Eleanor Sheekey | Sheekey Science Show

An idea that has been in every science fiction movie for decades is halting aging. Weather that is humans that live to 200 years old, or physical and mental health that never deteriorates. These all seem like crazy propositions that will never happen.   

But there is a growing body of research proving that we may be closer to accomplishing these crazy feats then anyone previously thought.   

In this episode we dive into the science and research behind reversing (or even halting) aging with PhD student (at Cambridge University) Eleanor Sheekey, creator of the Sheekey Science Show (now at 33K subscribers).   

This is a technical conversation where we get our hands dirty in technical terms and biological properties that are responsible for aging in humans (although we do look at some studies in rodents as well). This includes sirtuins (the 7 differents sirtuins, their role in the aging process) NAD+, p53 (what it is, what it does, why it’s important), telomeres + telomerase, cellular senescence, senolytics and myths about longevity.  

And at the end, we ask Eleanor the billion dollar question that is at the front of everyone’s minds: what can individuals do to live longer?

Luke Hurd 

Firefighting. It’s a dangerous job. Firefighters walk blindly into burning buildings without being aware of the full danger of the situation until it’s too late.   

Technologies like augmented and virtual reality offer the potential to revolutionize industries like firefighting and first responders.   

In this episode of the Luminexus podcast, we talk with AR specialist Luke Hurd, about these practical problems that AR/VR can help address. Luke shares the example of firefighting - having AR/VR glasses to spatially map out the situation of the house and design a safe route for the firefighter to follow, as well as alerting the firefighter of danger zones to avoid.   

We discuss the future of augmented reality, from a technical aspect (what needs to change to get AR to the point where it can solve big problems), an impact aspect (big problems AR can solve if the technical problems are addressed) and a social impact (how AR will disrupt societies and why we should design societies to include an accommodate for AR).

Matt Langione

Quantum computing has blown up lately. Crazy claims and ambitious arguments that quantum computing will be the next AI and change every industry from weather forecasting, to drug discovery to healthcare.   

But can quantum even accomplish these feats, or is it all just click bait and fancy article titles? And, (more importantly), how does quantum computing even work?   

Well in this episode of the Luminexus Podcast we try to answer these questions about how quantum computing works, the technical barriers of the technology and why it is so important. Matt Langione, our guest on today’s episode, specializes in bringing research-driven, high-potential "deep tech" to market, and is a leading expert on the industrial applications of quantum computing.   

Weather you don’t know WTF quantum computing is, or you want to hear Matt’s opinions about how quantum computing will be integrated into industry, this episode is for newbies to pros, so pop in some earbuds and enjoy.

Elliot Roth | Spira Inc

When you think of the future of food, you probably picture tall vertical farms in every square inch of urban cities, lab grown meat and genetically modified seeds. But what if I told you that the thing that could fix our broken agricultural system isn’t vertical farming, cellular agriculture or gene editing? It’s algae. And biology.

In this episode we talk with Elliot Roth, founder of Spira Inc, a company which engineers algae for sustainable, healthy and cost effective industry applications. We talk with Elliot about the why behind algae, and the incredible effect algae and spirulina could have on the world from not only an environmental perspective, but also from a food production and availability perspective. We go deep into the science of growing and genetically modifying algae, and how anyone can get start with DIY Bio.

Ryan Brown | Salient Energy

Batteries are needed for renewable energy to work. Batteries store renewable energy until it is needed. Currently, lithium ion batteries are used for this.   

But as renewable energy production increases, lithium ion can’t keep up with the demand. The lithium ion shortage is getting worse each year, and costs for lithium ion are rising. So we need an alternative that is environmentally friendly, cheap and accessible.   

In this episode, we talk with Ryan Brown, co founder of Salient Energy, the company that is creating the future of batteries: zinc ion batteries.  Zinc is 100X more accessible than lithium, and produces two thirds less greenhouse gas emissions than lithium ion batteries.   

The unique thing about Salient’s zinc ion battery design is that it is water based, making it significantly cheaper and safer than any other zinc ion battery on the market, and is the first battery ever where the zinc ions react at both electrodes.   

In this conversation we break down the problem of lithium ion and why an alternative is needed, as well as the criteria to make a feasible alternative to lithium ion. We dive deep into the tech of how Salient’s battery works, and what this new battery means for the world.

Davide Valeriani

This is a classic Luminexus podcast episode - a conversation where we explore the intersection of several technologies, and a problem to apply these technologies to. In this episode, we talk with Davide Valeriani, previous lead data scientist at Neurable, and now senior research scientist at Google.   

We start by breaking down the technology of brain computer interface (terms like EEG, ECOG, EMG and signal processing), and learn about Davide’s research in wearable devices for novel human-computer interaction and brain monitoring. Then in the second half of the episode we merge our knowledge of BCIs and explore the application of BCI and neuroscience in healthcare.

Laura Boykin | Cassava Virus Action Project

The whitefly is a deadly pest that destroys close to half the total yields in Africa. Take the cassava plant for example, a staple crop that 800 million people rely on for their daily calories. The whitefly transmits diseases that kill the cassava, like cassava mosaic disease, and cassava brown streak disease.   

This is what we call on the Luminexus Podcast a “non obvious problem.” The problem of pests destroying the majority of cassava plants leaves millions of farmers with low yields to sell, no food to put away for the winter, contributing to an endless poverty loop.  

Today we talk with Dr.Laura Boykin, whose research and work is about solving this problem. She has spent her life studying the evolution of whiteflies and the viruses they transmit, and she has mapped the genome of the cassava whitefly to better understand how it works.  

Now, Laura is the founder of the Cassava Virus Action Project, where she works with small scale farmers in Sub Saharan Africa to teach them how to use genomic sequencing devices to catch infestations of the whitefly early on. In this conversation, we talk about the problem of the whitefly in Sub Saharan Africa, intergenerational poverty that stems from agriculture, and Laura’s research with genomic sequencing devices to give farmers the tools to detect and stop infestations of the whitefly.

Jacinto Sá | Peafowl Solar Power

The sun showers enough light on Earth to power the planet 10 000 times over. So the million dollar question is how can we harness all this power?   

This is the question we talk with Jacinto Sá, professor in physical chemistry and and co founder and CTO of Peafowl Plasmonics, about.   

But before we can begin to understand the answer to this question, we need to start with the physics and chemistry of how humans turn sunlight into energy. So that’s what we do.   

This is a technical episode about how solar energy works, and the problems with how we harvest energy from the sun that must solved if we want to run the world off solar energy. And we talk about the difference between plasmonics and conventional solar energy, and how plasmonics could help us convert more of the sun’s light into usable energy than traditional solar ever could.

Meryam Al-Waadh

AI, AI, AI, it’s all we hear about! It clutters news headlines, company websites, articles, bios and everywhere in between. But with all this recent advancement and attention with artificial intelligence, it begs the question, what *is* AI? What is a neural network? And why is AI the thing that everyone is talking about?   

So in this episode of the Luminexus podcast we connect the dots between the technical terms in research papers, and the buzz in the media, to bring to our listeners a comprehensible introduction to AI. We sit down and talk with Meryam Al-Waadh, senior analytical lead at Google and AI specialist, to break down what AI is, how it works and why it is important.   

And to tie a finishing bow on this episode, we dip our toe into the endless black vortex of the ethical debate of artificial intelligence, and things both creators and consumers must keep in mind as we move forward in a society where humans and machines become more and more similar.