The hidden world of fungi
Conor finally brings the 15 minutes of fame to fungi – mushrooms being second only to his ’microbiomania.’ We invite you to the beginning of the journey to understand fungi and mushrooms.
Best of Discovery Matters podcast 2020
We end 2020 a bit worse for the wear, but we learned every day. Discover our highlights from the inaugural year of this gnarly yet emotional science podcast.
Putting tumors on the map
Why can’t we predict who’s going to benefit from a cancer treatment, and who isn’t? Turns out we’ve been missing an important piece of the puzzle. Grab your explorer hat and pop it on your head, because we’re going mapping.
It all adds up: mathematical simulations in biopharma research
Computer simulation helps us design better cars before we make a physical model. What if we could use this technology to do the same for purifying new biotherapeutics? These podcast guests think we can and will by bridging math and biochemistry.
Breast cancer research in COVID times
In 2020 much of life has been paused. But breast cancer keeps going. In this podcast episode hear from Dr. Margaret Flowers at The Breast Cancer Research Foundation on the impact of COVID and how every woman can still look after her health.
Chill out: from cryotherapy to cryopreservation
What do cryotherapy, endangered species, and cancer patients have in common? You might want to grab your woolly jumper before joining Dodi and Conor in this week’s episode.
The making of a COVID-19 vaccine
In this episode of Discovery Matters podcast, we learn how researchers primed for a pandemic got a jump-start on developing a COVID-19 vaccine.
Biotech food industry inspiration
Biotech has taken inspiration from many places, including the food industry. Tune in as Dodi and Conor explore this topic and learn why biochemistry labs used to be near breweries. Cheers!
The ancient Greeks might have been right
In this bonus episode inspired by a popular UK podcast, Dodi, Conor, and guest Kaycee share fun facts about science from the Pleistocene to now.
The big thing about seeing small
Biology and telecom have more in common than we think. Dodi, Conor, and their guests draw parallels between seeing inside a cell and computing in the telecom industry. Learn what that could mean for our future.
The discovery of protein A
Is it possible to love one protein? Dodi and Conor learn that it is, in the special case of a protein that’s integral in purifying many of today’s biologic drugs.
Quantum biology: going subatomic
How do birds know where to go in the winter? And why are plants so efficient at making food? Dodi and Conor chat with researchers studying whether quantum biology might come into play.
How does your brain discover what it wants
Have you every felt terror in the grocery store, dodging the marketing blitz to find what you need? If so, you might relate to this podcast guest who’s also a neuro economist.
The artistry of vaccine development
Dodi and Conor chat with a scientist who fulfilled her childhood dreams, a professor with a passion for vaccine design, and a medical doctor turned pharmacovigilante. Tune in to learn what the heck that is and how vaccine development is like ballet.
Spinning out: from bench to biotech company
In this episode, Dodi and Conor chat about what it takes to spin a good idea into a successful biotech business. Interviews with an innovator and two people who help technology like his get off the ground.
Making sense of antisense oligo therapy
In this episode Conor tells Dodi about 4-year-old Roy Muhrbeck who was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Learn how an oligonucleotide (oligo) therapy helps Roy and where he is today. Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ Max Moore explains the science.
Scratched knees, smelly yogurt, and speedy wound healing
So, what does yogurt have to do with wound healing? In this episode, Evelina Vågesjö from Ilya Pharma helps Conor and Dodi see the connection. It’s all about getting help from our small bacterial friends, lactic acid, and chemokines. Tune in to learn how it all connects.
School’s never out: Educating the next gen biopharma talents
Education matters for sure. But what is special about biopharmaceutical education? And what does the future hold? Dodi and Conor are about to find out. Their guides in this episode are Killian O’Driscoll at NIBRT, Ireland, and Ron Kander at Thomas Jefferson University, US.
Fighting fake news in biotechnology: Sense about Science
Can you trust the scientific claims on products you buy? Conor's curiosity led him down a three-pronged investigation about what you can and should believe when it comes to science statistics and statements. His journey starts with Alex Clegg from the Sense about Science Ask for Evidence campaign.
Learning about blockchain in healthcare
Blockchain is everywhere. But what is it, really? And what can the blockchain technology bring to healthcare? Dodi and Conor unravel these questions together with Dr. Cathy Mulligan at Imperial College London in this week’s podcast episode.
Innovation: exploring cyborgs, jugaad, and inside-the-box thinking
Follow Dodi as she dives into the world of innovation. More specifically, the difference between talking innovation and being innovative. Meet Tobias the cyborg that likes thinking inside the box and learn what Goud has to say about the concept of jugaad in India.
Microbiome transplant: cooties can cure you
Conor has what he calls "microbiomania". Whatever the topic, he can bring it back to microbiomes in about three sentences. So, imagine his excitement when he got to meet up with two fellow microbiome enthusiasts, Colleen Cutcliffe, CEO of Pendulum and Jacques Ravel, professor at University of Maryland.
The Framingham Heart Study
During a lively lunch chat about the popularity of wearable fitness trackers, the curious question came up: where would healthcare be now if we’d been able to generate all this data 50 to 70 years ago? Dodi directly thought of the world’s longest running human study, the Framingham Heart Study, which is still ongoing after 70 years.
CAR T cell therapy: how it helped 2 brave young women fight cancer
This is a serious but inspirational story where a few brave souls blazed the trail and are now paying it forward. This is the story of Emily Whitehead, the first CAR T pediatric patient. And this is the story of Nicole Gularte, the leukemia patient who received CAR T cell therapy three times! Support the Emily Whitehead Foundation and Nicole by donating here.
A map of humankind from the inside out—the Human Protein Atlas
We humans have been mapping things since the beginning of time. In this episode, Dodi takes Conor on an explorer’s journey. Their destination? The Human Protein Atlas project. Strap on your seatbelt—it’s a bumpy ride connecting the dots between explorers, chemists, geneticists…and even sociologists.
Bonus episode: The role of AI in healthcare, more specifically pandemics
A pandemic can start with a picnic. But can we prevent pandemics without cancelling feel-good gatherings? Enter artificial intelligence (AI) into the world of healthcare and life sciences. Dodi meets up with an AI expert panel and gets examples of the real potential of this very trendy topic.
A kidney surgeon who fixes the plumbing
The list of people needing kidney transplants is tragically long, and donor lists are desperately short. Conor and Dodi find scientists who are coming up with alternative solutions to this problem. Some enable transplantation of less-than-perfect organs, and others dream of 3D printing important organs.
How a Chinese hamster came to dominate production of biopharmaceuticals
Little did you know, but a single hamster has been a force of innovation and massive biomedical production. Scientists devote entire careers to so called CHO cells from this Chinese hamster’s ovary. Dodi and Conor talk with a couple of those scientists to figure out why this hamster rules the biopharma world.
How the hunt for a new way to make jam changed the way we make medicines
Dodi and Conor discover how jam played a part in paving the way for biopharmaceutical drugs. Sixty years ago, Swedish scientists happened upon a new method of protein separation through chromatography. The very same technique continues to be the foundation for modern biomedical manufacturing.
Trailer: Discovery matters…because it does!
Ever wondered what jam and hamsters have done for medical science? Or if there are 3D-printed kidneys? Prepare for mind-boggling discussions on scientific discoveries as two curious minds, Conor McKechnie and Dodi Axelson, chat with scientists, historians, and experts in the field of life sciences.