The pioneering IVF procedure known as mitochondrial donation therapy (MDT) could prevent children from being born with devastating mitochondrial diseases. Madeleine Finlay speaks to Prof Darren Griffin, an expert in genetic diseases and reproduction, about how MDT works, the ethical considerations attached, and what techniques like it could mean for the futu ... Show More
Yesterday
How positivity affects health, the rise of scabies and bovine intelligence
The Guardian’s science editor, Ian Sample, talks to Madeleine Finlay about three eye-catching science stories from the week, including a study that suggests positive thinking can boost immune response. Also on the agenda is the mysterious rise of scabies in the UK, and the discov ... Show More
21m 20s
Jan 20
Is your body really full of microplastics?
Studies detecting microplastics throughout human bodies have made for alarming reading in recent years. But last week, the Guardian’s environment editor, Damian Carrington, reported on major doubts among a group of scientists about how some of this research has been conducted. Da ... Show More
14m 24s
Jan 15
The surprising science of dreams and nightmares
Ian Sample puts listeners’ questions on dreams and nightmares to Dr Michelle Carr, director of the Dream Engineering Laboratory in Montreal’s Centre for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, and author of the new book Into the Dream Lab. They look at why we dream, what we can lear ... Show More
21m 43s
Sep 2019
Model embryos from stem cells, Paul Steinhardt's book on impossible crystals, Mother Thames
One of the most fundamental developmental stages we humans go through is extremely poorly understood. The first few days of the embryo, once it's been implanted in the womb is incredibly hard to study. Yet it's the time when the majority of pregnancies fail. Professor Magdalena Z ... Show More
35m 56s
Aug 2021
Jay Gargus, “Autism: A Genetic Perspective” (Open Agenda, 2021)
Autism: A Genetic Perspective is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Jay Gargus, Professor of Physiology, Biophysics and Pediatrics and Director of the Center for Autism Research and Translation at UC Irvine. This wide-ranging conversation examines ... Show More
2h 10m
Sep 2021
She leads genes, cells, and molecules into battle against rare childhood diseases
Tenured Professor of Pediatric Neurology and Neurogenetics Rose Mary Boustani has spent decades at AUB and Duke University tracking down the individual molecules, genes, and cells that cause rare childhood and adolescent diseases that had long been seen as incurable. She explains ... Show More
25m 36s
Dec 2021
Genetic Dreams, Genetic Nightmares
CRISPR is the latest and most powerful technique for changing the genetic code of living things. This method of gene editing is already showing great promise in treating people with gene-based diseases, from sickle cell disease to cancer. However, in 2018 the use of CRISPR to edi ... Show More
27m 32s
Oct 2022
IVF Has Come A Long Way, But Many Don't Have Access
Since the first successful in vitro fertilization pregnancy and live birth in 1978, nearly half a million babies have been born using IVF in the United States. Assisted reproductive technology has made it possible for more people to become parents, but it's not accessible to ever ... Show More
13m 1s
Oct 2023
Differential Methylated Regions in Autism Spectrum Disorders (Janine La Salle)
In this episode of the Epigenetics Podcast, we talked with Janine La Salle from UC Davis about her work on differential methylated regions in autism spectrum disorders. In our discussion, Janine LaSalle highlights her work on the placental epigenetic signature, which offers insig ... Show More
40m 39s