Talking Techniques
60 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 months ago -Welcome to Talking Techniques! In this Podcast BioTechniques Digital Editor Tristan Free, interviews researchers at the forefront of their fields about the latest breakthroughs, controversies and conversations in the life sciences. From CRISPR to COVID-19, organoids to the microbiome, this podcast will explore the latest developments in the lab and interesting applications of techniques, while trying to determine how we can drive science forward in progressive and inventive ways.
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Episodes
CRISPR: developing an equitable technology amidst a global pandemic
October 12, 2020 13:56 - 24 minutes - 20.6 MBIn this episode, I speak to Geoffrey Siwo about CRISPR and the challenges facing its development into a technique that can be applied equitably across the globe. Geoffrey talks about the importance of seizing the opportunity to influence the progress of the embryonic gene-editing technology for the better, before the data bias in genomic data and the disparity in researchers working on the technique leads to ingrained differences in the success of the application in different populations. Th...
Helicopter research and the challenges and misconceptions of research in Africa
August 24, 2020 14:41 - 1 hour - 53.4 MBIn this episode of Talking Techniques, BioTechniques Digital Editor Tristan Free speaks to three scientists each involved in the research landscape in Africa. The episode explores the challenges faced by researchers in Africa, both internally and from the rest of the scientific community. These include issues such as 'helicopter research' or 'research tourism', educating politicians on the importance of basic research and ensuring African researchers are represented at the forefront of life ...
Big data and COVID-19 part 2: Affecting policy and revealing risk
August 10, 2020 15:50 - 26 minutes - 22.5 MBIn part 2 of this series on the role of Big data in the response to COVID-19, I speak to Amitava Banerjee, Associate Professor in Clinical Data Science at the Institute of Health Informatics at University College London. Ami outlines the "OurRisk.CoV Calculator", designed to inform people of the threat that COVID-19 poses to them as a result of any existing conditions and factors such as age and gender, explaining the inspiration behind it and how he sourced and processed all the data requir...
Big data and COVID-19 part 1: Facilitating and using collaborative, open data
August 10, 2020 15:49 - 17 minutes - 14.8 MBIn the first of two episodes on the role of big data in fighting COVID-19, BioTechniques Digital Editor Tristan Free speaks to Guy Cochrane, Team Leader of Data Coordination and Archiving at the European Nucleotide Archive (Cambridge, UK). We discuss the challenges and importance of compiling and presenting the huge amount of data created regarding COVID-19 and explore how to make the most out of the data platforms available, such as Guy’s European COVID-19 data platform. Contents: Introdu...
DNA vaccines: combating cancer and COVID-19
August 10, 2020 15:47 - 22 minutes - 18.5 MBIn this special AACR episode, Digital Editor Tristan Free speaks to David Weiner, Director of the Vaccine & Immunotherapy Center at the Wistar Institute (PA, USA), about synthetic DNA and DNA vaccines. They discuss the exciting potential of DNA vaccines in the world of cancer research and delve into Weiner’s study, currently in human trial stages, to develop a DNA vaccine for COVID-19. Contents: Synthetic DNA and DNA vaccines- 50sec A brief history of DNA vaccines- 1min 40sec Key steps i...
The sustainable lab: energy efficiency, glass vs plastic and human behavior
August 10, 2020 15:46 - 24 minutes - 20.8 MBIn this episode, I speak to Neill Lane Chief Strategy Officer at Stirling Ultracold and Board member of My Green Lab. Neill explains how his low emission ultracold freezers have changed the industry and made a huge impact on sustainability in laboratories. We also discuss the good work he sees being done by My Green Lab and other institutions to improve sustainability, the gaps that he sees in energy efficiency in the lab and the small behaviors that we can change to make big differences in ...
UV LEDs for disinfection and potential protection from SARS-CoV-2
August 10, 2020 15:45 - 30 minutes - 25.8 MBIn this episode, produced in association with Phoseon Technology, BioTechniques Digital Editor Tristan Free, speaks to Application Scientist Theresa Thompson and Strategy Director Jay Pasquantonio (both Phoseon Technology, OR, USA) about their UV LEDs and their disinfection abilities. We cover the best wavelengths for disrupting nucleotides and proteins, the challenges associated with some of these wavelengths, and the promising potential of UV LEDs to disinfect inorganic surfaces of SARS-Co...
Rob Vries on organoids for drug discovery and the study of COVID-19
August 10, 2020 15:26 - 27 minutes - 23.4 MBBioTechniques Digital Editor, Tristan Free, speaks to Rob Vries, CEO of Hubrecht Organoid Technology otherwise known as the HUB. We explore the HUB's use of organoids for drug development and further study and improve the clinical treatments of diseases such as cystic fibrosis. After an analysis of the advantages of organoids over 2D cell cultures and animal models, we dive into how HUB's organoids are being used to investigate COVID-19 * The Talking Techniques podcast is hosted and produc...
Donald Ingber: How COVID-19 is changing conservatism in life sciences
August 10, 2020 09:24 - 22 minutes - 21.7 MBFollowing on from part 1 of this interview with the Founding Director of the Wyss Institute (MA, USA), Donald Ingber discusses the reasons he thinks organ-on-a-chip technologies are not more widely implemented in research. Expanding on the conservativism in the life sciences, Donald explores how the scientific response to the current COVID-19 pandemic is challenging entrenched modes of thinking and operating within the life sciences. Peer review and journal publication times are examined, wi...
Donald Ingber on COVID-19, organ-on-a-chip technology and the Wyss Institute
August 07, 2020 14:34 - 33 minutes - 32.1 MBIn the first instalment of this two-part episode with Donald Ingber, Founding Director of the Wyss Institute (MA, USA), we discuss his invention of organ-on-a-chip technology, how he is utilizing them in the fight against COVID-19 and the Wyss Institute's response to the pandemic. Donald touches on the performance of the much-discussed chloroquine in his lung-on-a-chip models. We also discuss the pros and cons of organ-on-a-chip technology verses organoids, exploring their use in combination...