Finding Genius Podcast

Could artificial intelligence be used in clinical drug trials? Is AI really capable of making the overall process easier and allowing the advancement of medical science, bringing cutting-edge treatment options to patients? AI in healthcare may sound like science fiction, but thanks to Charles Fisher, Ph.D., and his company, Unlearn.ai, it is now quickly becoming a reality. Listen to discover: The types of clinical trials that are becoming possible using artificial intelligence How clinical trials and artificial intelligence can shorten the timeline of the federal drug approval process The affects of the COVID-19 pandemic on recent clinical drug trials Unlearn.ai was founded as a way to invest in developing agenda-free and accessible machine learning and artificial intelligence in medical field applications. This primarily takes place in the form of intelligent clinical trials utilizing what is called a “digital twin”, which allows a personalized glimpse into the future for p...

What if it were possible to use the science behind evolution and cancer to develop highly personalized cancer medications capable of targeting cancerous tissue while leaving healthy tissue unaffected? Steve Gullans, former Chief Executive Officer of Gemphire Therapeutics and co-author of Evolving Ourselves: Redesigning the Future of Humanity- One Gene at a Time , tells us that not only is it possible, it is happening right now. Tune in to learn: How cancer treatments have evolved over the past several decades The way modern cancer medications can attack tumors without damaging healthy tissue The role of cancer evolution in the development of new immune system-based cancer treatments Steve, a one-time Harvard Scientist, now uses his knowledge of both cancer evolution and immune system science to advise biotech companies on the medical science needed to advance cancer therapy treatment options from toxic to targeted. One major roadblock to these new immune therapy cancer dru...

"Here you have to look for ants, but in the rainforest, they find you," says Professor McGlynn, as he describes his efforts to make it to a Costa Rican field house for research on ants . He tells listeners about some of the fascinating ant behaviors he discovers there as Finding Genius continues investigating the ecological roles of insects. Listen and learn What tools of entomology and forensics he practices to find out more about ant habitats, such as why one species changes nests every few days; What interesting ant facts reveal themselves through ecological roles and interactions; and What questions ant scientists investigate regarding types of ants in the desert as climate change insures their homes will be the hottest on our planet. Ecologist, entomologist, and science policy communicator Terry McGlynn is a professor of biology and the director of undergraduate research at California State University—Dominguez Hills. As a colleague once described, he studies...

"A tumor is certainly smarter than humans," says researcher Jyotsna Batra, discussing the ability of some tumors to change behaviors and progress through mutations. But she and other researchers are doing their best to utilize genome-wide associated studies to understand the genetic basis of stages of carcinogenesis. Listen and learn How her lab has identified 150 risk variants associated with prostate cancer, Why matching these variants with the aggressiveness and metastases of disease is an important step, How they must take into account the role of heterogeneity in these stages of research, and Why it's vital when assessing carcinogenesis and oncogenesis to combine multiple diagnostic methods, like PSA tests alongside genetic tests, to better understand potential for disease progression. Jyotsna Batra is an associate professor with the Faculty of Health and School of Biomedical Sciences at Queensland University. She works in genetics , biochemistry, and cel...

Most cancer therapies focus on killing cells, but researcher Gabor Balazsi is trying a different approach: he's creating gene circuits to change cancer cell behavior. He takes listeners through this imaginative approach for altering the direction of cancer progression. Listen and learn How these circuits might work after an early cancer detection test to prevent metastases, What the step-by-step processes of these circuits include, How he addresses concerns of gene circuits gone wild, and What are additional possible applications including virus treatment. Gabor Balazsi is the Henry Laufer Professor and a physical and quantitative biology professor within the Biomechanical Engineering Department at Stony Brook University. Cancer researchers meet that resounding question—can cancer be cured—from multiple disciplines, and he applies a biomechanical approach. He's working on a method to control cancer cells by inserting them with human-built artificial gene circuits. ...

What do zebra mussels and cancer cells have in common? Researchers consider each invasive forces. About ten years ago, oncologists recast cancer in evolutionary terms to reimagine how to treat it. Oncologists Kenneth Pienta explains why that's made a difference. Listen and learn How researchers apply the principals of evolutionary biology and ecology to cancer, Why an advanced prostate cancer metastasis is like an unchecked invasive species, Why the discovery of a cancer cell exhibiting hibernating-like behavior in a prostate cancer microenvironment is significant, and How this discovery might inform the latest treatment for prostate cancer. Ten million people die worldwide from cancer every year and Dr. Kenneth Pienta and his team are working to change that. Kenneth Pienta is a professor at John Hopkins School of Medicine in Urology, Oncology, Pharmacology, and Molecular Sciences. His research interests include novel therapeutics and the "ecology of cancer," a...

What separates us from a mouse? It may be our large load of long non-coding RNA . Barak Rotblat and his team research what was previously thought of as "junk RNA." Technology and careful study indicate they may have significant roles as functional RNA types through regulation. Listen and learn How scientists describe the makeup of our genome and why non-coding RNA impact factors are only just beginning to be understood; What's the difference between protein-coding and non-coding RNA; What roles researchers think non-coding RNA plays, such as regulation, and why that makes us more complex than a mouse; and What these findings have to do with important cancer research and future therapies. Barak Rotblat is a senior lecturer at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He entered academic research just when the talk of the field were these mysterious RNA sequences that didn't code for proteins. The intriguing question around their purpose led his research from that...