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What do tiny worms, RNA strands, and a 9600-baud modem have in common? They helped Gary Ruvkun win the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. In this episode of DEEP, Ben Kaplan sits down with the Harvard geneticist whose discovery of microRNAs shattered scientific orthodoxy and jumpstarted a biotech revolution.
Ruvkun unpacks how these microscopic molecules function like hotfixes for your DNA, flipping genetic switches that regulate aging, disease, metabolism—even the domestication of corn. From coding cells like apps to the overlooked power of public science funding, we go deep into the origins of breakthrough discoveries, the culture of innovation, and why some of the best ideas might just come from studying worms.
If you want to understand the past, present, and future of RNA-based medicine, from antiviral therapies to biotech unicorns, this episode is essential listening.
What do tiny worms, RNA strands, and a 9600-baud modem have in common? They helped Gary Ruvkun win the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. In this episode of DEEP, Ben Kaplan sits down with the Harvard geneticist whose discovery of microRNAs shattered scientific orthodoxy and jumpstarted a biotech revolution.
Ruvkun unpacks how these microscopic molecules function like hotfixes for your DNA, flipping genetic switches that regulate aging, disease, metabolism—even the domestication of corn. From coding cells like apps to the overlooked power of public science funding, we go deep into the origins of breakthrough discoveries, the culture of innovation, and why some of the best ideas might just come from studying worms.
If you want to understand the past, present, and future of RNA-based medicine, from antiviral therapies to biotech unicorns, this episode is essential listening.