Explore every episode of the podcast BioPOD

In this episode, Liz talks to Aleksandra Byrska, Gerard Pieper and Geraldine Hartsthorne, about their research on embryo development and IVF and learn more about the glass art exhibition which aims to help fertility patients. 

Read more about the Fertility Glass Art project here https://biology.ed.ac.uk/new-horizons-ivf-engagement/meet-artists

In this episode, Analia talks to Ben Glocker from CHAI (Causality in Healthcare AI) Hub, a network of scientists designing the next generation of healthcare Artificial Intelligence.

Video version: https://youtu.be/weaFSVsvyBY

Anna Motýľová talks with Dr Keira Tucker, manager of ASCUS Art & Science, the first open access lab space in Scotland. They host science workshops for the general public and art exhibitions inspired by science. You will learn about Keira's personal journey as an artist/scientist, as well as 3 weird and wonderful creative projects she has facilitated between artists and scientists from the University of Edinburgh.

By the end of this episode, you will have thought about things you never have before. What happens to cancerous organs once they leave the body? Should noise in scientific data always be discarded? When medical practicioners don't hear the voices of suffering patients, can an artistic approach help?

Interview recorded, edited and produced for BioPOD by Anna Motýľová.
Camera by Ainslie Rönsdorf.
Intro and outro recorded by Felix Selasi Dewornu.
Episode cover art by Amandine Hong-Minh.

Check out the featured artists:
ASCUS Art & Science [www.ascus.org.uk]
G-lands by Emily Fong [https://emilyfongstudio.squarespace.com/]
Fluorescent images & video of salivary glands by Dr Elaine Emmerson and Dr Sara Knox, Centre for Regenerative Medicine [https://regenerative-medicine.ed.ac.uk/research/elaine-emmerson]
Oculations by Victoria Evans [www.victoriaevans.space]
Blackford Eye video by Dr Richard Essery [https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/persons/richard-essery/]
Hemispherical Mosquito by Dr Cecile Menard [https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/persons/cecile-menard]

Chapters:
01:26 What is ASCUS Art & Science?
03:46 Keira's background
05:14 ASCUS as a lab space
06:39 Keira's artistic journey
08:55 Keira's work in ASCUS

09:56 Project 1: The Egyptian god in salivary glands
11:27 Why salivary glands?
14:22 Why bring artists into scientific teams?
18:24 The artwork: From drawings to cabbages
29:29 The workshops: Scientist-artist-sufferer discussion

33:46 Project 2: Noise in snow science
39:04 Scientific vs. artistic research
40:30 Changing mindsets

41:59 Project 3: Surface echoes
47:05 The eczema experience(s)
49:04 Communicating science through performance
53:07 Training GPs through art

54:15 Future projects
56:11 Final lessons

In this episode of BioPod’s entrepreneurship series, Keshav talks with Dr. Alex Speakman about his entrepreneurial journey of starting E.V.A Biosystems. Alex talks about the help and resources available to aspiring entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into successful startups. He also provides helpful information on navigating through the various stages of a startup including ideation, validation and patenting. 

 Interviewed by Keshav, edited by Evangelia, art by Amandine and produced by Keshav. 

Aging, or senescence has been a topic of scientific fascination for a long time. Natural populations like the Soay Sheep in St Kilda, a remote scottish island, are ideal to study aging theories in the wild.

In this summer episode, Professor Dan Nussey speaks to us about the long running Soay Sheep project and the insights they provide on the study of senescence. 

Interview by Markella Moraitou. Edited by Flora Caldwell, Art by Severina Marija Pociunaite, Produced by Nitara Wijayatilake. 

We have all heard about the importance of the gut microbiome. But how much do you know about the oral microbiome in our mouths? In the second interview with Dr Katerina Guschanski, Alastair Scott finds out all about how you can use the oral microbiome to study how antimicrobial resistance evolved through time. 

Dr Katerina Guschanski and her team extract ancient DNA from calcified dental calculus, to study their bacterial composition from before the existence of mass-produced antibiotics.

Art by Amandine Hong-Minh, editing by Elena Hartmann, produced by Liz Gaberdiel. 

In this first episode of a two-parter with Dr Katerina Guschanski, Neelakshi Varma finds out about the intricacies and quirks of primate evolution, specifically around guenon monkeys. We also learn about how Katerina accidentally found her way to working with primates, the difficulties and exciting aspects of field work in Madagascar and why you can’t really define a species. 

Edited by Frankie Swift, artwork by Liz Gaberdiel, produced by Liz Gaberdiel.

Check out some more research by the Guschanski lab here: https://www.ieg.uu.se/animal-ecology/Research+groups/guschanski-lab

In this episode of BioPod's publishing series, Severina and Dr Seema Grewal discuss the world of editing for scientific journals. Seema is the Executive Editor for the Journal of Cell Science, and talks through her journey entering publishing, advice for PhD students wanting to enter the industry, and gives helpful tips for those wanting to publish their own papers.  

In this episode of BioPod’s entrepreneurship series, Keshav and Dr. Wu Huang discuss the journey behind NucBarcoder, a species identification tool hoping to tackle the biodiversity crisis. Wu talks through some of the challenges and rewards of growing a start-up idea and how Edinburgh Innovations from the University of Edinburgh advised and helped throughout the process.

In this episode Anna and Andrea Paterlini talks about the approach to education of genetics and his experience developing a course for 2nd year bachelor students. They discuss diversity and inclusion in science and what remains to be done to be scientifically accurate when it comes to these sensitive topics in education as well as everyday life. Andrea also mentions what he and other scientists did to address the statements of the secretary of state for science (which you can find here ). And if anyone is interested, here is the author that Andrea mentioned https://www.adamrutherford.com/allbooks 

With many PhD students interested in alternative career pathways in science, we are keen to explore and demystify the world of scientific publishing. In this episode, Severina Marija Pociunaite talks to Dr Manuel Breuer, a deputy editor at Springer Nature, about his journey into scientific publishing. In particular, they explore the diversity of the role, how scientific publishing has changed in recent years, and advice for scientists preparing and submitting their manuscripts to improve their chances of acceptance.

In this episode, Haomiao chats with Professor Thorunn Helgason, the head of the School of Biological sciences at Edinburgh University. It’s been a year since Thorunn started her post here in August 2022, let’s meet her and hear how she sees the past academic year in the school, and how she expects the future to happen. And, have you also wondered how was Edinburgh Uni like years ago? Well, Thorunn doesn’t just see the university thriving today, she also witnessed the changes happened since she firstly stepped into Edinburgh Uni as a student. 

We also asked her advice for students and young professionals. So why not grab a tea and sit down with us to talk about the past, present and future about our school and yourself?

In today’s episode, Nitara chats with Dr. Corentin Loron about how to interpret signatures of life, and what they might tell us about the first life forms. Please respond to our survey so we can find out more about you and what you want to listen to!  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScqoV4JoROJCfcMtvk4-Wer0uJGpvQfzUj3M4Mz8vx_9ScjKA/viewform?usp=header

In this episode Neelakshi talks to Dr. Sandy Hetherington about the work in plant paleobotany and evolution. They discuss what are plant fossils, how and where they are formed and what they can tell us about plant history today. Sandy focuses on plant root evolution as part of his research and introduces one of the best-preserved plant fossil deposits here in Scotland, called Rhynie chert 

Find out more about Dr. Hetheringtons research here:  https://www.ed.ac.uk/biology/groups/hetherington

With the advancements of RNA synthesis techniques due to the success of the Covid-19 vaccine we are asking what other therapeutic purposes RNA could have. In this episode, Alastair Scott talks to Prof Amy Buck about her somewhat accidental journey to becoming a RNA biologist, her labs current research and her outlook on the field. In particular, they chat about the curious role of RNA as a communicator and signalling molecule.

Find out more about Prof Bucks research here: https://www.bucklab.org/

In this episode, Severina Pociunaite chats to Dr Jo Sadler about how to view plastic as a resource, that can be turned into useful chemicals. Plastic can not only be recycled, but also upcycled: by breaking it down using biotechnology and reusing the carbon to make secondary products. What kind of plastic do microbes like best? And how can the products of digestion be manufactured into something new? 

They also discuss how Dr Sadler went about setting up her own lab, including the unique challenges she faced during the start-up process. 

How did this Edinburgh Professor move from studying physics to starting a Biotechnology spin-out company? In our new episode, we hear from Professor Teuta Pilizota all about how her past research experiences led her to where she is today, how her research keeps leading her to new technological developments and how this culminated in her starting a biotech spin-out company.  

Many researchers spent a significant amount of time cultivating microorganisms, so they reach the desired growth phase and density. But what if that whole process could be automated, monitored and measured? This is where the OGI Bio Bioreactor comes in, to save time and allow specifications of culture conditions. 

Find out more about OGI Bio here: https://ogibio.co.uk/ 

Interview & artwork by Liz Gaberdiel, intro & editing by Ruby White.

Why do you think you are awake right now? You might be aware that your circadian rhythm determines your sleep cycle. But how does your body keep time? Can a cell have a clock? And how can this system survive perturbations?

Gerben van Ooijen and his lab @vanOoijenLab work on finding out some of the cellular mechanisms that are behind the ability of an organism to keep time. They study modified algae that give off light during some phases of the circadian clock, to shine some light on the particularities of time-regulated genes.  We also find out how circadian dysregulation could have an impact in cancer.

In this episode, Apple Chew chats to Professor Gary Loake, a group leader at the Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. His group researches the immune responses of plants.

Gary is also the founder and chief scientific officer of the biotech startup Green Bioactives. Since plants can produce immune-related products with sometimes useful properties and up to 25% of pharmaceuticals trace back to plant natural products, his company develops a biomanufacturing platform to efficiently churn out valuable products.

Check out Green Bioactives here: https://www.green-bioactives.com/ 

Where do plant scientists get their plant materials from? How do you best grow a new species? In this episode, Haomiao sits down with Dr Sophie Haupt, the manager of the plant growth facility at the University of Edinburgh. As part of the facility team, she supports research and teaching projects by growing all kind of plants in grow domes, glass houses, and of course outside.  

Sophie is also working on a conservation project on campus, to provide a safe and biodiverse habitat for native wildlife such as hedgehogs to return to campus. As part of this project, they have even planted some berry bushes and have started a little vegetable garden. 

In this episode, Liz Gaberdiel chats to Gerben van Ooijen, postgraduate advisor and Director of the Graduate School at the University of Edinburgh. They discuss the role of postgraduate advisors and how they can help during PhD studies. We hear what situations postgraduate advisors can help with and Gerben gives us some vital advice on how to maintain a productive, healthy and enjoyable PhD journey.  They also discuss his work as the Director of the Graduate Schoo and illustrate the key role he plays in maintaining the high standards of Edinburgh's PhD programmes. 

In this episode Liz Gaberdiel interviews Karen Woodcock and Mairead Rae, the Postgraduate Programme Administrators of ICB, IQB3 and IEB, IIIR, IMPS, respectively, in the School of Biological Science at the University of Edinburgh. They share their experiences working with postgraduate students, what insights they accumulated from that work and share top tips on a successful PhD. They also introduce a wide range of support they can provide and share useful resources for a successful PhD. 

Visit and bookmark Institue of Academic Development website https://www.ed.ac.uk/institute-academic-development  

Get in touch by email with Karen karen.woodcock@ed.ac.uk or Mairead mairead.rae@ed.ac.uk.  

Also, you can now drop by their office at Mary Brück Building from Monday-Thursday and alternate Fridays (at the time of the recording, restrictions on in person meetings were in place). 

Fossil fuels are used everywhere, in our clothing, our medicine, and even our cooking. Wouldn’t it be great if we could use another source to synthesise these necessary molecules. Maybe something that’s very abundant and unwanted, such as waste streams from other processes?  

In this episode, we’re diving into how microorganisms could be useful in synthesising biomaterials. Even better, they can be used to clean up waste products and turn them into something useful. Severina Pociunaite sits down with Dr Stephen Wallace to discuss his work and his goals for a sustainable future. 

Check out some of the research mentioned by Stephen here: https://wallacelab.bio.ed.ac.uk/publications-1 

And keep an eye out for his TED Talk from this year’s TEDxVienna. 

From jet lag to gene expression, your body runs on a schedule — but how? In this episode, Nitara chats with Dr. Priya Crosby about how individual cells keep time, what happens when those clocks fall out of sync, and why understanding circadian rhythms is key to decoding health and disease.

Interview and editing by Nitara, art and production by Evangelia 

Right on the heels of the 2022 World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, this episode covers a broad overview of the key topics associated with antimicrobial resistance. Rose Doyle from BioPOD teamed up with Carys Redman-White from the new Edinburgh antimicrobial resistance podcast EdiAMR to chat to Dr Brian Wee about his work. We hear his thoughts on the best tools and tactics to combat the rise of antibiotic resistance as well as a deep dive into one decade-long research project about the spread of antibiotic resistance in Kenya. Art by Annis Newman, intro and editing by Severina Pociunaite.

If you want to learn more about Brian’s work on whole genome sequencing across Nairobi, check out his paper here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-022-01079-y 

This episode is a collaboration between BioPOD and the University of Edinburgh's new antimicrobial resistance podcast, EdiAMR. If you’re interested to find out more about AMR, follow @EdiAMR on twitter for updates! 

In this very special episode, we hear from Dev, Charity, and Diana, who are part of a team competing in this years’ iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine) competition. Students from the University of Edinburgh and from the University of Health and Allied Services in Ghana joined forces to develop synthetic biology projects to solve local problems. The local problem they want to tackle? Heavy metal and plastic pollution in water bodies. Detecting pollution in rural areas can be difficult, so the team was working on a cell-free biosensor that can detect a variety of dangerous metals. To then remediate the problem, they designed a cellulose hydrogel to “mop-up” contaminants in water. Additionally, they address plastic pollution by investigating an enzyme cocktail for biodegradation of PET plastic. We also hear about what they learned during the competition and how they enjoyed being part of an international collaboration. 

iGEM wiki: https://2022.igem.wiki/edinburgh-uhas-ghana/index.html 
IDEC: https://idec.io/index.html

In this episode, Chris Donohoe (@dono_heptane) chats with PhD students Casey Patmore (@paseycatmore) and Georgia Lambert (@GALambert3) about the fascinating world of the behavioural ecology of burying beetles. They discuss how to "keep calm and carrion" when researching beetles, who need carrion to raise their progeny. What factors affect their parenting behaviour and what can it teach us about the complex responses of insects to effectively care for their offspring? 

In this unique episode, Hend and Julie chat with scientists at different career stages and backgrounds about changes that have been happening in Academia over the years. We hear from Prof. Jim Kaufman and Dr Nisha Philip of the Institute of Immunology and Infection Research, and Prof. Loeske Kruuk, and Dr Helen Alexander of the Institute of Ecology and Evolution. How was Academia when these scientists began their careers and how have their lived experiences shaped who they are now as academics? What are their thoughts on the “two-body problem” in Academia? What advice can they give to academics who are also trying to carve their own scientific careers? We hear about their answers to these questions and more.  

Although the qualities of being a scientist are still the same, the world of Academia has changed. Things like collaboration has become more prominent. Working with colleagues across the world has become easier with technology. Awareness for mental health and work environments has also been given considerable focus. On the negative side, the biggest challenges for current academics are job and financial security. Diversity in available careers should be highlighted: not everyone wishes to be a Principal Investigator so training for these alternate career paths should be highlighted. 

In this episode, Rose Doyle  talks to Dr Rosa Santomartino of the UK Centre for Astrobiology about her research that’s “out of this world”. Rosa talks about her journey to become an astrobiologist and what she does as a researcher in  Astromicrobiology: the study of microorganisms and their behaviour in an extra-terrestrial environment. We hear about her work on sending microbes to the International Space Station to mine precious metals from asteroids, the excitement and the difficulties of setting up experiments in space. She then discusses the potential—and current limitations—of sending microbes to space.

In the coda this week, Apple Chew tells us all about cell cultured meat: Why we should care about reducing our meat consumption and what exciting technological advancements are being made by companies trying to help us achieve that. Who knew that you can get already eat cell cultured sushi? 

In this episode, Louis  and Liz chat to Dr Nadanai Laohakunakorn about his journey from a background in physics to now leading a group in synthetic biology. He describes how he adapted his thinking when he changed disciplines, interdisciplinary culture shocks, and how different sciences are taught. We then hear about his current research on building cell-free systems – building a functional cell from the ground up – and how this can be used to synthesise proteins.
How are these systems built, how can they be optimised and how can they be used in manufacturing? Can we eventually make individualised drugs on a bench? Tune in to hear more!

Art by Louis, intro and editing by Hend and Severina.

In this episode, Rose Doyle talks to BioPOD alumnus and PhD student Eddie Martin. They discuss different ways of visualising protein structures and how sound can help us get more information from protein sequences. In his research, he turns a protein sequence into a short melody. From this melody, it is then possible to “hear out” some distinct features of the protein. Eddie also explains the intricacies of sound design and how to best convey the variations between different amino acids.  

Artwork by Chris Donohoe and editing by Ruby White.

Link to the paper: https://bmcbioinformatics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12859-021-04362-7 

In the second episode of our PhD advice series, Liz talks to Dr Lizzie Wadsworth, who recently finished her PhD at the University of Edinburgh. Looking back on her experience she gives very valuable advice to new and current PhD students about how to address common struggles with a graduate degree. She shares with us how she got started with her PhD, tips on how to have a good relationship with your supervisor, and strategies to deal with mental health issues. We also get to hear about her current work as a teaching fellow and discuss some less well-known career paths in academia.  

In the second episode of our COP26, Chris chats to Dr Annis Richardson about her research on food security. With climate change causing extreme weather, crop growth is getting increasingly difficult, so of course food security is a major topic of research. Annis Richardson works closely with the agricultural department on understanding how plants grow and how much food the plant then produces, so that we can more effectively feed the world. 

In this episode of our COP26 series, Chris talks to Prof. Louise Horsfall, Chair of Sustainable Biotechnology at the University of Edinburgh, about her participation in the COP26 conference in Glasgow. We get to hear about her experience as a scientist hearing the sometimes conflicting ideas of politicians and companies. Prof. Horsfall also talks about how her lab uses engineered microbes to recycle metals from battery waste. 

Resources mentioned: 

Faraday Institution: the UK’s battery research programme https://www.faraday.ac.uk 

In today’s episode, Nitara chats with Dr. Ornella Bertrand about the evolution of the mammalian brain and inner ear, and how fossil evidence helps piece together this deep evolutionary history. Please respond to our survey so we can find out more about you and what you want to listen to!  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScqoV4JoROJCfcMtvk4-Wer0uJGpvQfzUj3M4Mz8vx_9ScjKA/viewform?usp=header

In the first episode of our PhD Advice series, Liz (@lizgaberdiel) talks to Rev. Dr. Harriet Harris, the University of Edinburgh Chaplain, about how PhD students can look after themselves through practicing mindfulness with everyday tasks, and overall building healthy habits. We get to learn about services being offered by the Chaplaincy to help support PhD students who may be struggling with mental health, as well as those who wish to find a community. 

Resources mentioned:  

Taming your inner critic and Imposter Syndrome: https://www.ed.ac.uk/chaplaincy/abundant-academy/compassion-for-our-times/taming-your-inner-critic-and-imposter-syndrome-at
This blog has embedded in it a recording plus links to two other blogs on Imposter Syndrome. 

This podcast series, episode 3, ‘The Joy and Vitality of Not Knowing’, provides a tonic for perfectionism and a corrective to white privilege. 

https://www.ed.ac.uk/chaplaincy/blogs-podcasts-and-reflections/the-chaplaincy-of-joyful-abandon-podcast-series 

In this extra special episode, 5 different PhD students at different stages discuss their own unique PhD journey. We hear from the recent graduate Miguel (@mcueva89) about how his career plans changed during the highs and lows of his experience. Rist discusses how he dealt with getting scooped – and how he experienced fatherhood at the same time. Joan (@JoanCortadaGar) moved with his supervisor from Glasgow to Edinburgh in the midst of his second year and talks about the impact this had on his research. We hear from Lindsay what it was like to have children during her PhD and how working part-time has helped her with that. Finally, Liz (@LizGaberdiel) discusses the benefits and difficulties of moving to a new discipline when starting her PhD. 

 Interviewing and editing by Sam Haynes @youvegotmyname. 

What does algae photosynthesis have to do with solving food insecurity? 

In this episode on crop improvement, @_applechew interviews Liat Adler (@noodlyscientist) to hear how algae can help us improve the photosynthesis efficiency of “land plants”! 

Crop photosynthesis is not exactly perfect. One key enzyme in the mechanism called RuBisCo is slow and gets confused between carbon and oxygen: not what you want from your energy storage mechanism! 

Algae, however, have developed a system to improve both the speed and the accuracy of this process. The @McCormick_Lab is trying to integrate this system into land plants. That way, crops could use sunlight more efficiently, grow faster, and thus produce more food!

Art by @donohoho, intro and editing by @_applechew

Have you ever wondered what neglected regions of the genome do? In this episode we hear about the search for AT rich region binding proteins.

Jack Suitor (@JackTSuitor) talks to Raphael Pantier (@R_Pantier) and Kashyap Chhatbar (@kashyapchhatbar) from the Bird lab at the University of Edinburgh about their work on the DNA binding protein Sall4. They discover that Sall4 binds to AT rich regions which affects large scale gene expressions and enables differentiation.
 Sall4 could help time cellular differentiation as part of embryonic development and is therefore implicated in developmental disease. By getting more insight into proteins that bind AT rich regions we could learn more about the cause of some diseases.

Art by @donohoho, intro and editing by @_applechew

This is the second episode of the BioPOD series: Scotland's Biotech Stories.

In this instalment, BioPodder Liz Gaberdiel interviews Professor Lynne Regan on how to design biologically useful proteins. Proteins with unusual properties can enable super-resolution imaging, spontaneously self-assemble into structures, or coat a surface with a particular protein layer!


Introduction and editing by Apple Chew

Media by Liz Gaberdiel and Chris Donohoe

Welcome to a new BioPOD series: Scotland's Biotech Stories.

In this installment, BioPodder Liz Gaberdiel interviews Dr. Marcus Wilson on Cryogenic electron microscopy (CryoEM), a  technique that has undergone some serious upgrades since its initial development in the 1960s.

Introduction by Neelakshi Varma & Editing by Sam Haynes

Media by Hanna Peach and Chris Donohoe 

Dear listeners,

Welcome back to another episode of BioPod!

Today we walk you through to potential of cyanobacteria: turning tasty sunlight into a high-product value delight!

Apple Chew interviews Anton Puzorjov  from The McCormick Lab at The University of Edinburgh on his project supported by ScotBio

Art by Christian Donohoe , Editing by Apple, Media by  Hanna Peach

In the fourth and final installment of BioPOD's #Vaccine15 miniseries, we have Liz Gaberdiel interviewing Professor Neil Babbott on how vaccines can block viral transmission.

Edited by Ruby White, Media by Hanna Peach. 

Ever wondered how vaccines are made in smaller batch scales, then upscaled to a world market? Hint: it's not the same as cooking a larger lasagne when family comes to visit. Tune into our third installment of #Vaccine15 to learn about the large scale production of vaccines.

In this episode, BioPodder Liz Gaberdiel interviews Dr Prerna Vohra. Editing by Hanna Peach.

Enjoy, and #GetVaccinated! 

In this episode of our four-part vaccine 15-minute miniseries, biopodder Chris Donohoe  interviews Dr. Thomas Williams on how to track and tackle the different COVID variants.

edited by Apple Chew (Yen Peng) media and art by Hanna Peach

Ever wondered about the intersection of policy and science? Tune in as Markella chats with Professor Andrew Millar about his career and work as the Chief Scientific Advisor on the environment, natural resources, and agriculture for the Scottish Government. 

Interview and editing by Markella, art by Keiran, and production by Manushri. 

Our #Vaccine15 four-part 15-minute miniseries begins today! This week is all about how COVID vaccines were developed and designed with @CTaitBurkard from @EdinburghUni @roslininstitute

Interviewer and Art @donohoho
Editing by @_applechew
Media and Art @hanna_peach_

In this episode, we talk about the Darwin Tree of Life: Sequencing the Biome of the Great Britain with Professor Mark Blaxter & Dr Alex Twyford

The Darwin Tree of Life project aims to sequence the genomes of all 70,000 species of eukaryotic organisms in Britain and Ireland. It is a collaboration between biodiversity, genomics and analysis partners that hopes to transform the way we do biology, conservation and biotechnology.  The Darwin Tree of Life Project is one of several initiatives across the globe working towards the ultimate goal of sequencing all complex life on Earth, in a venture known as the Earth BioGenome Project.

Prof. Mark Blaxter and his group use modern sequencing and bioinformatics technologies to investigate the genomes of many different species of animals. Professor Mark Blaxter is the Founder and Director of Genome Science of Edinburgh Genomics (http://genomics.ed.ac.uk) the University's advanced genomics facility.  Dr Alex Twyford is an evolutionary geneticist interested in the ecology and evolution of plants.

Interviewed by Hazel (Wu) Huang, Introduced by Ruby White, Edited by Sam Haynes. Media by Hanna Peach, Artwork by Chris Donohoe 

This episode is about the use of synthetic organisms to produce pharmaceuticals and other high-value products. 

 Preceding the development of synthetic drugs in the 18th and 19th centuries, medicine relied on the use of products found in nature. It is not surprising even nowadays that a lot of drug discovery undertaken by the pharmaceutical industry incorporates compounds found in nature. Biotechnology offers the opportunity to create these same natural products in large quantities, in a sustainable manner. 

In order to do that, bioscientists can take genes for metabolic pathways that create a specific compound with human health benefits from plant genomes and replicate them in microorganisms such as bacteria and yeast. These modified microbes can now be used as factories to sustainably and efficiently produce the drug of interest in the lab or in a controlled industrial environment. 

To help us understand this topic a bit better and the potential advantages and challenges of this technology, Joan Cortada-Carcia interviewed Dr. Tessa Moses, a former postdoc in the Rosser lab group at the University of Edinburgh and current head of metabolomics at the university’s mass spectrometry facility called Edinomics. Media by Hanna Peach.

#BioPod #BiologyPodcast #SciencePodcast #SyntheticBiology #SynBio #SynthSys 

The parasite Trypanosoma brucei is transmitted via tsetse flies. It causes a disease known as trypanosomiasis or sleeping sickness in humans, but in cows, it's known as nagana or animal African trypanosomiasis. In this episode, Joan Cortada García interviews Maria Contreras-Garcia from The Roslin Institute on her work to validate and characterize the use of a small RNA as a diagnostic test for trypanosomiasis. Media by Hanna Peach. 

Here is a link to the event mentioned by Ruby White in our episode coda.  The event is a joint University of Edinburgh and University of Sydney Workshop Series on sustainable food production, antimicrobial resistance and One Health https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/university-of-sydney-and-university-of-edinburgh-joint-workshop-series-2021-tickets-142438833385?utm_campaign=2889898_UoE-UoSyd%20OH%20workshops%20EID&utm_medium=email&utm_source=College%20of%20Science%20%26%20Engineering%2C%20The%20University%20of%20Edinburgh&dm_i=2MP0,1PXUY,9QQ8JI,5VOLI,1