Talking Biotech Podcast

Tweet The story of Percy Schmeiser is a well known tale of big biotech against the little farmer from rural Saskatchewan. Schmeiser grew canola, and his outstanding harvests were due to herbicide tolerant seeds that he grew himself from materials obtained from means other than purchase. This violation of patent rights became the fodder of activist organizations, and a test of how a large company would respond to an unlicensed use of their technology. Schmeiser became the darling of anti-GMO activists, and he became the figurehead of a conversation about technology, patents, farmers’ rights, and seed sovereignty. This week’s podcast analyzes the film Percy vs. Goliath, a film that attempts to tell Schmeiser’s story. But what was accurate and what was fictionalized in the film?  I spoke with Trish Jordan, who at the time was a communications lead at the Monsanto Corporation and followed the story very closely. She had a front-row seat for the legal proceedings and provides her analysis of the film’s veracity. Follow Trish on Twitter:  @AggieCoolChick The IMDB page for Percy vs. Goliath  

Tweet   One of the criticisms of farmers is that they fail to engage the public to show what they do. It is understandable, their days are busy, competition is stiff, and farming selects for folks that shun the spotlight. Still it is critical to meet the public where they are, and that is exactly what Zack Johnson does.  Zack is best known as Millennial Famer on YouTube.  He posts video accounts of his daily work, but also interesting events that happen on his farm and around his area. The videos provide and educational and informative look at what happens on the farm, the technology, the hardships, the successes. In this episode we discuss his entry into public engagement, his motivations, and how being a celebrity farmer has affected his operation.   Watch Millennial Farmer on YouTube Follow Zack on Twitter Millennial Farmer Website  

Tweet     Many diseases are rooted in the incorrect accumulation of proteins that regulate key cellular processes.  Dozens of proteins control processes like cell division and cell death, and aberrant accumulation of these regulatory molecules can have profound health impacts. The Arvinas company has developed a means to specifically target specific proteins for degradation, exploiting a system called ubiqitination.  Ubiqutin is a small molecular tag that sentences tagged proteins for degradation. Dr. John Houston is the CEO of Arvinas, and he describes the company’s progress in this exciting area of research and development. We discuss the technology, the progress, and the Arvinas pipeline. This alternative approach to controlling cellular processes holds great promise in the treatment of a number of human diseases. www.Arvinas.com 

Tweet The American Chestnut used to dominate Appalachian forests, but declined after a fungal disease was introduced to North America in the early 1900’s.  Scientists have sought to restore the ecology and utility of this tree species by adding resistance through genetic engineering.  For the backstory listen to Episode 9 (2015) of this podcast series.  This week’s interview is with graduate student Erik Carlson.  Erik recently published a paper in Molecular Plant Pathology that describes a new regulatory control of the gene that confers resistance to Chestnut Blight. We discuss the background of the project, where the project stands, and the regulatory environment of repatriating a forest with engineered trees.

Tweet Two unusually parallel articles emerged this week, both claiming that modern ag technology (as they say, “GMO”) is just another arm of colonial control of the Developing World.  Both wordy, yet visible articles stoked remarkably common themes, without evidence, just opinion.  Sadly, one of these was published in Scientific American, a popular magazine that continues to decline due to its injection of ideology in its opinion pieces that run counter to the scientific consensus. Cameron English is a journalist, the Director of Biosciences with the American Council for Science and Health. This week he wrote two stories this week, discussing these articles. In this episode of Talking Biotech Podcast we discuss the two articles, the decline of Scientific American, and how this new rhetoric is anti-biotech’s most recent salvo to stop technology from positively affecting the lives of the food insecure in the Developing World.

Tweet Wine is a fermented beverage that has been enjoyed for millennia. While many may feel that the grapes used produce the flavors in the wine, a substantial contribution comes from the yeast and specialized bacteria that performs feats of biochemistry on the components lent by the grape itself.  It is the merging of microbial and grape metabolism that provides each bottle with its distinct qualities.  In this episode we speak with Dr. Sakkie Pretorius from Macquarie University. He has enjoyed a long career as an expert at understanding how wine flavor is derived. In this episode we discuss how the metabolism of microbes and grapes contribute to wine flavors, as well as the future of biotechnology in shaping wine flavors.  With co-host Emily Haile.

Tweet   At the early age of 47 Cindy Lee Graham lost her battle with glioblastoma. Glioblastoma is an insidious cancer of the brain and central nervous system that slowly robs its victims of critical faculties, with a very low survival rate. This tragic loss is punctuated with an amazing gift of kindness, as Cindy and her husband Dr. Thomas Graham coordinated with pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Sheila Singh to donate Cindy’s brain to cancer research. This unique gift provides an amazing resource that allows researchers to study the real-time evolution of glioblastoma cells, and understand how to eventually find their vulnerabilities. In the second half, Dr. Thomas Graham shares the story of Cindy’s illness, and the research and scholarship funds that have been established in her honor. Please consider donating at cindysgift.com Twitter: @Cindy_GBM_Fund@sheilasinghlab

Tweet The executive ranks of the pharmaceutical industry are populated with a clear over representation of older males. How did we get here, and how is the leadership in industry changing to seek qualified, yet diverse executives?  This week the Talking Biotech Podcast features Kimberly Gentile, Senior Vice President of Clinical Research at Biohaven Pharmaceuticals.  She shares her experiences as a woman in the upper echelons of the pharmaceutical industry, and describes how we got to where we are, and how we’ll move forward with more sensitivity to a diverse and equitable workplace. Biohaven Pharmaceuticals on Twitter:  @BiohavenPharma  

Tweet Sustained space travel and colonization will depend on the ability to grow food in extra-terrestrial environments. The fact that plants evolved on earth with cues from gravity, photoperiod, barometric pressure and other signals means that plants growing on space stations or other planets will face unique stresses, never previously encountered. Add to this the challenges of watering plants in microgravity, a dependence on artificial lighting, and limited access to crop protection and fertilization strategies, and the ability to produce crops in space is a realistic limiter of long-term human colonization of space. Dr. Anna-Lisa Paul has studied plant biology in space and in extreme earth environments to learn about how plants adapt to these challenges, and even how humans might have to adapt to care for them. Twitter:  @UF_Space_Plants Dr. Paul in other media: * UF Space Plants Lab: https://hos.ifas.ufl.edu/spaceplantslab/ * TEDxUF speaker, April 6th, 2019 – “Humans are explorers––go boldly” * Women in Science Instagram story for Friday, Feb. 9th, 2018, ahead of the UN’s Women and Girls in Science Day. : https://twitter.com/ISS_Research/status/962796712241672192 * NPR Science Friday. For premier of “The Martian”; how real space plant biology is getting us closer to the goal of other planets https://www.sciencefriday.com/videos/plants-in-space/  

Tweet We all know the feeling of tiredness, but what causes the urge to sleep?  Prof. Lior Appelbaum discusses the link between sleepiness and DNA damage, as sensed through the accumulation of a protein known as PARP1.  PARP1 is well known for its roles in DNA repair.  Prof. Appelbaum’s team has examined PARP1 accumulation in animal models and shown strong evidence that the desire to sleep is triggered by DNA damage, and the desire to sleep involves action by PARP1. The conclusion is that tiredness should not be ignored, as it is a signal that there is some DNA damage to be corrected, and may play a role in long-term brain health.

Tweet    T Cells are the body’snatural defenders against pathogens.  In the past they have been reprogrammed to recognize specific surface antigens of cancer cells to attack and destroy them. The approach has worked well against a variety of cancers. The limitation is that they addition of genetic material is limited by transfer techniques.  This episode of the Talking Biotech Podcast discusses the new approach with Dr. Ken Drazan of Arsenal Bio. They have devised a strategy to place genetic material into T-cells from an afflicted patient that can now work against the disease in question. The approach uses gene editing, adding genetic material to T cells that allows them to recognize specific antigens, such as those associated with ovarian cancer. Follow on Twittter:  @ArsenalBio

Tweet   Olives have a prominent role in the production of aromatic healthy culinary oils and brined olives for the table.  Olive oil production occurs worldwide on old-growth orchards that are subject to a number of modern production challenges.  Disease, pests, climate change and other issues threaten sustainable production. Today’s guest is Prof. Lorenzo Leon, an olive breeder from IFAPA in Cordoba, Spain. He has taken on the mantle of creating the next generation of superior olive cultivars. We discuss the challenges of olive breeding, the protracted timeline, and the fact that his crosses today may result in something in the field decades down the road. We discuss modern genetic tools and their implementation. The discussion is a great appreciation of plant breeders, their important job, and the challenges they face. Follow Dr. Leon on Twitter:  @OliveBreeding  

Tweet Thirty million Americans depend on daily doses of insulin to stay alive.  This small protein hormone is responsible for the regulation of blood sugar, and plays a key role in all aspects of physiology, as well as long-term effects on health. Despite its importance, the vast majority of insulin is produced off shore, leaving it vulnerable to supply chain disruptions that could be hazardous for many Americans. Domestic production is hindered by a variety of barriers, from production to regulatory. Cameron Owen is the CEO and Co-Founder of rBIO, and they are using a specially designed E. coli bacterium that focuses strictly on insulin production. This streamlining of the process around bacteria that commit the majority of resources into insulin production leads to minimizing side reactions and higher yields of the desired product. Making the production process more efficient means that this critical hormone may be produced at a lower price and without fear of supply chain production. Follow rBIO on twitter at @rBio_pharma

Tweet   How can analysis of DNA isolated from old, preserved organisms, bones, or tissues tell us about life today?  Dr. Beth Shapio is a professor at the University of California Santa Cruz and an HHMI Investigator. She has studied the genomic information from ancient preserved sources to describe events and adaptations that underlie species evolution.  In this episode we discuss the technology behind isolating ancient DNA, its utility in resolving evolutionary lineages, and understanding traits in populations and their relationships to their environment. We conclude with a discussion of gene editing ethics and application to conservation biology. Follow Dr. Shapiro on Twitter at @BonesAndBugs

Tweet New strategies in gene therapy are integrating multiple modern techniques to take on contemporary challenging diseases, such as solid-tumor cancers. Dr. Eric Ostertag of Poseida Therapeutics describes their transposon-based gene therapies that deliver useful gene replacements through biodegradable, tissue-targeted nanoparticles. This contrasts against the older gene therapy technologies that relied on viral delivery.  In addition, Poseida offers new approaches in CAR-T cell therapies, genetic adjustment of native immune cells to target cancers. These One-time treatments appear to be promising in treating a variety of cancers using innovative strategies. Posieda Therapeutics Website