The Scientist Speaks

Feb 26 2025 67 ep. 14 mins 101

The Scientist Speaks Podcast artwork

A podcast bringing you the stories behind news-worthy molecular biology research. From The Scientist‘s Creative Services Team.

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From Development to Regeneration: The Power of Bioelectricity

Feb 26 2025 12 mins

Bioelectrical gradients guide embryonic development by creating an electrical scaffold for tissue and organ growth. Researchers harness the power of bioelectricity to devise strategies for regenerating various tissues, including promoting brain recovery after stroke. In this episode, Iris Kulbatski from The Scientist spoke with Paul George, a physician scientist in the Department o

Circumventing Cancer Resistance

Dec 18 2024 20 mins

In this episode, Bishoy Faltas discusses how chemotherapy, extrachromosomal DNA, and a gene-editing protein create the perfect storm for bladder cancer therapeutic resistance.

Advances in Cell Therapy for Restoring Vision

Nov 20 2024 15 mins

Retinal neurons derived from human stem cells are a promising source of replacement cells for regenerating damaged or diseased retinas. As scientists progress toward translation of cell therapies for restoring vision, they encounter challenges, including how to deliver the cells, ensure that they integrate appropriately with host tissue, and enable proper function after transplanta

Smelling Illness: Volatile Organic Compounds as Neurological Disease Biomarkers

Oct 31 2024 12 mins

Early diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson’s disease is critical to slowing its progression. Long before neurological symptoms appear, patients exhibit early signs, some of which are associated with specific chemical scent signatures known as volatile organic compounds. Researchers study these as early biomarkers of disease for future diagnostics applications. In this episode, Ir

Understanding the Role of Autophagy in Infectious Disease

Sep 25 2024 16 mins

Just like people declutter their homes to prevent the accumulation of broken or unwanted items, cells use autophagy to maintain homeostasis. This essential cleaning process enables them to capture and degrade unnecessary or dysfunctional macromolecules, such as damaged organelles, protein aggregates, and microbial pathogens. As a result, autophagy is a fundamental defense mechanism

Linking Fasting to Health and the Gut Microbiome

Aug 28 2024 15 mins

Gut microbes affect humans in many ways, including altering the gastrointestinal tract’s function and influencing a person’s body weight, and the nutrients that people ingest can affect the microbiome. Researchers now ask how popular weight loss strategies involving calorie restriction change the bugs in our guts and human health overall. In this episode, Niki Spahich from Th

Catch Me If You Can: Sequencing Screens for Rare Disease Genes

Jul 31 2024 17 mins

As a trailblazer in rare disease research and treatment, Wendy Chung captures the big picture of rare disease genetics with the help of next generation sequencing.

Organoids in Space: The Next Frontier

Jun 26 2024 16 mins

Building miniature brains may sound like a page out of a science fiction novel, but fact is indeed stranger than fiction. Researchers around the world grow brain organoids—3D miniature brains—to better understand brain development, aging, injury, and other disorders, as well as to test new treatment strategies. Some scientists take brain building to the next level by launching

Science Philosophy in a Flash: Shifting Parturition Perspectives in Perinatology Research

Jun 01 2024 4 mins

Nardhy Gómez-López investigates the placental immunology of preterm birth.

Understanding the Effects of Extrachromosomal DNA on Cancer

May 29 2024 21 mins

In the 1960s, researchers in England noticed an anomaly when investigating chromosomes from surgically removed human tumors. Distinct from the intact chromosomes visible underneath the microscope were numerous “very small double chromatin bodies,” which are today better known as extrachromosomal DNA. Thanks to modern sequencing and imaging techniques, researchers now know that