Mendelspod Podcast

"That’s fake news!”We hear it all the time. And often it is said about scientific facts, for example, recent studies or evidence of global warming. Or the safeness of vaccines. But has the problem with “fake news” been that much of an issue in the life science industry? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mendelspod.com/subscribe

Our two favorite commentators are back for our February 2019 month-in-review show, and to give our own twist to Valentine's Day celebrations we take on the topic of family surprises due to DNA testing. This is a phenomenon taking the world by storm in 2019. The Boston Globe had a great headline this past week, "First came the home DNA kits. Now come the support groups." This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mendelspod.com/subscribe

In 2016, after President Obama announced the Cancer Moonshot in the State of the Union, a very outspoken physician researcher from the Mayo Clinic penned an open letter to Vice President Biden criticizing the project and proposing the money be better spent other ways. It included these lines: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mendelspod.com/subscribe

Talk to anyone who’s been around diagnostics or blood sampling for long, and they’ll tell you that nanotechnology is nothing new.Today’s guest, Brett Goldsmith, the Chief Technology Officer at Cardea, says he was involved in the nano revolution that was and then wasn’t 20 years ago. (The older veterans among us might date it back even further, to forty years ago.) So what are Brett and Cardea buzzing about early this year in a new Nature paper? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mendelspod.com/subscribe

Nathan and Laura are back for the first time this year for a wild trip past cloned CRISPRd monkeys and the first gene drive in mammals. (Just that?) But first we have to deal with our hangover from the end of last year.We talk DTC and end with a discussion of the ancient DNA controversy. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mendelspod.com/subscribe

You’re a mother, and life is typical. You’re also a pediatrician. Then one day you hear that your daughter is autistic. OK. Then you get the news that, no, it’s not autism but a very rare disease called Sanfilippo Syndrome. From your training as a pediatrician you quickly think back and remember the MPS rare diseases, but nothing else prepares you for what’s ahead. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mendelspod.com/subscribe

There are hundreds of pregnancy apps available. So what is unique about the NIH’s new crowdsourcing project called PregSource?“We think PregSource is different because we offer the security and reliability of having been developed at the NIH with the participation of well regarded organizations. We’ve developed the content with expert input at every stage. Their are no ads at PregSource. And, of course, we will never, ever share or sell the data with a commercial organization.” This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mendelspod.com/subscribe

Today we engage in a rare discussion between a startup founder who is going beyond sequencing and working directly with cancer patient cells in 3D cultures and with one of his customers, the husband of a cancer patient.Meet Christian Regenbrecht, the CEO of CPO or Cellular Phenomics and Oncology based in Berlin, Germany and Janos Flosser, a fund manager who invests in technology from Copenhagen, Denmark. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mendelspod.com/subscribe

It’s the question of the moment Are we living in the age of AI? Or is it still just hype?When it comes to the latest research in immuno therapy, computational modeling is helping to answer key open questions, such as which patients might respond to which drugs."If you were to ask me last year about deep learning, I would probably say, aaah, most of the algorithms that are published are not really answering the important questions yet. But I think this year I am converted. We are starting to use deep learning, and we are starting to see interesting results.” This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mendelspod.com/subscribe

At the end of the year, we like to speak with a journalist who covers genetics about some of their stories. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mendelspod.com/subscribe