Futures In Biotech 80: Light Up The Brain

Host: Marc Pelletier and Special Guest Host Dave Brodbeck, PhD
Using optogenetics to study learning and cognition.
Guest: Dr. Ann M. Graybiel
Futures In Biotech 79: Oceans 20

Host: Marc Pelletier and Special Guest Host Mark Gerstein
A test run for the technology that will transition us into the next era of medicine: Proteomics.
Guest: Dr. Tommy Nilsson
Futures in Biotech 78: TWiV Infects FiB

Hosts: Marc Pelletier and Vincent Racaniello
It's a science mashup. FiB and TWiV together for one big show.
Guests: Dickson Despommiers, Ph.D. , Alan Dove, Ph.D. and Richard Condit , Ph.D.
Must See: Cassini Images Made into a Film.

Futures in Biotech 77: How the Environment and a Single Protein Influence Evolution

Hosts: Marc Pelletier
Drs. Susan Linquist and Daniel Jarosz explain how the environment can drive evolution at the molecular level.
Guests: Susan Lindquist, Ph.D. and Daniel Jarosz, Ph.D.
PAPER PRESENTED:
Science. 2010 Dec 24;330(6012):1820-4.
Hsp90 and environmental stress transform the adaptive value of natural genetic variation.
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
Abstract
How can species remain unaltered for long periods yet also undergo rapid diversification? By linking genetic variation to phenotypic variation via environmental stress, the Hsp90 protein-folding reservoir might promote both stasis and change. However, the nature and adaptive value of Hsp90-contingent traits remain uncertain. In ecologically and genetically diverse yeasts, we find such traits to be both common and frequently adaptive. Most are based on preexisting variation, with causative polymorphisms occurring in coding and regulatory sequences alike. A common temperature stress alters phenotypes similarly. Both selective inhibition of Hsp90 and temperature stress increase correlations between genotype and phenotype. This system broadly determines the adaptive value of standing genetic variation and, in so doing, has influenced the evolution of current genomes.
PHOTO CONTEST:
Futures In Biotech 76: It's Time To Proteo Me

Hosts: Marc Pelletier and Vincent Racaniello
How mass spectrometry has become one of the most important technologies in our move toward personalized medicine.
Guest: Prof. Ruedi Aebersold
Sponsored by: Synergy 1.
PAPERS DISCUSSED:
Costenoble R, Picotti P, Reiter L, Stallmach R, Heinemann M, Sauer U, Aebersold R.
Mol Syst Biol. 2011 Feb 1;7:464.
Bodenmiller B, Wanka S, Kraft C, Urban J, Campbell D, Pedrioli PG, Gerrits B, Picotti P, Lam H, Vitek O, Brusniak MY, Roschitzki B, Zhang C, Shokat KM, Schlapbach R, Colman-Lerner A, Nolan GP, Nesvizhskii AI, Peter M, Loewith R, von Mering C, Aebersold R.
Sci Signal. 2010 Dec 21;3(153):rs4.
Futures In Biotech 75: It's Time To Start The Human Proteome

Host: Marc Pelletier
Our guests talk about the next big transition in modern medicine: Human Proteomics.
Guests: Dr. John Bergeron and Dr. Tommy Nilsson
Sponsored by: Synergy 1.
We invite you to read, add to, and amend our show notes.
Futures in Biotech 74: Cancer and Aging: Rival Demons with Dr. Judith Campisi

Hosts: Marc Pelletier and Simon Melov
Dr. Judith Campisi's scientific investigations are at the nexus between cancer and aging. She seeks to better understand how cellular senescence contributes to the pathophysiology of aging.
Guest: Dr. Judith Campisi, Ph.D., Professor at the Buck Institute; Senior Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Sponsored by: Synergy 1.
We invite you to read, add to, and amend ourshow notes.
Futures in Biotech 73: Age Research with Brian Kennedy

Hosts: Marc Pelletier, Simon Melov, Ph.D.
We will discuss the biotech of life extension with the scientist that discovered the Sirtuan family of genes.
Guest: Brian Kennedy, Ph.D.: President and CEO, Buck Institute for Age Research.
We invite you to read, add to, and amend our show notes.
Comments and suggestions on Futures in Biotech.
Sponsored by: Synergy 1 & Mailroute
Thanks to Cachefly for providing the bandwidth for this netcast.
Futures in Biotech 72: A Four Billion Year Old Social Network

Host: Marc Pelletier
How controlling bacterial behavior may lead to a new class of urgently needed antibiotics.
Guest: Dr. Bonnie Bassler, Hughs Medical Insitute Investigator; Professor of Molecular Biology and Professor of Chemistry, Princeton University.
We invite you to read, add to, and amend our show notes
Sponsored by: Synergy 1.
Futures in Biotech 71: Genomics, Proteomics, Cellular Immunity, and Anti-Matter

The '1000 Genome Project', 'Billion Dollar Human Proteome', viral killing proteins, and capturing anti-matter.
Hosts: Marc Pelletier, Vincent Racaniello, Andre Nantel, and George Farr.
Guest: Mark Gerstein Ph.D. - Professor of Biomedical Informatics, Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry, and Computer Science at Yale University
PAPERS DISCUSSED:
Antibodies mediate intracellular immunity through tripartite motif-containing 21 (TRIM21)
A map of human genome variation from population-scale sequencing
Mass spectrometry in high-throughput proteomics: ready for the big time
Sponsored by: Synergy 1.
Futures in Biotech 70: SBIR Funding: The Business of Science

How to fund the development of your own technology through SBIR funding.
Host: Marc Pelletier
Guest: Lisa Kurek of Biotechnology Business Consultants
Blog Catchup

Futures in Biotech 69: The Power Of Yeast Genetics
Hosts: Marc Pelletier and Vincent Racaniello, Ph.D., host of This Week in Virology and This Week in Parasitism, Professor of Microbiology, Columbia University, New York, NY.
Looking at one of the most powerful genetic model systems: Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Guest: Malcolm Whiteway, Ph.D NRC-CNRC Group leader for Biotechnology Research institute, National Research Council of Canada, Montreal
Audio Video (High) Video (Low)
Futures in Biotech 68: Rats Will Inherit The Earth
Host: Marc Pelletier
How studying mammalian biological history can help us better understand ourselves.
Guest: Darin Croft, Ph.D, Associate Professor, Department of Anatomy, Case Western Reserve University
Futures in Biotech 67: Triceratopping Egg Mountain
Host: Marc Pelletier
Dinosaur hunting with the man who inspired Jurassic Park.
Guest: Dr. Jack Horner, curator of Paleontology at the Museum of the Rockies and Montana State University Regents' Professor of Paleontology
Futures in Biotech 66: The Homebrew Genomics Club
Hosts: Marc Pelletier and Andre Nantel
A first hand account on the genesis of the Human Genome Project.
Guest: Dr. David Botstein, Director, Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University
Futures in Biotech 65: Tackling Genetic Disease
Hosts: Marc Pelletier and Dave Brodbeck
Progress in molecular biology and the latest strategies for tackling genetic disease.
Guest: David Thomas, professor and chair, Department of Biochemistry, McGill University; Canada Research Chair in Molecular Genetics
Futures in Biotech 64: The Future Is Viral
Five scientists discuss their hopes and aspirations for biotechnology in a post-genomics era.
Futures in Biotech 63: How To Use A Mouse
Nobel Laureate Dr. Mario Capecchi teaches us how to use a mouse to dissect the human genome and understand disease.
Futures in Biotech 62: X-Ray Crystallography
Hosts: Marc Pelletier and George W. Farr, Ph.D., vice president of biochemistry and biophysics at Aeromics and adjunct professor of physiology and biophysics at Case Western Reserve University
Dr. Alexander McPherson explains X-ray crystallography, a technique that will produce a true atomic anatomy of the human body.
Books referenced in this episode: Crystallization of Biological Macromolecules, COLD SPRING HARBOR LABS. Introduction to Macromolecular Crystallography, WILEY BLACKWELL.
Futures in Biotech 61 - One Heart Beat Away

Host: Marc Pelletier, Ph.D.
Guest: Julian Stelzer, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Physiology and Biophysics, Case Western Reserve University
Julian joins us to talk about heart biotechnology. He reviews two papers which are great examples of innovation in this field.
Here are the papers that are discussed:
Futures in Biotech 60: Do You Come To This Cave Often?

Host: Marc Pelletier
Guests: Dave Brodbeck, Ph.D., Andre Nantel, Ph.D., Vincent Racaniello, Ph.D., and George Farr, Ph.D.
In this episode, a panel of scientists discuss recent stories including face recognition in primates, a new cure for HCV, changing the genetic code from three to four bases, and lastly, interspecies breeding between modern humans and neanderthals…
Papers Discussed:
Adachi, I., Chou, D.P., and Hampton, R.R. (2009). Thatcher effect in monkeys demonstrates conservation of face perception across primates. Curr Biol 19: 1270–1273.
Gao, M. et al. (2010). Chemical genetics strategy identifies an HCV NS5A inhibitor with a potent clinical effect. Nature 465: 96–100.
Gibson, D.G. et al. (2010). Creation of a Bacterial Cell Controlled by a Chemically Synthesized Genome. Science .
Green, R. et al. (2010). A Draft Sequence of the Neandertal Genome. Science 328: 710–722.
Neumann, H., Wang, K., Davis, L., Garcia-Alai, M., and Chin, J.W. (2010). Encoding multiple unnatural amino acids via evolution of a quadruplet-decoding ribosome. Nature 464: 441–444.
Futures in Biotech 59: No Room For Failure

Host: Marc Pelletier
Guest: Michael Vucelic, former Apollo system manager for NASA and Rockwell
It was an honor and a pleasure to discuss the Apollo Missions with the Spaceship Analyst from Apollo. Mr. Vucelic won the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his work in saving the lives of Apollo 13, and he gives us a from the floor of Mission Control.
Futures in Biotech 58: Vertical Farms and much more with Dick Despommier

Hosts: Marc Pelletier, Ph.D. and Vincent Racaniello, Ph.D.
Guest: Dickson Despommier, Ph.D., Professor of Environmental Health Sciences; Professor of Microbiology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY. Host of This Week in Virology; Host of This Week in Parasitism.
In this episode, we talk to Columbia University parasitologist Dickson Despommier. We discuss both his work in parasitology and a concept project that could revolutionize farming in the 21st century: vertical farm.
Futures in Biotech 57: Mechanisms Of Non-Mendelian Inheritance In Evolution

Hosts: Marc Pelletier and George W. Farr, Ph.D., Vice President of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Aeromics and Adjunct Professor of Physiology and Biophysics at Case Western Reserve University
Guests: Susan Lindquist, Ph.D., Professor of Biology at MIT and Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Simon Alberti, Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, and Randal Halfmann, a grad student in Dr. Lindquist's lab at MIT.
Drs. Susan Lindquist (MIT), Simon Alberti (Max-Planck), and Randal Halfmann (MIT) talk about how prion proteins (yes, the like the ones that cause mad cow) can act in non-mendelian inheritance: evolution without DNA. This is a paradigm shift in our understanding of evolution. These prion proteins can enable an organism's rapid adaptation to new environments, and thus contribute to evolution at the protein level. It is not just for DNA anymore!
Futures in Biotech 56: New Antiviral Strategies With Karla Kirkegaard

Hosts: Marc Pelletier and Vincent Racaniello
Guest: Dr. Karla Kirkegaard, Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Dr. Kirkegaard discusses how her work on Poliovirus has lead to new antiviral strategies designed to outsmart viral drug resistance.