#244 ‒ The history of the cell, cell therapy, gene therapy, and more | Siddhartha Mukherjee

76 snips

Feb 27, 2023

Siddhartha Mukherjee, an oncologist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, dives deep into the fascinating world of cells and gene therapy. He discusses his latest book, emphasizing the transition from single-celled to multicellular organisms and its impact on medicine. The conversation explores cutting-edge advancements like CRISPR and CAR T-cell therapy while addressing ethical dilemmas in gene editing. Mukherjee also reflects on mental health, the challenges of medical science, and the storytelling intricacies of writing about complex topics.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

The Song of the Cell and the Life Series

The book "The Song of the Cell" is part of a larger series exploring life and its manipulation.
It delves into how cells bring genes to life and how they can become aberrant, like in cancer.

ANECDOTE

Semmelweis and Germ Theory

Semmelweis, a junior obstetrician, discovered that doctors were transmitting "material substance" from cadavers to mothers, causing infections.
He implemented handwashing with bleach, drastically reducing mortality rates, but was ridiculed and died unvindicated.

INSIGHT

Evolutionary Drive for Multicellular Life

Multicellularity evolved multiple times independently, suggesting an evolutionary drive.
Predation and access to resources are potential drivers for this transition.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

View the Show Notes Page for This Episode

Become a Member to Receive Exclusive Content

Siddhartha Mukherjee is an oncologist, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and previous guest on The Drive. In this episode, Sid discusses many of the subjects of his latest book, The Song of the Cell, including the incredible discovery of the cell and how it transformed medicine. He explains the evolutionary drive to go from single-cell to multicellular life and unpacks the four different types of cell-based therapies and the problems they are attempting to solve. He also provides the latest in gene therapy, such as CRISPR, and the ethical questions around human gene editing. Additionally, he touches on a number of fascinating topics, such as the challenges of medical science, the human brain, learning styles, his writing process, mental health, and more.

We discuss:

How the cell brings the genome to life, and how Sid’s recent book fits into his prior work to tell a story [2:30];
How the germ theory of disease and an understanding of the cell fueled a big leap in medicine [9:45];
What is the evolutionary drive for multicellular life? [17:15];
Four types of cell therapies and the challenges of gene therapy [26:00];
CAR T-cell therapy: promising gene therapy for cancer [36:30];
The possibility of using gene therapy to treat germline mutations like sickle cell disease [41:45];
The incredible revolution of gene editing with CRISPR [45:15];
Ethical questions around human gene editing [52:30];
The complex role of genetics in mental illness [1:01:30];
Two types of problems in science: the “eye in the sandstorm” problem and the “sand in the eye” problem [1:06:15];
Understanding neural networks: an example of the “sand in the eye” problem being solved [1:08:45];
Importance of learning by doing: comparing the learning styles of a doctoral student to a medical student [1:16:30];
Sid’s unique and brilliant style of writing [1:20:45];
Falling as the leading cause of accidental death: a liability of multicellular existence [1:25:00];
Sid’s struggle with depression and his desire to change the stigma around mental illness [1:29:15]; and
More.

Connect With Peter on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube