Carry The One Radio: The Science Podcast

Welcome to our third installment of “The Spotlight”! In this episode, we interviewed Dr. Armen Moughamiam, who is a neurology fellow at UCSF and an ambassador to both science and medicine. We discuss the educational journey of an MD/PhD, experiencing “unknown unknowns”, and staying motivated in this long (but rewarding!) path. Music in this episode: Borough by Blue Dot Sessions Special thanks to Veronica Oberholzer and Kanchi Mehta for your first listens. Music: Borough by Blue Dot Sessions

A cell constantly interacts and adapts to its environment, making seemingly smart choices. But how can a single cell, without a centralized control center, solve such complex problems? Is there simple physics behind the complex measurement and feedback that goes on inside cells? In this episode, we speak to Dr. Wallace Marshall, Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at UCSF, about his work to determine how cells measure and regulate optimal size. In the process, we discuss diffusion, molecular motors, the cell’s ever-changing skeletons, and the idea of a software to engineer cells in the future. This episode was written and produced by Arja Ray, Devika Nair, and Katie Cabral with editing help from the rest of the Carry the One Radio team. Music used in this episode includes Partly Sage, Denzel Sprak, Hundred Mile, Tiny Putty, Highway 94, Guild Rat, Game Hens, The Zeppelin, Beignet, Balti, Loopy, Dorica, and Dance of Felt by Blue Dot Sessions. Cover Image by Yuri Korchmar. Check out this animation of a

In this episode, we’re turning back the clock to our earliest days - just after birth. What happens to our brains in this sensitive time of life? More than we ever thought, it turns out. We spoke with Dr. Mercedes Paredes, assistant professor of neurology at UCSF, to learn more about how humans’ brain cells are still moving and changing even after we’re born. As we learn more about the brain’s initial stages, we can better understand its vulnerabilities. Not only that, but we can also figure out how to intervene early on to stave off neurological problems like psychiatric illness or epilepsy. This episode was written and produced by Stella Belonwu, Rebecca Fang, Deanna Necula, and Ben Mansky. Music in this episode includes “A Day at the Park,” “Fomalhaut,” and “Convergence” by Pictures of the Floating World and “Autowaschanlage Instrumental” by Lobo Loco. For more on recent developments with the HHS Fetal Tissue Ethics Review Board, see www.washingtonpost.com/health/trump-…aa_story.html.

For this second installment of “The Spotlight” we spoke to Dr. Rachel Care, a newly minted PhD who studies how the retina adapts to losing vision. We talked about her path to research, the changing landscape of graduate education, and night vision goggles. Music in this episode: Thought Bubbles, Thinking It Over, Bigger Questions, Decompress, and Where Was I by Lee Rosevere

Dr. David Gordon studies HIV. In Life/Science, a mini-series produced in collaboration with the UCSF Quantitative Biosciences Institute, we're giving you a peek behind the curtain. This isn't just a series about science, it's also about the process, about what it actually means to do this kind of research - including the confusion, failures, and triumphs David has faced along the way. In the final episode of Life/Science, we reveal what David found in his gigantic experiment, and how his findings might lead to new avenues for HIV treatment. We also break down the process of how a scientific finding makes it from the lab to the world at large. If you like what you hear, give us a like or leave a comment! We'd love to hear from you. Music featured in this episode comes from Podington Bear and Blue Dot Sessions. Other contributors to David's research include Ariane Watson, Assen Roguev, and Nevan Krogan. This episode was written and produced by Ben Mansky and Elina Kostyanovskaya, with help from Katie Cabral.

Dr. David Gordon studies HIV. In Life/Science, a mini-series produced in collaboration with the UCSF Quantitative Biosciences Institute, we're giving you a peek behind the curtain. This isn't just a series about science, it's also about the process, about what it actually means to do this kind of research - including the confusion, failures, and triumphs David has faced along the way. Life/Science will be updated bi-weekly, so make sure to tune in on December 2nd for Episode 3: Results! Next time, we’ll hear what David’s experiment revealed, and its implications for the world at large. If you like what you hear, give us a like or leave a comment! We'd love to hear from you. Music featured in this episode comes from Podington Bear and Blue Dot Sessions. Other contributors to David's research include Ariane Watson, Stefanie Jager, and Assen Roguev. This episode was written and produced by Katie Cabral, Ben Mansky, and Elina Kostyanovskaya. Support for Life/Science comes from the Quantitative Biosciences Insti

When you close your eyes and imagine the universe, what do you see? Maybe you picture billions of swirling galaxies made of dust, gas, stars, and planets. But, what if we told you that the major source of mass in the universe is made out of something we cannot see? Not only can we not see it, we aren’t even entirely sure what it is. This mysterious cosmic substance is called dark matter, and it is the subject of this episode. To learn about dark matter, we spoke to Dr. Neta Bahcall, the Eugene Higgins Professor of Astrophysics at Princeton University. We discuss how it was discovered, as well as how astrophysicists are certain it exists, but are still frustrated by the elusive nature of the particles that make up dark matter. We also discuss some of the work currently being done to better understand what dark matter is, how it’s distributed in the universe, and what effect it has on the structure and evolution of the universe. This episode was written & produced by Stella Belonwu, Anna Lipkin, Cindy Liu an

Dr. David Gordon studies HIV. In Life/Science, a new mini-series produced in collaboration with the UCSF Quantitative Biosciences Institute, we're giving you a peek behind the curtain. This isn't just a series about science, it's also about the process, about what it actually means to do this kind of research - including the confusion, failures, and triumphs David has faced along the way. Life/Science will be updated bi-weekly, so make sure to tune in on the 18th for Episode 2: Methods! We'll take a deep dive into the experiments David used to figure out how HIV hijacks human cells for its own nefarious purposes. If you like what you hear, give us a like or leave a comment! We'd love to hear from you. Music featured in this episode comes from Podington Bear. Other contributors to David's research include Ariane Watson, Stefanie Jager, and Assen Roguev.

We’re proud to present the first episode in our brand new Young Scientist Spotlight Series, or “The Spotlight” for short. Each month, we’ll feature an informal, lightly-edited interview with a graduate student, postdoc, staff researcher, or other early-career scientist. Through these conversations, we’ll be bringing you a fun, down-to-earth look at not only even more of the awesome science content you love, but also the people behind the science. In our first Spotlight, we spoke with Witney Chen, a graduate student studying Parkinson’s Disease at the University of California, San Francisco. We chatted about her research on brain stimulation in human patients, life in graduate school, how she became a scientist, and… dog poop. This episode was produced by Ben Mansky. Music is “Borough,” from Blue Dot Sessions.

How does a potential drug discovered in the lab ultimately end up in people? We tackle this question in the context of exciting gene-modifying therapies called antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs). In this episode, we speak with Dr. Tim Miller to break down the science behind ASOs and learn more about his work in finding a cure for a genetic form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This episode was written and produced by Nancy Cai, Devika Nair, and Arja Ray. Music used in this episode: “Thannoid”, “Bundt”, “Lupi”, “Partly Sage”, “Beignet”, “Trailrunner”, “Game Hens”, “Lord Weasel”, “The Zeppelin”, “Dorica”, “Our Fingers Cold”, “Gaena” by Blue Dot Sessions For more information about spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), check out the spinal muscular dystrophy association website: https://www.mda.org/disease/spinal-muscular-atrophy. There is also this great animation that shows how the Spinraza (nusinersen) ASO works in the body: https://www.spinraza.com/en_us/home/taking/how-spinraza-works.html. To read th

Did you know that mosquitoes kill over 700,000 people a year? They are the most dangerous animal in the world. How can they be stopped?! In this episode, we spoke with a variety of experts that are working on mosquito vector control in the Caribbean and Latin America. The common theme is that it is essential to educate community members about the risks of mosquitoes and actions that they can take to reduce mosquito breeding. An educated community is much more engaged to take actions to prevent mosquito borne diseases like Zika and dengue. We also spoke to the World Mosquito Program about their research on infecting mosquitoes with a harmless bacteria called Wolbachia that prevents the mosquitoes from being able to spread disease. Although progress is being made, it will take a lot of money, resources, and new technology to eliminate the spread of mosquito-borne diseases. You can check out the USAID Zika photo exhibit, which featured clips from some of the interviews in this episode, at https://spark.adobe.

You probably haven’t heard much about the Zika epidemic in the last few years – whatever happened with Zika? In this episode, we follow the history of Zika – from its origins, to the widespread epidemic of 2015-2016, to the personal impact it had on those who were affected, to its disappearance, and to the possibility of preventing a future Zika epidemic through a vaccine. We spoke with Dalma Contina Soto, a mother of a child born with congenital Zika syndrome; Dr. Josefina Coloma, an epidemiologist who studies the Zika virus and works to prevent mosquito-borne diseases in Nicaragua; and Dr. Anna Durbin, an infectious disease specialist who tests potential vaccines for Zika and Dengue. To listen to the original Spanish audio of Dalma’s interview, head to soundcloud.com/carrytheoneradio and look for the playlist “Zika miniseries – Spanish audio”. Some of this content was originally featured as an audio companion to a USAID photo exhibit detailing efforts to combat Zika in Latin America and the Caribbean. To

The genome is like the encyclopedia to our body. With all that information, how does each cell know what part of the genome to read out at the right place and right time? That’s where transcription factors come to play. In this episode, we’ll learn how transcription factors prevent eyeballs from growing in our bellies! We will also hear from Dr. Aseem Ansari as he speaks about his work on creating synthetic transcription factors, SynGRs, and how these molecules could be used in future therapies. This episode was written and produced by Devika Nair, Nancy Cai, and Arja Ray. Music used in this episode: “Picnic March”, “Filing Away”, “Tiny Putty”, “Borough”, “Beignet”, “Trailrunner”, “Lovers Hollow”, “Highway 94”, “Dangerous Swing”, “Curio” by Blue Dot Sessions.

Hey! Sorry we didn't have an episode out in July, but we have been hard at work creating our next season of episodes. We'll be talking about the Zika virus, how to stop mosquitoes from spreading disease, how to use molecules to turn genes on and off, black holes, brain development, and more! Plus, we'll be starting our Young Scientists Spotlight series to highlight the work done by graduate students and postdocs towards scientific advancement. Episodes will be dropping on the first Monday of each month, plus occasional bonus episodes mid-month. See you soon, and stay curious!

This month, we discuss one of the biggest buzzwords in science today: CRISPR. This gene-editing tool has gotten a lot of attention for some ...ethically dubious uses, but before we humans got our hands on it, CRISPR was actually one of nature’s inventions. Since its discovery, CRISPR has been widely adapted as an incredibly effective research tool, but we’re still working to understand its biology -- and its limitations. In this episode, you’ll hear from Dr. Joseph Bondy-Denomy, who researches the evolutionary arms race that led to CRISPR, and Dr. Martin Kampmann, who uses CRISPR as a tool to study disease.

In the early 80s, a new disease appeared in San Francisco, baffling scientists and alarming the public. Since then, our understanding of HIV/AIDS has made enormous strides, with treatments and prevention making leaps and bounds too. However, these advances haven't reached everyone quite yet. In a live recording, we speak to five people who have been instrumental in shaping HIV/AIDS treatment, policy, and care in San Francisco and abroad, and ask them about the barriers that still remain today. Recorded during a live event at UCSF Alumni Weekend. Hosted by Ben Mansky and Anna Lipkin Written and produced by Ben Mansky, Anna Lipkin, Katie Cabral, Stephanie Wankowicz, Liron Noiman, and Yiqi Cao Music in this episode: Thought Bubbles by Lee Rosevere String in a Box Hundred Mile by Blue Dot Sessions Episode Art courtesy of UCSF Archives AIDS History Project

Pseudoscience: we know it when we see it, right? Or do we? On this episode of Carry the One Radio, we tackle the dirtiest word in science with the help of science historian Dr. Michael Gordin. Hear a few of our favorite pseudoscience stories, and see how pseudoscience can help us define the sometimes fuzzy borders of science. Plus, we discuss what to do about all that pesky pseudoscience floating around. Buckle up, it’s the Pseudoscience Episode. Hosted and Produced by Anna Lipkin, Devika Nair, and Liron Noiman Music used in this episode: "Filaments", "Curious Process" and "The Ascent" by Podington Bear "Transitioning" by Lee Rosevere "Bastien und Bastienne", "Adagio for Glass Armonica in C Major" and "Laudate Dominum" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart "Lupi" and "Chicken Steak" by Blue Dot Sessions

From Google Maps to John Snow’s map of cholera cases in the 1800s, maps have the power to change the way we understand information. What if we could use maps of cellular function to discover the mechanisms of psychiatric disorders? We sit down with Dr. Jeremy Willsey, a researcher in the Psychiatric Cell Map Initiative, who’s trying to do just that—understand the neural basis of Tourette Disorder by placing disorder-related mutations on a map of the cell. Hosted by Carlos Johnson-Cruz and Li Wang Produced by Anna Lipkin, Stephanie Wankowicz, Li Wang, and Carlos Johnson-Cruz Editing Help from the CTOR team Music used in this episode: “Scenery” and “Ode to the World” by Kai Engel “Bathed in Light” and “Unanswered Questions” by Kevin MacLeod “Frogs in Tuxes” and “Sweet and Clean” by Podington Bear “Ragtime Dance” by Scott Joplin

If you stop to think about it, the amount of data we generate every day is truly mind-blowing - so much so that it's changing the way we live. In fact, our ability to quantify and measure large biological datasets has revolutionized the way we study and treat human diseases. In this episode, we speak to Dr. Atul Butte, who exploits these massive, publicly-available datasets to create novel and effective therapies for those in need. Music in this episode includes: Blue Dot Sessions: Borough, Beignet, Game Hens, The Zeppelin, Hundred Mile, Lord Weasel, Dorica Podington Bear: Cascades, Window Shopping, Daydreamer Musick's Recreation, Milena Cord-to-Krax: Gavotte (BWV 995)

The heart is an extremely complicated organ, and believe it or not, everyone has one! But how does this vital organ come to be? By studying how a stem cell makes the decision to become a heart cell, Dr. Daniel Hart is trying to figure that out, and he’s using fish to do it. Check out this episode for some pretty terrible puns, fascinating facts about zebrafish, and an extended metaphor about gene regulation that will make you want to reach for the liquor cabinet. Music from Podington Bear on the Free Music Archive, and sound effects from users agonda and philberts on Freesound.com.