekeeper might start with a pollinator garden, researchers are also busy strengthening and shoring up these vulnerable organisms that are an essential part of our food ecosystem. Jay Evans explains some promising efforts, telling listeners What the main stressors for bees are, from diseases to pests, Why protecting a middle-aged bee from stressors impacts the entire colony, and What exciting new management strategies are in the works, including botanical medicines for bees. Jay Evans is with the USDA ARS Bee Research Laboratory in Maryland. He and his colleagues are approaching bee health from every angle, assessing direct and indirect factors that increase bee health and lessening those that cause habitat harm. The list is long, from increasing nutrition to mitigating pesticide effects, parasites, and the spread of viruses. Often the best solutions provide a path for the bees to help themselves. Evans and his g...

It just takes one sting to make sure your eyes are on the ground in fire-ant country. Walking across a field in the southern United States often includes a quick scan for any telltale nest mounds. More than memorable, fire ants also are problematic for agriculture. Guest David H. Oi fills in the background and tells listeners Why they're considered invasive ants and how they came to North America; What's their ecology, including prey, habitat, and possible predators; and What control methods, past and present, are used by the USDA as well as potential future measures. Research entomologist David H. Oi opens up the world of the fire ant for listeners, taking us along their "small and sneaky" paths. These ants are not native to North America, but made their way here in the '30s via imported goods arriving in Mobile from South America. They spread rapidly and easily, which is part of the reason they're considered invasive: the ability to out-compete n...

Most of us dread the sight of an ant in the kitchen, and might squash it without pause. But what if we knew that a single ant is just one part of an ‘individual’, that individual being the ant colony as a whole? What if we truly understood the social complexity, diversity, and evolutionary success of ants? What if we knew that an ant queen can live up to 29 years? Tune in to enter the life of an ant, and discover: Why ants in warmer environments tend to be pale in color, and ants in colder environments tend to be dark in color, and how this is linked with body size How certain types of ants use leaves as fertilizer by growing fungus on them, which they feed on How pitfall trapping is used to collect and study ants from various habitats Tom Rhys Bishop is an ecologist and Extraordinary Lecturer at University of Pretoria, South Africa, whose research is focused on trying to understand the factors that drive the distribution and diversity of different ant species, both on a small...

Astronauts in microgravity environments lose 2-3% of their bone mass per month. To put that in perspective, adults over the age of about 35 lose 2-3% of their bone mass per decade. Why is bone loss so accelerated in space? It all boils down to mechanical signals that are perceived and responded to by bone cells. Tune in to discover: Why people who are over the age of about 65 have such a high risk of bone fracture Why professional tennis players have 30-35% more bone in their playing arm than their non-playing arm   Why bone fractures due to osteoporosis are so much more common in women than men SUNY Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Stony Brook University, Clinton Rubin, researches how mechanical signals or the lack thereof influence the musculoskeletal system, and how skeletal sensitivity to mechanical signals can be harnessed in the development of a non-drug therapeutic for bone wasting, obesity, and osteoporosis. The understanding is that cells are ...

Imagine having a grand mal seizure while whitewater kayaking on a frigid river; you wake up and manage your way toward the shore, but you’re dazed and confused, freezing cold, and you don’t know where you are. Now imagine that a critical care registered nurse and wilderness medicine instructor comes to your rescue and brings you to safety. For a young man in his twenties, this story was real, and that nurse’s name was Jon Lowrance. In today’s episode, we hear from Lowrance about his past and current experiences in the medical world. Tune in to learn: What types and depths of anesthesia exist, and what determines which type or depth is used What types of injuries and traumas are most commonly sustained in remote areas of wilderness, and the unique challenges presented by remote environments Why people are started on IV anesthesia and then switched to inhalational anesthesia during a procedure, and under what circumstances the IV route can be skipped What role th...

It’s been nearly 100 years since insulin was first used in the treatment of diabetes—a life-changing medical advancement for those who have diabetes or know someone who does. However, too much insulin can cause blood sugar levels to drop too low, taking someone from a state of hyperglycemia and putting them into a state of hypoglycemia. Press play to learn more about hypoglycemia, and to discover: What physiological effects are caused by hypoglycemia versus hyperglycemia, and whether one is more dangerous than the other What the difference is between fast and slow-acting insulin Why people who have type 1 as opposed to type 2 diabetes might be more prone to become hypoglycemic Honorary Clinical Lecturer at the University of Sheffield in the UK and consultant diabetologist, Peter Novodvorsky, PhD, studies the effect of hypoglycemia on cardiovascular health. About twenty years ago, the focus sat pretty narrowly on the detrimental and unpleasant autonomic symptoms caused by...

Imagine being told as a young adult that you're suffering from osteoporosis so advanced that your bones are that of an 80-year-old. That's what happened to Mira Calton while living what she thought was a healthy life in New York City. She tells listeners what happened next and how she recovered. She and husband Dr. Jayson Calton discuss How her healthy-sounding diet and lifestyle led to micronutrient deficiency symptoms, Why micronutrients can cancel each other out and how the Calton formulation addresses and solves these issues, and What the implications are for various diets and medications as well as resources for more information. Mira and Jayson Calton are authors and founders of Calton Nutrition. They are experts in weight management strategies and micronutrient therapies. Their latest book, Rebuild your Bones , specifically addresses bone health tips and effective ways to pair bone health vitamins and other micronutrients. Their past book addresses micron...

Pop quiz: what’s seven trillion dollars times zero? The current amount of economic stimulus in the American economy. Despite printing four trillion dollars and seven trillion dollars in deficit spending since this time last year, economic growth is still below what it should be, hence talk of the new great depression. In this episode, you’ll learn: How many of the major pandemics of the 20 th century resulted in a second wave that was worse than the first, and how that seems to be playing out with COVID-19 How one man became the richest in Germany during the worst period of hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic in the 1920s What it means to be in a depression versus a recession, and what can be said about the recent and current state of the American economy in this regard Why Rickards says deflation rather than inflation will be brought about by the response to COVID-19 Jim Rickards is an American lawyer, economist, investment banker, speaker, media commentator, and New Yo...

“If you imagine the mind as a piece of unshaped clay, and if I’m the first person to get in there on a particular topic and mold the clay, I am so far ahead of anyone who comes after me, because they have to try to unmold it,” says Ken McCarthy. This statement pulls together and illustrates how public perception is manipulated, and why it’s so difficult to undo once it’s been done. In this episode, you’ll learn: How universal literacy, access to printed materials, and the ability of people to generate their own printed materials had a significant impact on the power dynamic between the general public and those in power Why, upon closer examination of the fine print on the CDC and NIH websites, the COVID-19 vaccine is not a vaccine, but experimental gene therapy What role the Creel Committee played in persuading the American mind on a number of historical events, and how the same techniques are still used today How the use of psychological warfare influenced American women to vi...

“The reason we can get away with these outrageous lies we tell is that the average person can’t imagine lying on that scale because it’s just completely out of their experience…they just can’t imagine making up something completely outrageous,” says Ken McCarthy, explaining the big lie theory in the context of history and the present day. Press play to learn: How the institutional dynamic of “us” versus “them” exploits a fundamentally human tendency, and how this plays out in politics, sports teams, and even restaurants Where the beauty of TRUE science is found, and what happens when scientific knowledge becomes institutionalized and relies on misinterpretations of data Who funds a large percentage of health and medical reporting in the US and other countries around the world Ken McCarthy is a pioneer in the world of internet marketing and was one of the foremost visionaries on how the internet would unfold. Time Magazine credited him as the person who first understood how click...

Fascinating and frustrating: two words that Dr. Haller uses to describe researching how type 1 diabetes evolves within the human endocrine system. Type 1 diabetes stands at the top of pediatric endocrinology diseases , and Dr. Haller tells listeners about exciting developments in delaying, modifying, and preventing type 1 progression. Listen and learn What evidence in endocrinology and diabetes research shows type 1 as essentially a heterogeneous disease, What trends and differences appear in adult versus juvenile onset of type 1 diabetes, and Which endocrinology diabetes therapies are in the works, including the first ever FDA-labeled drug capable of "changing the natural history of type 1 diabetes." Michael J. Haller, MD, is a professor and Chief of Pediatric Endocrinology at the University of Florida. He specializes in type 1 diabetes mellitus research and clinical work.  What causes type 1? Well, that's part of the challenge. Triggers range from genetic t...

It’s a universal truth: one of the first words a baby speaks is “Mine!” Ownership governs everything in our lives. Hundreds of times each day, we encounter rules that determine who gets what, and when they get it. Tune in for a deep dive into this compelling topic that flies under most people’s radar. You’ll discover: How ownership of every single thing on the planet is claimed in one of six ways, whether by a kid on a playground, or a government controlling a global population   Why the assertion that owning nothing would reduce consumption isn’t necessarily true When does “possession is nine-tenths of the law” turn into “possession is one-tenth of the law,” and how this notion is impacting society now more than ever How and why the gap between what you feel you own and what you actually own is getting larger Two guests join the show today: James Salzman, the Donald Bren Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law with joint appointments at UCLA School of Law and at the ...

“I felt I had to stand up and be heard at least by the local council; it was never my intention that the video clip would go viral internationally….I gave my opinion, which seems to have struck a chord for many people internationally,” says Dr. Roger Hodkinson. He’s not an anti-vaxxer, he’s not a so-called conspiracy theorist: he’s a well-recognized and accomplished physician who isn’t willing to compromise his ethics and integrity by corroborating the mainstream media message simply because he’s being intimidated and threatened into doing so. Press play to hear him expound on the opinion that drew international attention, and to discover: Why the innovative mRNA vaccine for COVID-19 may work, but also might backfire and create dangerous complications that emerge within the coming months or years What the Danish mask study showed about the effectiveness of masks in preventing transmission of COVID-19 How and to what extent the consequences of the response to COVID-19 have harm...

“One of my mottos is ‘no brain left behind’, and I love the most complex cases,” says Kristen Willeumier. Surprisingly, some of those complex cases can be solved through natural, simple means. Tune in to learn: Whether depression and other psychiatric conditions actually produces changes in the brain that can be detected via electrical and functional scans Which supplement is critical to brain health, and why it’s particularly important for people with neuropsychiatric disorders Why using benzodiazepines like Ambien and Xanax for better sleep can actually produce the opposite effect  How drinking more water can help you lose weight Neuroscientist and author of  Biohack Your Brain: How to Boost Cognitive Health , Performance & Power , Kristen Willeumier, spent nearly a decade in academic science before taking a job at Amen Clinics, an outpatient psychiatric clinic focused on treating complex psychiatric disorders using neuroimaging. She was hired to fulfill two role...

Digital stethoscopes, otoscopes, home hemodialysis programs, video conferencing, electronic consults…you name it: digital healthcare technologies are being delivered to patients who would otherwise face significant challenges accessing the care they need for managing chronic conditions. Press play to discover: How biometric data can be transmitted from inside a patient's home, to a physician located hundreds of miles away To what degree telehealth services have reduced wait times for VA patients What telehealth is like, from a patient’s perspective (what’s good, what can be improved, what it means to receive the majority of care electronically) Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at University of Pittsburgh, Department of Medicine and Clinical Director of Telehealth Services at VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Dr. Archana Bandi, is an endocrinologist who cares for patients with chronic illnesses, including diabetes, chronic obesity, osteoporosis, high cholestero...

How many stars in the sky? Gaia astronomer Timo Prusti is more qualified than most to posit an answer. He helps manage the project undertaken by the ESA mission space lab called Gaia—to measure the position of almost 2 million stars—and talks about the far-reaching implications and space exploration benefits . Listen and learn How the mechanics of the Gaia project work, from using solar system parallaxes for measurements to their time frame,  How data such as brightness work in their calculations, and What this information reveals about our universe, stars, and galaxies, including the origin of the Milky Way galaxy. Timo Prusti is a project scientist with the European Space Agency (ESA) on the Gaia team and takes listeners on a ride through the stars in the universe. The Gaia satellite is positioned about 1.5 million kilometers away from the earth, collecting data to help Prusti and his colleagues measure star positions. The distance is tricky to calculate, but they us...

Dr. Daniel Geschwind Bio: Dr.  Geschwind  is the Gordon and Virginia MacDonald Distinguished Professor of Human Genetics, Neurology and Psychiatry at UCLA. In his capacity as Senior Associate Dean and Associate Vice Chancellor of Precision Health, he leads the Institute for Precision Health (IPH) at UCLA, where he oversees campus precision health initiatives. In his laboratory, his group has pioneered the application of systems biology methods in neurologic and psychiatric disease, with a focus on autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and neurodegenerative conditions. Dr. Geschwind is a pioneer in the transcriptomic and functional genomic analyses of the nervous system. His laboratory showed that gene co-expression has a reproducible network structure that can be used to understand neurobiological mechanisms in health and disease. He led the first studies to define the molecular pathology of autism and several other major psychiatric disorders, and has made ...

Do you think that intense, beneficial states of flow are only for extreme athletes? Not true, says Steven Kotler. In fact, we all have the tools for this process that leads to human performance optimization. He discusses his new book about human performance impact factors, offering key steps in this conversation. Listen and learn How an experience while recovering from Lyme disease led him to the phenomenon of flow and corresponding research, Why certain acts trigger states of flow and what is the most common “interpersonal flow” in business environments, and How to engage in specific flow-state triggers and how to access resources for more formal human performance improvement training. Noted author and speaker Steven Kotler has written thirteen books, nine of which are best sellers. Two of his books have been nominated for the Pulitzer prize. He’s the executive director of the Flow Research Collective and, along with his wife, is cofounder of a hospice and special-needs cent...

Diagnosed just a few weeks past her eight birthday, it wasn't until she was an adult that she realized how isolated she had always felt as a result of being a diabetic. She and another type 1 had befriended each other, and after talking about diabetes type 1 diet and exercise types, they realized that combing forces and sharing information might help others. Listen and learn What she hopes to accomplish with her blog, diabetesdailygrind.com , and podcast, Real Life Diabetes Podcast , What a "day in the life" type 1 diabetes insulin regimen looks like from her perspective and what kinds of effects stress has on management, and What other factors, like decision fatigue, are added in to that management and how she advises listeners to reach out for mental health support. After several decades with type 1 diabetes , Amber Clour is more than an expert in self-management. But her knowledge has even more depth because of the research and interviews she's done f...

"This is the worse superbug you can get," said her husband's doctors when diagnosing him with a life-threatening multidrug resistant bacterial infection.  But Steffanie Strathdee put her research skills to work and eventually was able to convince doctors to treat him with an experimental phage therapy that ended up saving his life. Listen and learn Why no other solution was working to cure her husband of this superbug, How the history of phage therapy versus antibiotics has played out, and Why the problem of antibiotic resistance may be addressed by utilizing bacteriophages . Steffanie A. Strathdee is the Associate Dean of Global Health Sciences and the Harold Simon Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine. She helped found and co-directs UCSD’s new center for Innovative Phage Applications and Therapeutics (IPATH) and also works with the Global Health Institute and the International Core of UCSD’s Cent...

Imaging a heart is both crucial and challenging, but Caption Health has fine-tuned artificial intelligence healthcare to make ultrasound imaging more precise, more accessible, and more efficient. Listen in as their CTO describes What the biggest challenges are in achieving high-quality, informative ultrasounds, How the Caption AI ultrasound meets those challenges, and What additional advantages artificial intelligence in ultrasound procedures offers, such as speed and novice accessibility. Research scientist Kilian Koepsell cofounded Caption Health and serves as their Chief Technology Officer (CTO). He's spent his career focusing on the potential of deep learning to solve healthcare issues. He tells Richard about exciting new advances from Caption Health for artificial intelligence in ultrasound imaging. While ultrasounds are extremely valuable diagnostic tools, the procedures require highly-skilled personnel to work the ultrasound machine. Imaging something like the ...

How many podcasters does it take to evaluate the modern science field? Well, this conversation presents an intriguing attempt by two to do just that. Richard and Dr. Kat Arney touch on everything from the tangle of the publication field to the ecology of the cell. Listen and learn How she approaches the history of genetics in her Genetics Unzipped podcast and what are some of her favorite stories from the year, What dangers in today's publication system exist, including "predatory journals" and preprints, and How her new book, Rebel Cell , explores the latest on cancer and how an evolutionary lens might help treatment. Dr. Kat Arney is an award-winning science writer, public speaker, and broadcaster. Her PhD in developmental genetics informs her latest podcast, Genetics Unzipped , and she's just published a new book called Rebel Cell: Cancer, Evolution and the Science of Life . She offers listeners a plethora of interesting biomedical science tidbits, fro...