iBiology Podcast

The third video is a recording of a panel discussion moderated by SCL producer Rosa Veguilla on February 3, 2022. In this conversation, we asked the speakers follow-up questions about whether we can and should use CRISPR in the natural forest to combat climate change, and if so, what that might look like.

Coral reefs are truly magnificent ecosystems that support an abundance of marine life, and they are under threat. As climate change warms the oceans, corals become stressed by the heat and struggle to survive. Can modern genetic tools, like CRISPR-Cas9, help save them? Some scientists say it is our responsibility to make sure corals adapt to climate change.

Hearing loss, caused by the death of hair cells in the inner ear, is the third most common public health issue in the United States. Currently, there are no therapeutic strategies to restore hearing. In her thesis research, Dr. Amrita A. Iyer investigated the possibility of regenerating functional hair cells by reprogramming non-hair cells of the mouse inner ear. She found that overexpression of a single transcription factor, ATOH1, can successfully reprogram non-sensory cells into hair cells with typical characteristics in neonatal mice. However, a combination of three transcription factors - ATOH1, GFI1, and POU4F3 - was required to reprogram inner hair cells in 1-week old mice. Her findings provide a window into the developmental and gene expression requirements for regeneration of inner ear hair cells in mammals, and may inform future therapeutic strategies for hearing loss in humans.

Dr. Tshaka Cunningham received his PhD in molecular biology from Rockefeller University and completed postdoctoral training at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. He is the co-founder and CSO of Polaris Genomics, a precision behavioral health company. Dr. Cunningham is a leading advocate for diversity and representation in genomics and is Executive Director of the Faith-Based Genetic Research Institute.

This short film explores how Dr. Tshaka Cunningham, a molecular biologist and a Black man of faith, unites his personal and professional identities to advocate for community health through personal genomics. (Talk recorded in January 2018)Audience: General Public Student Researcher Educators Educators of H. School / Intro Undergrad Educators of Adv. Undergrad / Grad Duration: 00:08:47

The National Cancer Act was signed into law in 1971, declaring a “War on Cancer.” While cancer deaths have declined remarkably since then due to major advances in therapies, we are still far from eliminating cancer altogether. In her Share Your Research talk, Christina Cho discusses how we could make further progress in our fight against cancer by learning more about the tumor microenvironment and the role of the immune system on tumor growth. Her work focuses on the complicated functions associated with cancer-associated fibroblasts, which can both help and harm cancer cells.

More than 200 million people are infected with schistosomes, aquatic parasites that cycle between snails and humans, and cause the human disease schistosomiasis. Risk of contracting this disease is expected to rise in the coming years due to climate change, agricultural expansion, and population growth. In her Share Your Research Talk, Dr. Karena Nguyen provides an overview of the schistosome life cycle, including the points at which interventions can disrupt this cycle in order to reduce disease transmission. She then goes on to discuss her work modeling the impact of these interventions.

Intestinal villi are finger-like projections that line the small intestine, increasing surface area to help with absorption of nutrients. Injuries to the intestinal villi can cause a range of health problems, and can even be life-threatening. In this Share Your Research Talk, physician-scientist trainee Takahiro Ohara discusses his research on the molecular and cellular processes that drive recovery of intestinal villi. He describes the fetal-like state that cells on damaged villi take on, and how adaptive differentiation of these cells leads to proper villus recovery.

When we think of what makes two species distinct, we often think of their ability (or inability) to produce viable offspring. But is there anything we can learn from inviable offspring? In this Share Your Research talk, Maiko Kitaoka discusses her work on closely related Xenopus frogs. She reveals how examining hybridization between these species at the cellular level can provide insight into only the mechanisms that restrict cell division and development, but also broader patterns of how new species are able to evolve.

Unlike most animals, plants don’t have the option to run away when something is trying to eat them. Instead, they develop all kinds of chemical and structural defenses. But these defenses can be energetically costly, and plants’ ability to defend themselves can change over time and with the environment. In her Share Your Research Talk, Dr. Mia Howard discusses how soil microbes can influence defensive traits in goldenrod (Solidago altissima) at various stages of succession. Her work reveals that microbial communities from late succession soils can increase plant resistance to herbivory, and may even make plants less vulnerable to pests.