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Nick Jikomes talks to genetic engineer Dr. Alina Chan about the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. They discuss Alina's new book, "Viral: The Search For the Origin of COVID-19," which she co-wrote with Matt Ridley. The book thoroughly documents the events & people relevant to COVID's origins. They discuss everything from the original SARS-1 epidemic in China, wildlife spillover vs. accidental lab leak hypotheses; pangolins, bats, and other animals; SARS-CoV-2 genome; institutions and people like Francis Collins, the NIH, WHO, and EcoHealth Alliance. 

*Not medical advice.

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Nick talks with Dr. Anil Seth, a neuroscientist and professor of cognitive & computational neuroscience at the University of Sussex. The conversation is all about the neuroscience of consciousness, which is the subject of his Dr. Seth's book, “Being You: A New Science of Consciousness.“

They touch on everything from what consciousness actually is, whether or not neuroscientists can measure different levels of consciousness in the brain, what characterizes psychedelic experiences and non-ordinary states of consciousness in terms of the brain, and the nature of perception. In particular, they discuss ideas related to the notion that our conscious perceptions are a kind of inference, or guess, our brain’s are making about the world, as well as the idea that all of our conscious perceptions are "controlled hallucinations."

They also discuss: exteroception (perceiving things outside the body, like objects); interoception (perceiving things within the body); and emotion. Lastly, Nick gets Anil’s take on whether consciousness is an evolutionary adaptation and psychedelics.

*Not medical advice.

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Nick talks to neuroscientist and writer Dr. Erik Hoel. Erik is a professor of biology at Tufts University. He received his PhD in neuroscience from the University of Wisconsin, where he studied under the sleep and consciousness researcher, Giulio Tononi. He did postdoctoral work at Columbia University, where he used information theory and other analytical tools to explore the biological basis of consciousness. He has come up with the so-called Overfitted Brain Hypothesis of dreaming, which explains the potential adaptive function of dreams by drawing analogies to techniques used to train Deep Neural Networks in the world of machine learning. 

Erik and Nick discuss the biology and phenomenology of dreams and sleep generally, including some of the various theories for why we sleep. They also discuss Deep Learning (on a very basic level) and Erik described the Overfitted Brain Hypothesis of dreaming. They also discuss fiction and the arts, including Erik’s new novel and the potential evolutionary reasons for why humans create and consume fiction, as well as some technology-driven developments that are reshaping how we create and consume written work online. 

*Not medical advice.

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Nick Jikomes talks to Dr. Steven Laviolette, a neuroscientist at the University of Western Ontario. They discuss how different types of drugs impact emotion, cognition, brain development and the development of psychiatric conditions  (e.g. addition, schizophrenia); drug interactions (THC + CBD, THC + L-Theanine, CBD + Omega-3 Fatty Acids), how drugs can affect brain development when consumed during adolescence, or by pregnant women; how cannabinoids interact with opioids in different ways.

*Not medical advice.

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Nick Jikomes talks to Saoirse O'Sullivan, PhD, a physiologist specializing in the physiological effects of cannabinoids. Dr. O'Sullivan ran a lab at the University of Nottingham for many years before becoming a consultant and Vice President of Translational Research at Artello Biosciences.

They discuss some of the physiological effects of cannabinoids in the body, including endogenous cannabinoids our own bodies produce, and plant cannabinoids associated with the Cannabis plant (e.g. THC, CBD, THCV, and CBG). They cover: inflammation, brain injury, the blood-brain barrier, gut health, the cardiovascular system. Near the end, Saoirse also described why she eventually transitioned from academia to the private sector, and what motivated her decision to do so.

*Not medical advice.

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Christian Luscher, MD, PhD is a neuroscientist and neurologist who runs a research lab at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. Dr. Lusher's lab studies the mechanisms that underlie drug reinforcement and addiction in the brain and he is an expert in the neuroscience of drug addiction. 

Christian talks to Nick  about: what is addiction is and what some key parts of the brain and neurotransmitter systems are involved in drug addiction; differences in the addictive potential of different types of drugs, ranging from stimulants (e.g. cocaine, nicotine, caffeine) to cannabinoids (e.g. THC), opioids, and psychedelics; the difference between addiction vs. dependency, habitual vs. goal-directed behavior; latest research on how dopamine & serotonin systems in the brain are both involved in drug-seeking behavior.

*Not medical advice.

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Nick Jikomes talks to writer and science journalist Nicholas Wade about the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the COVID-19 pandemic. Nicholas describes how this story has evolved since the start of the pandemic, and contrasts the the two main hypotheses for the origins of COVID: wildlife spillover vs. lab leak. He describes how viruses in the past (e.g. SARS1) emerged, peculiarities of the SARS2 genome, Peter Daszak & EcoHealth Alliance, Wuhan Institute of Virology, and various conflicts of interest that people have had. He describes how we don't have proof whether a wildlife spillover or a lab leak explains the origins of COVID-19, what definitive evidence would look like, and whether we are likely to resolve this mystery.

*Not medical advice.

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Nick Jikomes talks to paleoanthropologist Dr. Lee Berger about human evolution. Dr. Berger is a professor of anthropology in South Africa, explorer-in-residence for National Geographic, and author of, "Becoming Human." Lee's team has mapped and explored caves all over South Africa, discovering a treasure trove of ancient human fossils. This includes the discovery of Homo naledi, an ancient human ancestor that had a much smaller brain than humans, but may have nonetheless appear to have had advanced cognitive abilities. Lee described the discovery of Homo naledi, human brain evolution, and why we are in a gold age of paleoanthropology.

To learn more about evolution, check out these episodes: https://substack.com/search/evolution?focusedPublicationId=513528&searching=focused_posts

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Nick talks to physicist and neuroscientist Dr. Michael Crair. Michael runs a lab at Yale University studying mechanisms of brain development. He discussed research related to neural plasticity, learning & memory, sensory maps, and critical periods of plasticity. Dr. Crair also described recent findings from his lab show that parts of the developing brain can simulate future sensory experiences, before animals ever open their eyes and see the external world. 

*Not medical advice.

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Nick talks to evolutionary biologists Bret Weinstein & Heather Heying about using evolutionary thinking to understand humanity's predicaments in the 21st century. They discuss various topics related to their new book, "A Hunter Gatherers Guide to the 21st Century," including modern medicine, dieting & health, sleep & light, dating & mating systems, and questions related to consciousness and the state of civilization at large. The book is meant to provide an evolutionary toolkit for understanding the modern human condition by understanding our past.

To learn more about evolution, check out these episodes.

*This content is never meant to serve as medical advice.

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• Seed Oil Scout: Find restaurants with seed oil-free options, scan food products to see what they’re hiding, with this easy-to-use mobile app.
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