The Straight from a Scientist Podcast

We want your updates on today's scientific research directly from the source: straight from the scientist working hard to make new discoveries about our world. We’re here to help you learn the what, the why, and the how of the research we produce every day. Informal interviews probe deep into how science is done, and why the how matters when it's time to interpret the results. Roundtable discussions introduce you to hot new fields of study or investigate the darker sides of science. To keep your science fresh, subscribe below or follow us on social media @straightfromascientist on instagram and twitter

Risk and Reward in Alzheimer's disease 12/13/2023

Deep Brain Degeneration in Alzheimer’s Disease with Dr. Lea Grinberg & Research Team 05/30/2023

Deep Brain Degeneration in Alzheimer’s Disease with Dr. Lea Grinberg & Research Team Deep Brain Degeneration in Alzheimer’s Disease with Dr. Lea Grinberg & Research Team Losing Control from the Locus Coeruleus, starring Jonathan Chen, Felipe Pereira, and Ian Oh This episode kicks off a series all about my recent work in neurodegenerative disease, with a an emphasis on Alzheimer’s disease, a devastating and complex dementia and a major focus of my (Dr. Connor Wander’s) dissertation at UNC Chapel Hill. And where better to start than where the first major pathological changes of tau, a disordered protein that goes dysfunctional in the brain, begins to accumulate and kill neurons. This ground zero may be in neurons in the deep recesses of the brain act as central regulators of blood flow, inflammation, and neural network dynamics and seem particularly vulnerable to tau in those early, PRe symptomatic stages of Alzheimer’s disease. I caught up with Dr. Lea Grinberg, Jonathan Chen, Felipe Pereira, and Ian Oh, members of her research team to define the current cutting edge in these studies. Dr. Lea Grinberg is an Endowed Professor at UCSF with a very active research group focused on early pathological changes in Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Grinberg was and is a pioneer in identifying early pathological changes in AD tied to tau aggregation in the locus coeruleus, or LC. We touched on the network modulatory function of the LC in the most . Loss of the LC and other brainstem nuclei is associated with a host of mood and sleep disorders that could be the key to understanding early Alzheimer’s disease. Check the link below for more from Dr. Grinberg on the links between sleep, Alzheimer’s, and the loss of these brainstem nuclei. Keep listening for great details on how these studies are conducted, and what’s next on the horizon for research into AD therapeutics and disease processes. Full show notes at /episode/index/show/straightfromascientist/id/26979294

Season 2 Episode 1: Neural Networks on Noradrenaline 01/18/2022

Ep56- Unlocking Genetic Regulation 04/03/2020

Ep56- Unlocking Genetic Regulation How did you get so put together? DNA is the blueprint, but it doesn't determine everything. DNA gets turned into RNA, and then finally into proteins that help build your body and brain. But there are SO many steps in that process that affect the final product- you. The sum of these steps is a process called genetic regulation. Genetic regulation makes sure that not all of our genes are expressed and turned into protein at the same time and same place- that would be a mess! This episode is all about genetic regulation by long, non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs, pronounced "link-R N A"). LncRNAs are long segments of RNA that serve non-traditional functions in the genome. Although recently discovered, lncRNAs seem to be involved in everything from the genetic regulation of development to diseases like cancer. LncRNAs could help rewrite the field of genetic regulation, and might be the biggest shift to understanding genetics since epigenetics became a hot topic. Rachel is also highly involved in other forms of science communication! Check out the and UNC SWAC for more info! If you're at UNC, make sure to check TIBBS for career training and opportunities. Specific visual references and their approximate timestamps are listed below. Make sure to watch the 5:00: DNA vs RNA vs Protein - (image in video) 7:30: Alternative splicing - (image in video) 9:00: Jimena giudice lab at UNC - (Alternative splicing and intracellular trafficking in development and diseases) 9:30: It's estimated that >90% of proteins undergo alternative splicing 13:30: protein coding gene structure (image in video) 15:30: Additional note: smaller ncRNAs have more defined structure than lncRNAs, their functions are better known 17:33: dosage compensation - calico cats (image in video) 20:50: An example of a motif that proteins recognize (, figure 3 ) 21:00: xist repeat structure (, figure 2, human vs mouse xist) 23:00:in cis lncRNA function (, figure 2 b and c) 25:05: Markers are placed on histones, rather than DNA. Histones are proteins that DNA wraps around to compact dna into cells (image in video) 25:30: A note: polycomb complexes are conserved to plants and even fungi. lncRNAs can be found in plants* 28:15: immunoprecipitation pipeline (image in video) 31:30 -33:35: Examples of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) (image in video) 35:00: Enhancer rnas ( figure 1 38:30: single line RNA vs double line DNA, 3DRNA structure (image in video) 41:00: xist vs rsx (, figure 6b ) 42:30: SWAC /pipettepen,com - link to swac article that prompted this podcast - 44:30: TIBBS - /episode/index/show/straightfromascientist/id/13833371