Nice Genes!

Separating Skincare Science Fact from Fiction

Could your skincare be hiding more than just a few blemishes? Or, is the word “toxic” getting a li’l too much attention these days… You may have heard the buzz about endocrine-disrupting compounds that silently interfere with our hormones. But with so much misinformation online fueling the fear-fire, it’s hard to know what’s really harmful and what’s all hype.

In our ‘Nice Genes!’ season 4 opener, host Dr. Kaylee Byers re-joins forces with the one and only Dr. Samantha Yammine (aka Science Sam) to clear up some of the confusion surrounding cosmetic safety. With help from environmental toxicologist Dr. Isabelle Plante, we’re un(face)masking the science of dosage and exposure to decode cosmetic formulas and why it's more complex than TikTok would have you think!

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Highlights:

(06:55) Dr. Plante Defines Endocrine disruptors.

(16:43) Dr. Plante talks about the relationship between endocrine disruptors and health concerns.

(26:38) Science Sam highlights the important role of regulation.

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Learn-A-Long: (coming soon)

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Resources:

1. Clean Beauty Is Wrong and Won’t Give Us Safer Products - Lab Muffin

2. Parabens in Cosmetics - U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

3. Parabens and Breast Cancer - Breast Cancer UK

4. The Association between Paraben Exposure and Human Health - MDPI

5. Parabens, Fragrance, Colorants, Talc: Debunking Bobby Parrish’s TikTok Misinformation - Lab Muffin

6. Endocrine Disruptors - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)

7. Chapter: Parabens in Cosmetics - SpringerLink

8. Environmental Exposure to Parabens and Health Effects - Nature

9. Canadian Institute for Environmental Assessment - CIAPE ICEDA

…98, 99, 100! Ready or not, here we come with a brand new season of 'Nice Genes!'

Science is like a game of hide and seek, and genomics is one of its stealthiest players, challenging us to uncover its "see-crets".

Join host Dr. Kaylee Byers for Season 4 of Nice Genes! where we shine an ultraviolet light on the hidden forces that shape our world– and investigate the genomic questions you didn’t even know you had. Like, is “clean beauty” worth the hype? Can genomics help solve the looming threat of antibiotic resistance? And WTF (what the fawn) is chronic wasting disease?!

Get ready for eye-opening episodes that are helping make the invisible, visible– with genomics! Because sometimes, the most exciting scientific questions are hidden in plain sight. 

How Mice and CRISPR are Reversing Blindness

One small step for science, one furry leap for mousekind. Scientists have found a way to reverse a common mutation that causes blindness in both people and mice using gene editing technology.

References:

In Mouse Study, Scientists Use Gene Editing to Reverse a Major Cause of Blindness | US News

Credits:

Children's Songs by Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians | Internet Archive

Three Blind Mice - Beidernecke, Bix | Internet Archive

How Deleted DNA Reveals the Origins of Humanity

In 2007, researchers pitted humans against chimpanzees in a memory test competition. Who was the victor of this mental jungle gym? Phoebe Melvin and Dr. Kaylee Byers delve into Yale University research that reveals what DNA humans share with our primate relatives but, more intriguingly, what sets us apart.

References:

Mankind’s Missing Puzzle Pieces: The “Deleted” Genes That Made Us Human | Yale University

Chimps Beat Humans on Memory Tasks | ABC News

Credits:

ABC News, Chimps vs Humans | ABC News & laffsteve

How an Oddball Bunny Saved Millions of Lives

Can a make-believe tale have real-life consequences? Perhaps a 1930s legend from a snowy town in Wyoming illustrates signals just how the strange things found in nature can become life-saving treatments.

References:

Are jackalopes real? | Live Science

New Research Shows the HPV Cancer Vaccine Saves Lives | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Credits:

The Legend Of Bigfoot | Internet Archive (CC)

Somewhere In Wyoming 1930 Joe Green Orchestra | Internet Archive (CC)

Meet the Magic of Mushrooms on Colour Blindness

Roughly 300 million people have a colour vision deficiency. But with a few mushrooms and some magic, those who experience colourblindness might be able to see a whole range of colors for the first time.

References:

Magic Mushrooms seem to have a strange effect on color blindness | Science Alert

Ishihara test: Color Blind Test | Colormax

What is LSD | Science Alert

Case report: Prolonged amelioration of mild red-green color vision deficiency following psilocybin mushroom use | Drug Science, Policy and Law

Improved colour blindness symptoms associated with recreational psychedelic use: Results from the Global Drug Survey 2017 | Drug Science, Policy and Law

Indigenous Environmental Stewardship

Description:

The Indigenous peoples of what’s now known as Western Canada had a relationship of reciprocity with the land. But when explorers from Europe arrived eager to tame the land and absorb its vast natural resources these two world views came to a head. And caught in between an iconic species of the Pacific Northwest—the Gary Oak—has become threatened. So how can we reconcile the harmful assumptions of the past that overlooked other ways of managing ecosystems?

Dr. Kaylee Byers and Co-Host Dr. Lyana Patrick, look to the forests, rivers, and oceans of Turtle Island to uncover the various food systems and traditional stewardship practices that existed before colonization. Ethnobotonist, John Bradley Williams shares the traditional use of Garry Oaks and how they became systematically destroyed. Dr. Tabitha Robin from the University of British Columbia shares her experience working with and studying Indigenous Food Sovereignty. Lastly, Canadian Anthropologist and National Geographic explorer Dr. Wade Davis, through insights from his career visiting communities around the world shares how we can dismantle the prevailing biases that continue to threaten the health of our planet.

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Highlights:

(3:53 - 8:55) An icon on the brink, J.B. Williams shares the origins and challenges of Garry Oak meadows

(11:24 - 14:50) Moving forward, Dr. Tabitha Robin shares the overlooked history of Indigenous food sovereignty

(18:45 - 23:20) How an academic divide threatens our planet, anthropology lessons from National Geographic's Dr. Wade Davis

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Learn-A-Long: https://bit.ly/3GPwxnf

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Resources:

Indians and Europeans on the Northwest Coast: Historical Context | Center for the Study of Pacific Northwest

The Strait of Juan de Fuca is mentioned for the first time in April 1596 | History Link

Purchas His Pilgrimes: Contayning a History of the World in Sea Voyages and Lande Travells by Englishmen and others | Center for the Study of Pacific Northwest

The Garry Oak Learning Meadow | Parks Canada

Harvesting strategies as evidence for 4000 years of camas (Camassia quamash) management in the North American Columbia Plateau | The Royal Society

Conservation status of native tree species in British Columbia | Global Ecology and Conservation

Seeing the garden through the trees: The Indigenous forest gardens of coastal B.C. | Canadian Geographic

Bison Bellows: Indigenous Hunting Practices | National Parks Service

Weir Fishing | Heritage Lower Saint Lawrence

Combining Genomic Insights and Traditional Indigenous Knowledge for the Conservation of Pacific Salmon | Genome British Columbia

Puyallup Tribe hosts c’abid (camas) harvest at PLU | Pacific Luthern University

Saving the planet means listening to Indigenous peoples: Wade Davis | CBC

Spatial and temporal assessments of genetic structure in an endangered Garry oak ecosystem on Vancouver Island | Canadian Science Publishing

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Credit:

Interview with Tibet's 14th Dalai Lama by Robert AF Thurman, Harvard 1981 | Tibet House US Menla Online

Challenging our assumptions about pain

When Jackie Gonzalez was just young, doctors assumed that she was pining for attention when she restlessly tried to rub her feet and describing that she was in constant pain. It wasn’t until she was a teenager that doctors and scientists diagnosed her with Erythromelalgia, also known as ‘Man on Fire Syndrome’. It's a rare condition, and even rarer for people to be born with it, like Jackie was. But what if this uncommon ailment could be cured with the help of an even less common animal?

Dr. Kaylee Byers sits down with Adele Gonzalvez from the University of Sydney on her work to understand the genetic properties of platypus venom. Researchers indicate that their peculiar toxin could put a halt to chronic pain. Meanwhile, producer Sean Holden, puts on rubber waders and sloshes into the boggy waters of Southern Australia to find the notoriously elusive platypus and its venom.

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Highlights:

(6:28) A lifetime of pain, Jackie Gonzalez on having Erythromelalgia

(13:51) A weird and wonderful platypus with Adele Gonzalvez

(21:30) On the platypus prowl, Josh Griffith and his team search for platypus and their venom

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Learn-A-Long: https://bit.ly/3Nv5X6v

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Resources:

Next-gen painkillers from nature’s deadliest life forms | The University of Queensland

Chronic Pain Among Adults — United States, 2019–2021 | MMWR and Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

You Won’t Think the Platypus Is So Cute if You Feel the Excruciating Pain of Its Venom | Slate

The Science of Pain | GI Society

The mysterious science of pain - Joshua W. Pate | TED-Ed

Human pain and genetics: some basics | British Journal of Pain

Genetic contributions to pain: a review of findings in humans | Oral Dis. 2008 Nov;14(8):673-82

Why Do I Have Pain? | KidsHealth Medical Experts

Channelopathy-associated congenital insensitivity to pain | Medline Plus

Erythromelalgia | StatPearls Publishing

SCN9A gene sodium voltage-gated channel alpha subunit 9 | Medline Plus

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Credit:

Special thanks to Jackie Gonzalez from the Erythromelalgia Association for providing field recordings of her daily experience living with EM.

Challenging our assumptions about sleep

Sleep is essential to our lives, but our perception of how it functions in our non-waking life is not always well understood. So in the mires of our busy daily lives do we overlook sleep by seeing it as a means of refilling our energy for a productive day? By questioning this assumption, one term rolls from out of the haze: The ‘Circadian Rhythm’.

Dr. Kaylee Byers speaks with Dr. Hiroki Ueda from the University of Tokyo in the Faculty of Medicine on demystifying the links between our sleep and genomics. Then neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Coogan shares the connection between sleep and ADHD. Finally, we hear from Dr. Ueda and Dr. Hiroshi Ono, from Hitotsubashi University Business School, on how their homeland of Japan is reckoning with an off-balance relationship with sleep and work.

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Highlights:

(06:37) - Clocks in our bodies, understanding Circadian Rythms

(10:17) - Attention Hyperactivity Deficit Disorder and later sleep, a chicken or egg dilemma

(15:19) - Challenging overwork in Japan and the importance of sleep

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Learn-A-Long: https://bit.ly/47PXwuv

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Resources:

Molecular Mechanisms of REM Sleep | Neurosci

The ability to dream may be genetic | Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC)

Next-Generation Mice Genetics for Circadian Studies | Neuromethods

Evolution of temporal order in living organisms | Journal of Circadian Rhythms

Learn about the bunker experiment to understand the human biological clock | Britannica

Genetic sleep deprivation: using sleep mutants to study sleep functions | EMBO reports

Circadian rhythms and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: The what, the when and the why | Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry

Insomnia: Definition, Prevalence, Etiology, and Consequences | Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine

No Sleep for Japan? Survey Reveals Half of Population May Have Insomnia | Nippon.com

Why Sleep Matters: Quantifying the Economic Costs of Insufficient Sleep | Rand Corporation

Japan has some of the longest working hours in the world. It’s trying to change | CNBC

Announcement of the establishment of the nonpartisan "Parliamentary League to Promote Initiatives for People's Quality Sleep" | Sleeping Council Federation

Founder/Director CTO Yasumi Ueda gave a speech at the inaugural general meeting of the nonpartisan "Parliamentary League to Promote Initiatives for People's Quality Sleep" | ACCELStars

Free-running circadian activity rhythms in free-living beaver (Castor canadensis) | Journal of Comparative Physiology

Credits:

Dr. Rackeb Tesfaye

Curbing death by overwork | Financial Times

Why does Japan Work So Hard? | CNBC Explains

Worked to Death: Japan questions high-pressure corporate culture | France 24 English

Inside Japan’s growing ‘lonely death’ clean-up service | CNN International

How can governments help stop overwork? | The Question | CBC News: The National

Challenging our assumptions on toxins

What’s more terrifying than the true life tales of bloodcurdling and breathstopping toxins? This Hallows' Eve we're taking a page from the history books to make sense of puzzling poisons of our past and present.

Dr. Kaylee Byers speaks with Toxicologist Dr. Kimberly Garrett as they connect the dots across the globe of some of the most notorious and subtle poisonings in history. From investigating the final words of a disgraced emperor, tragic fates of conquesting explorers, wisdom from whimsical alchemists and desperate Victorian candy maker ploys, they demystify the distinction between necessary warning labels to lifelines concocted with a drop of poison.

In these ghoulish stories, a healthy dose of information could be a lifesaver.

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Highlights:

(08:46) - Origins of 'the dose Makes the poison', a sometimes right alchemist

(20:30) - A deathly candy maker on hallows eve

(23:28) - Toxins in the water, understanding PFAS

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Learn-A-Long:  https://bit.ly/47ub5Qo

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Resources:

Was Napolean Poisoned? | American Museum of Natural History

A Visit to Longwood | Napoleon.org

Pick Your Poison - 12 Toxic Tales | National Geographic

Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning Safe Shellfish | Fisheries Research Board of Canada

Unprecedented toxic algal blooms impact on Tasmanian seafood industry

Paracelsus, the Alchemist Who Wed Medicine to Magic | Science History Institute

“The Dose Makes the Poison” | Chemical Safety Facts

Everyday Toxicology – The dose makes the poison & the cure | Michigan State University

Box Jellyfish | National Geographic

Phylogenetic and Selection Analysis of an Expanded Family of Putatively Pore-Forming Jellyfish Toxins (Cnidaria: Medusozoa) | Genome Biology and Evolution

Following Lewis and Clark’s Trail of Mercurial Laxatives | Discover

How Tainted Treats Led to a Halloween Tragedy in 1858 | Atlas Obscura

Multi- and Transgenerational Effects of Developmental Exposure to Environmental Levels of PFAS and PFAS Mixture in Zebrafish (Danio rerio) | Toxics

PFAS Resources | PFAS Exchange

PFAS Free Producsts| PFAS Central

The US National Institutes of Health's searchable chemical database | PubChem

Improving governance of “forever chemicals” in the US and beyond | One Earth

Arsenic Exposure and Toxicology: A Historical Perspective | Society of Toxicology

The gastric disease of Napoleon Bonaparte: brief report for the bicentenary of Napoleon’s death on St. Helena in 1821 | Virchows Archiv

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Credit:

Bonapartes Retreat - Kay Starr - Pee Wee King | Capitol

Rule, Britannia - Royal Choral Society - The Philharmonia Orchestra | His Master’s Voice