Mind & Matter

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Nick talks to cognitive scientist Dr. Donald Hoffman, who is professor emeritus of cognitive sciences at UC-Irvine and the author of many scientific papers and books, including "The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes.” 

They discussed a variety of topics related to consciousness, the nature of perception, and evolution, including: how perception works; whether our conscious perceptions are accurate representations of underlying reality; the interface theory of perception, which likens our conscious perceptions to the digital icons displayed on your computer screen; language; psychedelic experiences; and the nature of reality itself, such as whether space and time are fundamental aspects of the universe, or artifacts of perception.

*Not medical advice.

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Nick talks to biochemist Joe Baur, PhD, whose lab at the University of Pennsylvania studies the molecular mechanisms of aging and metabolism. They discuss: aging as a passive vs. regulated process; mechanisms of aging (DNA mutations, oxidative stress, etc.); NAD and its role in normal physiology; the biology of sirtuins; rapamycin as an immunosuppressant & modulator of aging; the effects of diet & caloric restriction on aging; the potential slowing and reversing aging, and more.

*Not medical advice.

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Nick talks to Dr. John Cryan, a Professor of Anatomy & Neuroscience at University College-Cork in Ireland whose lab studies the microbiota-gut-brain axis in health & disease.

They touch on a range of topics related to how our gut microbiome affects the brain and body, including: how the microbiome affects aging and immunity; how it affects social behavior, including potential links to autism; how antibiotics and the general hyper-cleanliness of the modern world impacts the microbiome; how it affects neuropsychiatric conditions like depression; how diet influences brain inflammation; towards the end John also shared an interesting example of a food he consumes for gut health.

To learn more about the microbiome, check out this content.

*Not medical advice.

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Nick talks to Dr. Gül Dölen, a professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University. Her lab studies the circuit and synaptic mechanisms of social cognition in health and disease.

Nick and Dr. Dölen discussed her research on critical periods for social reward learning in rodents, the role of oxytocin in social behavior and learning, and how MDMA ("ecstasy") promotes prosocial behavior in animals as diverse as humans, rodents, and octopuses. They also talked about how drugs like MDMA and psychedelics influence "metaplasticity," enabling environmental factors to trigger plasticity (physical changes in the brain) in a context-specific manner. Dr. Dölen also described how her research relates to developing treatments for autism, as well as her thoughts on whether the subjective effects of psychedelics and other drugs are necessary for some of their therapeutic effects.

*Not medical advice.

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Martin Kulldorff, PhD is an epidemiologist & biostatistician who has been studying infectious diseases for over two decades. He was a professor at Harvard Medical School for many years, a member of the FDA’s Drug Safety & Risk Management Advisory Committee, and a former consultant for the Centers for Disease Control. In 2020, Dr. Kulldorff co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration, a document criticizing the use of society-wide lockdowns for COVID-19 and advocating for a strategy of focused protection for high-risk people. 

Nick and Dr. Kulldorff discussed a variety of topics related to the COVID pandemic, including the nature of how the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads compared to other pathogens, how our public health strategy was implemented & his thoughts on how we could have handled the pandemic better, vaccine-induced immunity vs. natural immunity, vaccine efficacy, how and why various countries differed in their approach to COVID, and the health of our scientific & public health institutions in the US.

*Not medical advice.

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Nick talks to computer scientist and philosopher Bernardo Kastrup about various topics related to consciousness and the nature of reality. They discuss: psychological dissociation; the scientific study of 'neural correlates of consciousness'; the nature of perception and the influence of language on the mind; why the 'Hard Problem' of consciousness is so difficult; Bernardo's philosophy of analytic idealism; Jungian psychology & psychological archetypes; psychedelic experiences with psilocybin, 5-MeO-DMT, and how these could model the phenomenology of organic death.

More content about consciousness.

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Nick Jikomes talks to cancer biologist Dr. Marsha Rosner, who is a Professor of Cancer Research at the University of Chicago. Her lab focuses largely on understanding the biochemical signaling mechanisms that lead to the generation of tumor cells, as well as how and why cancer cells metastasize, which is when they travel from one part of the body to another.

Nick and Dr. Rosner and discuss mainly a recent study she led about the antiviral effects of cannabidiol (CBD) against SARS-CoV-2, including: why a cancer lab was working with CBD to begin with; what the results of her study actually show in terms of CBD’s antiviral effects; whether other cannabinoids showed this effect. She also commented on some misconceptions that have been circulating regarding this work, and described some of the clinical trials her team is running to measure CBD’s potential as an anti-COVID drug.

*Not medical advice.

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Kevin McKernan is a renowned leader in DNA sequencing technology. He led a research team part of the original Human Genome Project and is the founder and Chief Science Officer of Medicinal Genomics, a life sciences company that distributes genetics-based platforms for quality and safety testing of legal cannabis.

Nick and Kevin discussed the Cannabis genome, the genome of Psilocybe cubensis (magic mushrooms); Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technology, how it works, and how it's used for COVID-19 testing; cannabinoids such as cannabidiol (CBD) and recent research indicating their potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 effects; blockchain technology for genomics data; and mRNA vaccines and SARS-CoV-2.

*Not medical advice.

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Nick talks to Alexandra Elbakyan, the founder of Sci-hub, a shadow library website that provides free access to millions of research papers and books, without regard to copyright, by bypassing publishers' paywalls in various ways. Sci-hub is used by millions of people around the world each month, granting them free and easy access to scientific research findings. 

Nick spoke to Alexandra about how Sci-hub works, why she built it, and some of the legal challenges she has faced from large scientific publishing corporations. This conversation was conducted with a professional Russian-English translator, whose voice you will hear in the recording in place of Alexandra's.

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Nick talks to Dr. Suzanne Devkota, a microbiologist whose lab studies the gut microbiome in health and disease.

They discuss a variety of topics related to the gut microbiome: how it is influenced by diet; how antibiotics and probiotics affect it; different disease states and metabolic disorders, such as IBS and obesity; how gut microbes can affect the brain and behavior; the microbiome beyond the gut, including the skin; and more.

*Not medical advice.

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