Talking Biotech with Dr. Kevin Folta

In this episode, Kevin Folta interviews Brigitte Weston, the director of product development at Gates Ag One, about their mission to accelerate crop technology development for smallholder farmers in Africa and South Asia. They discuss the organization's approach to innovation, regulatory challenges, and how they foster public-private partnerships to improve food security.

Oncolytic viruses may offer a new way to tackle solid tumors by targeting cancer cells and activating the immune system. Dr. Eric Poma explains how Calidi Biotherapeutics is engineering a vaccinia-based virus to evade immune clearance, reach tumors, and deliver an immune-stimulating payload. He and Kevin Folta discuss the approach’s potential for cancers such as lung cancer, melanoma, renal cancer, and head and neck cancers.

This episode explores the fascinating history and science behind GLP1 receptor agonists, their development from animal venom to life-changing diabetes and obesity treatments, and the importance of basic research in medical breakthroughs.

In this episode, Dr. Alexia Groff discusses her groundbreaking research on expressing mammalian myoglobin in plants using chloroplast transformation. We explore the implications for food production, biosecurity, and future applications in meat substitutes and nutritional enhancement. Chloroplast inheritance reduces gene flow risk, enhancing biosafety. Heterologous expression in plants can produce functional animal proteins.

This episode explores the cutting-edge advancements in ALS diagnostics and treatment, highlighting how AI and digital health are transforming patient care and research. Guest Indo Navar shares her journey from Silicon Valley entrepreneurship to pioneering innovative solutions for ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases.

In this episode, Kevin Folta interviews Dr. Erik Ingelsson about innovative RNA-based therapies for obesity, focusing on the potential of silencing RNA and gene editing to target visceral fat and improve metabolic health.

The debate continues on organic vs conventional farming. Cameron and Kevin give their views on this growing subject!

In this episode, Kevin Folta interviews Dr. Colette Delawalla about the threats to scientific integrity posed by recent political and administrative changes. They discuss the importance of federal funding, the impact of proposed policies, and how the scientific community can respond to defend science and democracy. You Can Help Change the Federal Government views!!

Celebrating 500 episodes of Talking Biotech, Kevin Folta interviews Dr. Scott Angle, University of Florida Senior Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources, to explore the future of agriculture, AI innovations, and Florida's agricultural landscape. Discover insights on technology, workforce development, and sustainable farming practices.

In this episode of Talking Biotech, we explore cutting-edge biotech tools that are transforming how we detect and address indoor environmental health issues, particularly mold and microbes. With new, highly sensitive methods, we're moving beyond traditional inspection techniques to more precise, source-level detection—crucial for health outcomes.

Plants can't get up and walk away from stress or predators, so they've evolved sensitive systems to sense and in some cases anticipate changes in their environment. Now, there's sensors to light, to humidity, to touch, to gravity, to dozens of other prevailing factors that push information from the external environment into the nucleus, shaping gene expression and adapting.

To that change. Now, the fun part about this in today's era of synthetic biology is that the plant sensor and response systems are basically a toolbox. They're a template for synthetic innovation, as we can use their sense and response systems to work for us. Now, a number of plant-based sensors have been developed over the years.

We're speaking with Dr. Neil Stewart. He's the professor in the plant department of plant sciences at the University of Tennessee and also the co-director of agricultural synthetic biology. So you've invented a potato plant that senses radiation to let us know it's there. So why do we need a plant radiation sensor?

The proteins that give cheese its unique elasticity and eating quality are challenging to create outside of the cow. However, the team at Mozza has developed a method to generate the milk proteins in soybeans, exploiting the potential massive scale of field crop production, and providing a dairy-free source of these important proteins. Today's podcast interviews Adam Tarshis and Dr. Cory Tobin from Mozza.

Severe burns require specialized care and long healing times at great expense. This week's Talking Biotech podcast explores the latest advancements in burn treatment technology with Dr. Katie Bush from Aveda Medical. Discover how innovative cell therapies and regenerative techniques are transforming wound healing, reducing hospital stays, and improving cosmetic outcomes.

00:00
Introduction to Burn Care Innovations

02:13
Understanding Burn Physiology

05:18
Challenges in Traditional Burn Treatments

08:04
Revolutionizing Burn Treatment with Resell Technology

11:06
Mechanisms of Resell Technology

14:04
Operational Impact on Burn Centers

16:42
Exploring Additional Applications of Resell

19:37
Future Directions in Burn Care Technology

This episode explores the latest advancements in personalized DNA and RNA technologies for early cancer detection, diagnostics, and treatment monitoring. New technologies identify molecular signatures of tumors that help predict onset and re-occurrence of disease. Dr. Nathan Montgomery from Neo Genomics Laboratories discusses how molecular residual disease testing, liquid biopsies, and genomic sequencing are transforming oncology care.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a pressing health issue that affects over a billion people worldwide, yet it often goes unnoticed until it's too late. In this post, we'll explore insights from Dr. Salvatore Viscomi, the CEO and founder of Carna Health, who sheds light on the alarming prevalence of CKD, its underlying causes, and the innovative solutions being implemented to address this global health crisis.

Resources & Links:

• Carna Health Official Website
• LinkedIn Profile of Salvadore Viscomi
• Siemens Biomarker Testing Solutions
• FDA Clearances for Point of Care Testing Devices

Connect with Dr. Salvator Viscome:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

This week's Talking Biotech Podcast examines the realistic potential of AI in cancer research and healthcare, emphasizing data quality, individualization, and system reform. Guest: Dr. Emilia Javorsky, Future of Life Institute.

• Future of Life Institute
• AI and Cancer: A New Frontier

This episode explores the pioneering work on ice minus bacteria and their role in frost damage prevention in plants. Dr. Steven Lindow shares insights into early biotech innovations, regulatory challenges, and the potential for modern applications of this technology.

In this episode of the Talking Biotech podcast, Dr. Karsten Eastman discusses the significance of peptides in biology and their therapeutic potential. He explains the roles of peptides, particularly GLP-1 therapeutics, and the challenges associated with their stability and bioavailability. The conversation delves into nature's strategies for enhancing peptide stability and how Sathera Therapeutics is innovating in this space to create more effective peptide-based therapies. The discussion also touches on the business model of Sathera and its focus on rare cancers and anti-inflammatory treatments.

In this episode of the Talking Biotech podcast, Dr. Danelle Seymour discusses the genetic anomoliies observed in the vegetative propagation of tree crops, particularly citrus. The conversation delves into the importance of preserving genetic material through grafting, the challenges of genetic variation in vegetatively propagated plants, and the role of mutations in these processes. Dr. Seymour shares insights from her research on the historic Washington Naval orange tree and the implications of somatic mutations for breeding and disease resistance in citrus.

In this episode of the Talking Biotech podcast, Dr. Kevin Folta speaks with Dr. Neela Patel and Dr. Diane Hollenbaugh from Bonum Therapeutics about the emerging field of conditionally active biologics. They discuss the challenges of current therapies, the innovative mechanisms behind their drug development, and the potential of immuno-oncology to revolutionize cancer treatment. The conversation also covers the market landscape, the origin story of Bonum, and the future directions for their pipeline, emphasizing the importance of targeted therapies in improving patient outcomes.