STEMTalks Archive

Nourish Balance Thrive archives

Episode 92: Megan Roberts discusses the potential of a ketogenic diet to extend healthspan and lifespan

Our guest today is Megan Roberts, a research scientist who conducted an interesting study that showeda ketogenic diet extended the longevity and healthspan of adult mice. This study has been discussed in several earlier episodes of STEM-Talk.

Megan conducted her research while earning a master’s degree in nutritional biology at the University of California, Davis.

Today, she is the scientific director at Nourish Balance Thrive, an online health-coaching company where Megan helps people optimize their heath and performance.

Show notes:

[00:02:53] Dawn begins the interview mentioning that Megan grew up in Northern California and asks Megan what she was like as a child.

[00:03:20] Megan talks about how her interest in science started.

[00:03:38] Dawn asks Megan how she became a martial arts instructor, teaching teen-agers as well as children as young as five years old.

[00:04:02] Megan talks about her decision to attend the University of California, Davis.

[00:04:16] Megan explains why she initially want to major in biochemistry, but decided toward the end of her freshman year to switch majors.

[00:04:42] Ken asks Megan about her decision to stay at UC Davis to earn a master’s degree in nutritional biology.

[00:05:08] Megan talks about the privilege of having open-minded professors and peers who were a part of her nutritional biology program at UC Davis.

[00:06:07] Ken mentions that part of Megan’s thesis ended up in Cell Metabolism, in the form of a paper titeld, “A Ketogenic Diet Extends Longevity and Healthspan in Adult Mice.”The paper, Ken points out, has been discussed in several episodes of STEM-Talk. He asks Megan about the motivations behind her study.

[00:07:41] Megan describes the three different diets used for the mouse studies.

[00:08:30] Dawn mentions that an important aspect of the study was that all of the mice were fed the same number of calories every day. She asks Megan to explain the significance of this parameter.

[00:09:23] Megan describes the various markers of physiological function that were measured how the study yielded interesting results in terms of healthspan in the mice.

[00:10:14] Dawn asks how the memories of the mice were tested. Dawn also asks Megan to go into detail on the finding that mice on the ketogenic diet were having their memories preserved for longer.

[00:11:13] Ken asks Megan how she tested the grip strength of mice.

[00:12:05] Megan talks about the two areas of healthspan that saw the most dramatic effects with the ketogenic diet: memory and the preservation of motor-function.

[00:12:39] Ken asks if Megan and her colleagues were surprised by the finding that lifespan was increased by 14 percent in the mice fed a ketogenic diet.

[00:13:08] Dawn mentions that the ketogenic diet came out on top in the study, followed by the low-carb diet. Dawn mentions that those mice on the low-carb diet, however, surprisingly gained weight asks Megan is she was surprised by this.

[00:14:35] Ken asks what lead Megan to the idea of studying the ketogenic diet as an intervention in midlife, as opposed to being a habit throughout life.

[00:15:27] Dawn asks how well Megan thinks these mouse models are likely to translate to humans.

[00:17:05] Ken asks what experiments Megan would have done to extend her findings reported in the Cell Metabolism paper if she had managed to have more time, funding and resources.

[00:17:52] Dawn mentions that Megan’s study suggests that the metabolic changes that accompany carbohydrate restriction might indeed help increase lifespan. However, Dawn asks Megan about ketone bodies themselves (AcAc and BhB) and their potential role in the extension of healthspan.

[00:18:13] Ken asks about Megan’s findings in regards to a tissue dependent mTORC1 signaling, in the context of skeletal muscle and the ketogenic diet.

[00:20:26] Dawn asks Megan for her take on the tissue specific effects of ketones that she observed in her work.

[00:21:12] Megan explains the effects of the ketogenic diet on insulin sensitivity. In her study, the ketogenic diet did not impair insulin sensitivity while the low-carb diet did.

[00:22:55] Megan explains the key differences in the design and interpretation of her study versus a similar paper from Eric Verdin’s group, which reported that a cyclical ketogenic diet, but not a consistent one, improved healthspan in older mice.

[00:24:13] Dawn asks Megan about her thoughts on the enrichment of a standard diet with exogenous ketones, and if there could be healthspan benefits from that.

[00:24:47] Ken mentions a recent paper by Poffé, which suggested that a ketone ester can help prevent some of the negative effects of “over-reaching” in endurance training.

[00:25:55] Ken asks if exogenous ketones have their most important effects when taken post-exercise, rather than pre-exercise.

[00:27:02] Dawn asks if there are other untapped uses of endogenous or exogenous ketosis that people may not be considering.

[00:27:39] Dawn asks Megan what her thoughts are on the communication and interpretation of science of this nature in the public domain, and what responsibilities she feels that university press officers and researchers have in this process.

[00:29:34] Dawn mentions that Megan has taken over as chief scientific officer at Nourish Balance Thrive from Tommy Wood, who was interviewed on episode 47 and episode 48 of Stem-Talk. She asks what has led her to decide on her current career and why she has chosen to stay working with athletes as opposed to continuing graduate or medical school.

[00:31:16] Megan explains what she does as a health coach.

[00:31:45] Dawn asks if the general public could benefit from health coaching

[00:32:57] Ken mentions the explosion of research and interest into the gut microbiome and recommends episode 20 of STEM-Talk, an interview with Alessio Fasano, as a primer. Ken then asks Megan about her own quest to recover her gut health, which she has discussed on the Nourish Balance Thrive podcast.

[00:35:31] Dawn asks about Megan’s black-and-white, “type A” personality that can sometimes get her into trouble as a fitness enthusiast.

[00:36:04] Megan talks about her recent article titled, “Why Your Diet Isn’t Working: Under Eating and Overtraining.”

[00:40:00] Ken mentions the blood chemistry calculator project that Megan is working on with Tommy Wood, which uses machine learning algorithms to predict things that are going on biochemically in people based on blood chemistry.

[00:41:43] Megan talks about what her exercise regime and diet look like today.

[00:42:40] Dawn asks about Megan’s first conversation with Tommy Wood, which was about why eating like a Sumo Wrestler was the best way to gain weight.

Links:

Irina Conboy UC Berkeley page

Episode 91: Irina and Michael Conboy explain tissue repair and stem-cell rejuvenation

Our guests today are Drs. Irina and Michael Conboy of the Department of Bioengineering at the University of California Berkeley. In their lab at Berkeley, the Conboys investigate the process of tissue repair in the body in an effort to determine why damaged tissues do not productively repair as the body ages.

In today’s interview, you will hear the Conboys talk about their early research and a fascinating technique they pioneered called heterochronic parabiosis, where the couple took a young mouse and an older mouse and sutured them together so the animals blood and organs. The Conboys found that the older mouse benefited from this fusion, its aged stem cells becoming rejuvenated and its muscle tissues becoming functionally younger.

Since then, the Conboys’ follow-up research has provided fascinating insights into stem-cell niche engineering, tissue repair, and stem-cell aging and rejuvenation. In 2015, they published an important study showing that high levels of the protein TGF-β1 impaired the ability of stem cells to repair tissues. While their experiments also showed that giving old animals young blood appeared to have some benefit to old stem cells, the Conboys’ most recent work provides compelling evidence suggesting the more interesting benefits are instead produced by a dilution of harmful signals in old blood.

The research coming out of the Conboy lab has profound implications in terms of postponing the onset of age-related diseases as well as the prevention of such degenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, osteoporosis and sarcopenia.

Show notes:

[00:03:23] Dawn opens the interview asking Irina about her time as a gymnast in the Soviet Union.

[00:03:56] Irina talks about how she became interested in biology.

[00:04:36] Michael describes how he was a bit of a nerd who spent a lot of time outdoors as a kid studying bugs.

[00:05:29] Ken asks what Michael’s plans were when he started his education at Harvard.

[00:06:00] Ken inquires as to what it was about lab work that attracted Michael to the point where he abandoned medical school and focused on research instead.

[00:06:56] Irina tells the story of her first overseas visit to Boston and how a female friend of hers had set her up with multiple dates for her visit before her plane had even touched down in the states.

[00:09:06] Michael recounts the story of his first time in Moscow, where he asked Irina if she wanted to hang out.

[00:10:52] Dawn mentions that after graduating, Michael got a job as a lab tech at Harvard, but eventually moved to Philadelphia to join the lab a friend of his was starting. Michael goes on to explain how he and Irina eventually became professional lab rats together there.

[00:13:44] Michael explains how he would likely still be a lab tech if it were not for Irina and her desire to study aging, and how that inspired him to pursue his doctorate at Stanford.

[00:15:10] Dawn asks Irina about her pursuit of a Ph.D. at Stamford in auto-immunity in the lab of Patricia Jones.

[00:18:30] Dawn asks Irina to explain her discovery that Notch Signaling had the potential to regenerate aged muscle, a discovery she made during her post-doc work at Stamford.

[00:21:30] Dawn mentions that Irina finished her post-doc work before Michael did, which allowed her to get work at a competing laboratory. Dawn asks if working at a competing labs created tension between the two of them.

[00:24:26] Ken asks Irina what led her to look into reactivating old stem cells and whether that might delay or even reverse the onset of aging.

[00:26:00] Michael talks about his inspiration for the parabiosis experiment, which involved two mice, one old and one young, being statured together.

[00:30:12] Ken asks what the results of the parabiosis experiment were.

[00:31:57] Ken mentions that the 2005 paper in Nature, which documented the findings of the parabiosis experiment, sparked an interesting reaction from the media that included headlines about “baby boomer vampires.” Ken asks the Conboys if they were annoyed with the overly simplistic interpretations of their study’s findings.

[00:33:27] Dawn asks about Michael and Irina’s research into finding an inhibitory compound in old blood that turned out to be transforming TGF Beta 1.

[00:37:44] Ken brings up Michael and Irina’s 2016 paper, published in Nature Communications,in which they described a new, more definitive, experiment than the parabiosis experiment. This blood exchange experiment, aimed to distinguish whether there was a curative property of young blood, or an inhibitory compound being filtered out of old blood, exchanged only blood between the two animals, rather than all of their organ systems.

[00:40:55] Michael explains that those experiments came at a time when funding was drying up for the Conboy’s lab. He talks about how discussions with Aubrey de Grey from the SENS Research Foundation aided him and Irina with their experiments.

[00:45:23] Dawn asks why Michael and Irina about their criticism of the company “Ambrosia,” a start up in Florida that claims it can combat aging by infusing plasma from young donors into its customers.

[00:47:15] Ken says the coverage of Ambrosia has sparked an interesting question of whether or not young people should store their own blood for future transfusions. He asks if anyone has modeled that in mice.

[00:51:46] Dawn wonders if it’s the age of a stem-cell’s environment that is the key. If so, she asks the Conboys if their research and findings are going to discourage the use of cell-based therapies to treat disorders related to aging?

[00:52:45] Dawn inquires as to how the Conboy’s and their colleagues in the bioengineering department at Southern Cal are developing “youthful micro-niches” for cell and tissue transplantation.

[00:54:11] Ken asks Irina to talk about her group’s 2014 paper published in Nature Communications,that showed that oxytocin in mice is vital for muscle maintenance and regeneration, and that the lack thereof leads to premature sarcopenia.

[00:56:37] Irina elaborates on the comment noted by Wendy Cousins in a media piece associated with the previously mentioned paper, where she said that oxytocin could become a viable alternative to hormone replacement therapy as a way to combat the symptoms of both male and female aging.

[00:58:03] Dawn notes off-label use of intranasal oxytocin is now widely used. Although there have been some human trials of oxytocin associated with mental disorders such as autism, schizophrenia and dementia, it would seem appropriate to have human trials aimed at the potential for oxytocin to prevent, slow, or ameliorate some of the undesirable consequences of aging. Dawn asks the Conboys if they know of any studies underway looking at oxytocin explicitly in the context of aging in humans?

[00:59:43] Ken asks Michael if the intranasal oxytocin would be expected to yield the same benefits in muscle as a subcutaneous injection, or if the dose wouldn’t be sufficient.

[01:02:33] Ken notes a variety of ways that aging can be slowed, from oxytocin to fasting, and asks Michael about a multifaceted approach to aging.

[01:06:27] Ken mentions that a group working at MIT has reported benefits in mice fed lactobacillus reuteri, which has been found to upregulate oxytocin significantly, and that lactobacillus reuteri counteracts age-associated sarcopenia as well.

[01:11:58] Ken asks the Conboys what scientific question they would like to answer if they were given unlimited resources and how would they go about answering it.

[00:14:05] Ken asks Irina about a bumper sticker she keeps in her office that says “don’t believe everything you think.”

[01:15:30] Dawn mentions that Michael and Irina have been married for more than 25 years and that although they don’t have any children, that someone dropping by their house might likely see “Sesame Street” on the TV. Dawn asks the Conboys about their fondness for “Sesame Street.”

Links:

Michael Conboy UC Berkeley page

Conboy Lab homepage

Episode 90: Dawn and Ken answer listener questions

Ken and Dawn return in today’s podcast to answer more listener questions.

Back at the beginning year, Ken and Dawn hosted their first Ask Me Anything episode. In that episode, they promised not to wait another three years and 83 episodes before once again addressing listeners’ questions.

A steady stream of new questions have poured in since that first Ask Me Anything episode. Today, Ken and Dawn take turns answering questions about exogenous ketones, daily allowances of protein, healthy fats, black holes, long-duration space flights, decompression sickness, the future of AI, sloppy science, and much, much more.

Show notes:

[00:04:13] Dawn starts the episode with a listener question for Ken, which is in regards to the Valter Longo interview, episode 64,and the Stuart Phillips interview, episode 84.The listener became confused about protein intake because Longo said that more than 100 grams of protein a day accelerates aging, while Phillips said that the recommended daily allowance for protein is too low. After going online to get some clarification about the right intake of protein, the listener became even confused and asks if Ken could provide some insight and clarity on the issue.

[00:08:40] A listener asks Dawn about her research on exogenous ketones.

[00:09:44] A listener wonders if Ken has read the 2017 paper titled, “Is Sociopolitical Egalitarianism Related to Bodily and Facial Formidability in Men,”and if so, to share his thoughts on it.

[00:11:52] Dawn reads another question addressed to Ken about the utility of a paper out of Harvard that appeared in February.That paper described an observational epidemiological study showing a strong association between the ability to do pushups and cardiovascular events.

[00:14:49] A listener says he has read one of Dr. Ford’s papers criticizing the Turing Test, and wonders why he let Dr. Epstein off the hook during episode 89 of Stem-Talkwhen the topic came up.

[00:16:02] Dawn asks another question on behalf of a listener who asks about Ken’s comments on the previous AMA episodewhere he expressed some reservations about canola oil.

[00:19:27] Dawn follows up by asking Ken which oils he favors.

[00:20:13] Another listener asks Ken about his recent appointment to the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence and wonders what the issues the commission is investigating.

[00:20:54] A listener asks Ken about the so called “futurist” types who foreshadow a dark future where AI has a doom-and-gloom effect on humanity at large. The listener asks Ken to expand on his brighter and more hopeful vision of the future where AI and intelligent systems help humanity.

[00:22:44] Dawn asks Ken about the data gathered by the European Space Agency (ESA) since the launching of the Gaia mission, which is cataloguing the composition, brightness, positions, and directions of stars in the Milky Way.

[00:25:13] Dawn is asked about a paper published in late 2018 in the proceedings of the national academy of sciences that was titled, “Space Radiation Triggers Persistent Stress Response, Increases Senescent Signaling, and Decreases Cell Migration in Mouse Intestine.”The paper suggests that space radiation could pose a risk for the gastrointestinal tracts of astronauts

[00:28:47] Ken asks Dawn a question about her involvement in a record-breaking freshwater-cave dive.

[00:31:01] A listener, asking another diving questions of Dawn, wonders if there are any biological or genetic factors that might influence individual susceptibility to decompression sickness or the bends.

[00:33:04] Dawn is asked for her thoughts on what the research community has learned since Gena Shaw’s 2015 landmark paper, “New Study Suggests Brain Is Connected to the Lymphatic System: What the Discovery Could Mean for Neurology.”

[00:36:15] Ken asks Dawn if sleeping position has any effect on the ability of the brain’s lymphatic system to flush out metabolic waist.

[00:37:02] A listener asks Dawn about a 2019 paper published in the proceedings of the national academy of sciences, titled “Brain Ventricular Changes Induced by Long-Duration Space Flight.”

[00:38:16] Ken is asked by a listener to explain the process of photographing a black hole.

[00:39:49] Another listener asks Ken, via Facebook, about the future of space exploration, as well as the future of human and machine teaming.

[00:41:15] A listener writes to Dawn and asks about her involvement in the NASA and ESA 60-day bedrest study, and if she can explain what it entails.

[00:43:53] Dawn asks Ken what he thinks the biggest problems with science are, which prompts Ken to cite Dr. John Ioannidis, who was interviews on episode 77.Ioannidis is a Stanford professor who has been described by “BMJ” as “the scourge of sloppy science.”

[00:46:28] Ken is asked about modern technology’s effect on democracy, and if it is feasible to fix the issues that arising. Ken’s answer includes references to his interview with Dr. Robert Epstein, episode 89.

[00:48:46] A listener asks Ken about his thoughts on mental health and how one can improve mental health and wellness?

[00:51:54] Dawn reads a question posed by a listener about self-reinvention, asking if Ken were to reinvent himself again, what would Ken’s next professional path look like?

[00:53:29] Ken asks Dawn the same question, asking if she were to reinvent herself again, what direction would she take?

[00:54:48] Dawn asks about Ken’s new bike that was built for him in Wyoming, and what sort of riding he plans to do there?

[00:57:43] Ken closes the interview with a final question for Dawn about her past connection with professional hockey.

Episode 89: Robert Epstein reflects on his career and the threat big tech poses to privacy and democracy

Our guest today is Dr. Robert Epstein, a psychologist, professor and journalist who is the former editor of Psychology Today.

Robert is currently a co-founder and the senior research psychologist at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology in Vista, California. He has had a distinguished career as a scientist and journalist researching and writing about advances in mental health, the behavioral sciences, and, most recently, the invisible influence that technology companies have on consumer and political behavior.

Robert is the author of 15 books and has written more than 300 scientific and popular articles. He is the founder of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies. He became well known early in his career for his work on creativity. Since then, he has conducted research on a diverse range of topics such as adolescent-and-adult competency, arranged marriages, sexual orientation, self-control and voter manipulation. He also has also developed a number of unique online competency tests which are annually taken by more than a million people.

Show notes:

[00:03:38] Dawn begins the interview asking Robert about growing up in Connecticut.

[00:04:57] Dawn asks if Robert skipped a grade in school, given that he graduated from high school at 16.

[00:06:16] Robert talks about his interest in computers in the 60’s, and how his high school was one of the first in the country to even have a computer.

[00:07:27] Ken asks about what lead Robert to attend Trinity.

[00:08:23] Dawn inquires as to whether Robert knew he was going to major in psychology when he first showed up at Trinity, or if he simply ended up gravitating toward the field.

[00:10:14] Robert talks about collecting and analyzing the first ever campus-wide sex survey conducted at Trinity.

[00:11:40] Robert explains what he did in the two years between obtaining his bachelor’s degree in 1976 and pursing graduate school.

[00:13:07] Dawn asks about Robert’s experience at the University of Maryland Baltimore.

[00:13:48] Robert tells the interesting story of how he ended up at Harvard, in part, thanks to the behaviorist B.F. Skinner.

[00:15:40] Ken asks how Robert managed to be one of the few people who never had to write a dissertation while at Harvard to obtain his doctorate.

[00:20:29] Dawn mentions how, at the time, Robert was becoming well known for his work with Skinner. She points out that many behaviorists at the time were working with chimpanzees and asks why Robert and Skinner were working with pigeons instead.

[00:23:49] Dawn mentions that after his work with pigeons, Robert began to study creativity. He explains why he concluded that creativity is an orderly and predictable process that can be learned, rather than something one is simply born with.

[00:27:34] Robert talks about how he founded the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies after his time at Harvard, and how he took on the role of executive director despite Skinner’s warning to never go into administrative work.

[00:29:56] Ken asks about Robert’s time at the Cambridge Center and if all the papers he wrote during that time had a theme, or if they were just in general social-science communication.

[00:31:28] Robert discusses his book “Cognition, Creativity and Behavior” which is a book of selected essays that he published in 1996. He discusses the various topics in the collection, ranging from creativity to parenting to artificial intelligence.

[00:33:09] Ken asks why, after ten years at the Cambridge Center, Robert moved to the west coast.

[00:35:40] Dawn asks about Robert’s research into arranged marriages and his finding that couples in arranged marriages developed a greater affection for each other than those who married for love. She asks him about his view that people can deliberately learn to love each other.

[00:40:02] Robert discusses his time at the University of California San Diego where he gave students extra credit for participating in “affection building exercises.” He also explains what these were like and what he learned from them.

[00:42:37] Ken asks about Robert’s work on psychological maturity, and his criticism of the “artificial extension of childhood” that is prevalent today.

[00:47:43] Dawn asks about a study on sexual orientation that Robert published in 2007 that supported Freud’s position that bisexuality is the human norm.

[00:50:53] Dawn mentions a book that Robert coedited called Parsing the Turing Test, which refers to Alan Turing’s philosophical test for machine intelligence in which a human judge engages in a three-way conversation between a machine and a person, and if the judge is unable to differentiate the two, then the machine is deemed intelligent.

[00:55:53] Ken mentions that he, Clark Glymour and Pat Hayes provided a running commentary on Turing’s paper for Robert’s book, Parsing the Turing Test.

Editor’s Note: Ken deems the Turing Test a silly goal for AI. See his paper published in Scientific American (with Pat Hayes) on this topic.

[00:57:15] Dawn mentions that in 2012, Robert co-founded with a former student The American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology. It’s goal is promote and conduct research that has the potential to improve people’s wellbeing. She goes on to mention that he is the senior research psychologist at the institute, and asks about a current study he is working on that is the largest sexual orientation study ever conducted.

[00:58:43] Ken brings up the issue of online manipulation, which has become a hot topic since the 2016 election. He goes on to mention Robert’s 2015 paper on what is known as the search engine manipulation effect, or SEME. This paper showed, in a series of controlled experiments, that biased search results could easily shift the opinions of undecided voters by maybe 20% or more, and even by 80% in certain demographics. Given that most elections are won by small margins this was a potentially very significant finding, and Ken inquires more into this research.

[01:03:08] Dawn mentions that Google was recently fined 1.5 billion euros, which equates to approximately $1.7 billion, by the EU. This was the third time Google was fined by the union for anti-trust violations regarding online advertising. While the EU’s regulatory approach has been criticized as unfairly targeting tech companies, this view is beginning to change. She asks if Robert sees Europe’s approach as a potential global model for tempering the influence of Silicon Valley.

[01:06:33] Ken talks about Silicon Valley’s relationship to Washington.

[01:08:26] Ken asks about Robert’s development of online monitoring systems for search engines. He goes on to ask about the monitoring system used to monitor what search engine companies showed people while conducting election-related searches in the days leading up to the 2016 and 2018 elections.

[01:13:04] Robert explains why government regulation isn’t likely to be successful in combating the influence of large tech companies, particularly in light of Mark Zuckerberg’s op-ed piece for the Washington Post in which he proposed government regulation of the whole internet.

[01:16:28] Dawn asks about Robert’s opinion on the new documentary The Creepy Line, which features several interviews with him.

[01:18:21] Ken mentions that in our society we are addicted to convenience and it seems that we are willing to trade privacy for convenience every time.

[01:19:43] Dawn mention’s Robert’s AIBRT website, on which there are a number of resources and tests ranging from “Parenting a Teen” to “Do You Need Therapy?” and “How Infantilized Are You?”

[01:20:49] Ken asks Robert to talk about a 2017 article, in which he provided people 7 simple steps that they could take to guard their online presence.

[01:23:53] Dawn closes the interview asking if Robert has any interests or hobbies outside of his work.

Links:

Dr. Robert Epstein bio

Epstein’s online tests

UF Brain Tumor Immunotherapy Program

Episode 88: Duane Mitchell talks about the uphill battle to treat aggressive brain tumors

Our guest today is Dr. Duane Mitchell, the Phyllis Kottler Friedman Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Florida College of Medicine.

He’s also the co-director of the university’s Preston A. Wells Jr. Center for Brain Tumor Therapy and Director of the Brain Tumor Immunotherapy Program.

Duane and Dawn have been friends since their days at Duke University where they served on the Institutional Review Board together. Duane got his medical degree and doctorate at Duke and then joined the faculty, where he spent the next decade before moving to the University of Florida in 2013.

Duane and his team at Florida are among the world leaders in the uphill battle to find ways to treat glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer that affects about 13,000 Americans annually. It’s the disease that recently took the life of Senator John McCain. People who are diagnosed with glioblastoma typically live for less than two years.

Show notes:

[00:03:00] Duane explains the story behind his “quote of the week” tradition, where every Monday morning he share’s a quote with his colleagues in his research group.

[00:03:43] Ken asks if it is true that one of Duane’s favorite quotes comes from Mark Twain: “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.”

[00:04:13] Dawn asks if it is true that by the sixth grade Duane had decided he was going to become a doctor.

[00:04:52] Duane talks about his decision to attend Rutgers College.

[00:05:37] Duane explains how reading Stephen Rosenberg’s book “The Transformed Cell” heavily impacted him during his time at Rutgers.

[00:06:43] Dawn mentions that she and Duane met at Duke University, and how this almost didn’t happen because Duane was originally going to attend another university for med school.

[00:07:55] Dawn explains that after receiving his MD and Ph.D. from Duke, Duane went on to serve in numerous faculty positions for the next 12 years. During this time, Duane became known as a trailblazer in the application and research of immunotherapy for cancer, particularly brain tumors. Dawn asks Duane for an overview of the role that immunotherapy plays in the treatment of brain tumors.

[00:09:30] Duane explains how in 2013 he joined the faculty at the University of Florida and managed to bring his entire team from Duke with him.

[00:10:47] Duane has acquired considerable clinical and translational research experience as a principle investigator on seven first-in-human protocols through FDA approved clinical trials. Dawn points out that at Florida, Duane and his team offer unique clinical options for adult and pediatric malignant brain tumor patients. She asks Duane to explain, in depth, the work that he and his do at Florida.

[00:12:11] Duane gives an overview of the types of brain tumor and what some of the more common tumor types are.

[00:14:09] Dawn asks why Duane chose to specialize in glioblastoma, or GBM, an aggressive form of brain cancer that kills 15,000 Americans eachyear.

[00:15:16] Ken asks what characteristics of GBM make those particular types of tumors so difficult to treat.

[00:16:17] Duane talks about the standard of care for these malignant brain tumors.

[00:18:36] Dawn asks if immunotherapy is a stand-alone approach for treating brain tumors, or if it is administered in conjunction with standard therapy. She goes on to asks if changes to the immune system through radiation or chemotherapy have a negative effect on immunotherapy.

[00:21:20] Dawn asks if recent findings about the nervous system’s immune system, and the new-found interconnectedness between the glymphatic system and the lymphatic system impact immunotherapy approaches for brain tumors.

[00:23:02] Ken asks how the immune system is naturally equipped to fight cancer.

[00:25:36] Dawn explains that the (PD)-1/PD-L1 pathway, otherwise known as Programmed Cell Death, is an immune resistance mechanism that tumor cells exhibit to dampen immune response. Dawn asks about the efficacy of a new class of immunotherapy drugs called immune checkpoint inhibitors that block these signals and allow immune cells to be more effective in fighting the tumor.

[00:28:11] Dawn mentions that Duane is helping to lead a health-organized coalition known as the ReMission Alliance, which is a University of Florida initiative that brings together neuro-oncology experts from institutions across the U.S. and Canada.

[00:29:32] Ken mentions stories, both anecdotal and found in the literature, of the ketogenic diet having a beneficial effect in fighting cancer. He asks if Duane has given thought to the role of HDAC, given that BHB is an HDAC inhibitor, and that perhaps in addition to the energetic effects of ketone bodies, another benefit of the ketogenic diet in cancer is its signaling effects.

[00:31:17] Ken mentions a recent paper in Nature Communications that describes how Duane and his colleagues at Florida have discovered a new use of stem cells that could clear a revolutionary pathway to make immunotherapy drugs effective in treating brain cancer.

[00:33:25] Duane explains how cancer vaccines work.

[00:34:39] Duane describes his study investigating personalized brain tumor-targeting vaccines for treatment of pediatric medulloblastoma.

[00:35:50] Dawn asks about Duane’s clinical trial using an enhanced vaccine credited with significantly extending the lives of multiple glioblastoma patients.

[00:37:36] Ken asks what the survival rates are for glioblastoma.

[00:39:20] Heterogeneity, which is to say that is there can be a variety of distinct microenvironments with varying populations of neoplastic cells and collections of tissue-specific resident and recruited stromal cell types, can significantly impact response to immune therapy. Given this, Dawn asks if there is an effective tumor microenvironment on response to immunotherapy.

[00:40:56] Duane talks about the mechanics and feasibility of the use of nanoparticles to administer cancer antigens to immune cells by crossing the blood brain barrier.

[00:42:26] Ken asks if there are genetic or epigenetic factors that influence immunotherapy response.

[00:44:38] Ken asks about the gut microbiome and if it has any influence on response to immunotherapy.

[00:46:51] Ken mentions an earlier STEM-Talk Guest who specializes in microbiome, Alessio Fasano, interviewed in episode 20 of STEM-Talk.

[00:47:56] Duane talks about what he sees as exciting coming down the line in brain tumor treatment.

[00:50:15] Dawn asks about the impact that the National Cancer Act has had on cancer research, and our efforts to reduce cancer mortality in America.

[00:52:52] Duane ends the interview with advice for aspiring researchers and physicians.

Links:

Duane Mitchell UF bio

Anticatabolic Effects of Ketone Bodies in Skeletal Muscle

Episode 87: Dom D’Agostino reflects on his 10 years of research into ketogenic nutrition

Dr. Dominic D’Agostino returns to STEM-Talk to give Ken and Dawn an update on his research into ketogenic nutrition. Dom was the guest on episode 14 back in 2016 when ketogenic diets didn’t even show up on a list of the top-10 diets that people Googled. Since then, the search term “ketogenic diet” has risen to the top of the list.

In today’s episode, Dom talks about his past 10 years of research into ketogenic diets and what he is learning about the physiological benefits of nutritional ketosis.

Dom is tenured associate professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine.He also is a research scientist here at IHMC.Throughout his career, Dom has been a researcher with a diverse background in neuroscience, molecular pharmacology, nutrition and physiology.

Show notes:

[00:02:55] Dawn begins the interview mentioning that when she and Ken started hosting STEM-Talk, the ketogenic diet wasn’t on the list of the top-10 most Googled diets of 2015. Today, however, Dawn points that ketogenic diet is number one on the list. She asks Dom if he foresaw sudden mass interest in a ketogenic diet coming.

[00:04:12] Ken asks Dom for his thoughts on how the ketogenic diet has went from being very obscure to becoming a household term.

[00:06:04] Ken comments on the evolutionary component of the ketogenic diet and how our ancestors must have gone in and out of ketosis based on the availability of food. He also comments on the unique aspect of the ketogenic diet, being that it has an objective measurement, and asks Dom to talk about that.

[00:06:59] Dawn comments on the cynicism regarding the ketogenic diet, particularly from nutritionists. She asks Dom to address the criticism and pushback that the ketogenic diet receives from so many nutritionists.

[00:10:02] Ken mentions that some fields are resistant to change and new science due to the emotion behind established theories. Dom agrees and then talks about how people, even doctors, are resistant to new data and new science.

[00:11:13] Dom talks about the most common misconceptions and overrepresentations of the ketogenic diet.

[00:12:54] Ken discusses his dissatisfaction with the term “ketogenic diet” since the word diet implies the mandated consumption of certain food items. He goes on to say that if one is in ketosis, then, by definition, they are doing a ketogenic diet, even though they may be in ketosis because they have been fasting and haven’t eaten anything. Ken and Dom discuss how knowledge about ketogenic nutrition has changed over time and that it is certainly possible to eat an unhealthy ketogenic diet.

[00:15:35] Dom and Ken talk about the results of a recent Megan Roberts paper, “A Ketogenic Diet Extends Longevity and Healthspan in Adult Mice,”that showed a 13% increase in the lifespan of the mice along with remarkably improved healthspan.

[00:20:26] Dom shares his thoughts on the potential of exogenous ketones in the context of blood glucose regulation.

[00:27:07] Ken asks if Dom has been tracking Virta Health, which was founded by Dr. Jeff Volek who was interviewed in STEM-Talk episode 43. Virta Health has been publishing impressive results of its trials that show people reversing type-2 diabetes via a well-formulated ketogenic diet.

[00:29:13] Ken adds that the reported numbers from Virta show 60% to 70% of their patients going off their insulin medication or greatly reducing their insulin levels.

[00:30:55] Dawn asks about Dom’s experience going underwater for 10 days in participation of a NASA NEEMO mission. She asks him to talk about his personal experience as well as his background in hyperbaric physiology.

[00:32:08] Dom discusses his group’s work replicating the experimental design of his original oxygen toxicity work in aged and obese rats.

[00:33:35] Dawn briefly describes what oxygen toxicity is, and asks Dom about the first human studies, on which he is serving as a consultant, that are being conducted at Duke University to assess the effect of nutritional ketosis on oxygen toxicity and seizure risk. She points out that the studies that are being run by Dr. Bruce Derrick.

[00:36:36] Dom discusses brain energy metabolism, and cerebral metabolism, in the context of ketone bodies.

[00:39:23] Dom talks about his group’s research into kabuki syndrome, an epigenetic disorder that causes altered growth and cognitive dysfunction in children.

[00:42:02] Dom elaborates on the difference between ketone esters and ketone salts.

[00:44:00] Ken asks if there’s any evidence that people experience medical issues as a result of ketone esters or salts.

[00:48:02] Dawn asks about the transition into ketosis for women, which appears to be more difficult than it is for men, and whether the use of exogenous ketones would be a good option for women.

[00:49:43] Dawn asks if there are any more resources that have been generated on a vegetarian ketogenic diet, since the last time she and Dom discussed it on STEM-Talk.

[00:50:41] Ken asks about the differences between a ketone tolerance test and a glucose tolerance test.

[00:53:36] Ken discusses how some research suggests that anaerobic athletes such as wrestlers, boxers, and MMA fighters will experience a dip in performance on a ketogenic diet. He asks what the state of research is on this topic, and how such athletes can modify their fueling to obtain the benefits of the ketogenic diet (such as brain protection) while maximizing their performance.

[00:56:57] Dom discusses the ketogenic diet in relation to the gut microbiome, and the resolving of long-term GI issues for people who go on the ketogenic diet, as well as the study coming from the Sonnenberg lab at Stanford.

[00:59:58] Dom talks about his group’s exploration of an ecological idea of cancer treatment based on the ecological concept of animal extinction.

[01:02:37] Dom talks about his collaborative paper, written with his Ph.D. student, Andrew Koutnik, and Brendan Egan, titled, “Anti-catabolic Effects of Ketone Bodies in Skeletal Muscle.”

[01:05:11] Dawn asks about Dom’s research on cancer cachexia, and what spurred his interest in this topic.

[01:07:05] Dawn asks what targets people should shoot for on a ketogenic diet with regards to their electrolytes, and to describe the signs and symptoms of inadequate electrolytes.

[01:09:31] Ken asks what experiences stick out to Dom, as he reflects on the last 10 years of his scientific journey.

[01:12:11] Dawn asks about Dom and his wife’s new dog and their farm.

[01:14:15] Ken asks about Dom’s fitness routine now that he no longer goes to a gym.

[01:16:05] Dawn ends the interview asking if Dom recommends farming and gardening as a way to stay in shape.

Links:

Dom’s website

Dom’s USF website

Dom’s IHMC bio

Episode 86: Matt Johnson talks about the power and future of human-machine teaming

Our guest today is Dr. Matt Johnson, another colleague who works with Ken and Dawn at IHMC.

Matt is a research scientist who joined the institute in 2002 after a 20-year career as Naval aviator. He focuses on human-machine teaming as it relates to technologies such as robotics, software agents and autonomous vehicles. These technologies are used in military responses and help first responders with disaster responses. They are used in space and aviation work as well. He also is part of an IHMC team developing humanoid behaviors and advanced interface concepts that will enable Boston Dynamics’ Atlas robot and NASA’s Valkyrie robot to do complex work.

Matt was in the news recently for a project he’s doing with the police department here in Pensacola. He’s leading a team to develop specialized drones that police officers will be able to use in a number of areas ranging from search and rescue operations to disaster response.

AI Magazineis running an article in its spring issue that Matt co-wrote with Alonso H. Vera, the chief of the Human Systems Integration Division at NASA Ames Research Center. Titled,“No AI Is An Island: The Case For Teaming Intelligence,”the article argues that artificial intelligence will only reach its full potential if it has enough teaming intelligence to work well with humans.

Show notes:

[00:02:52] Matt begins by discussing his upbringing in Long Island, New York, and his unusual family dynamics.

[00:03:25] Dawn asks what lead Matt to attend the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and work on undergraduate degree in aerospace engineering.

[00:03:59] Ken brings up that after obtaining his undergraduate degree, Matt went into the Navy as an aviator, and asks what motivated that transition.

[00:04:44] Matt explains how he ended up at Texas A&M in Corpus Christi where he obtained his master’s degree in computer science.

[00:05:45] Matt talks about his transition out of the Navy and how he came to live in Pensacola and work at IHMC.

[00:07:02] Matt touches on how after a few years at IHMC, he began working on his Ph.D. through Delft University in the Netherlands.

[00:10:03] Ken mentions that Matt’s research focuses on making technology more flexible and resilient through human-machine teamwork. He asks Matt to define what he means by human-machine teamwork.

[00:11:51] Dawn brings up that Matt’s human-machine teamwork endeavors have led to a number of different projects in various fields, one of which is a partnership with the Pensacola Police Department to develop specialized drones for police use in a number of operations including search and rescue and disaster response.

[00:14:05] Matt discusses his ongoing project to help develop humanoid behaviors and advanced interface concepts for robots.

[00:15:53] Ken asks Matt to talk about an article Matt has with Alonso Vera of NASA Ames that’s appearing in the spring issue of AI Magazine.

[00:17:03] Dawn talks about how machine intelligence is making inroads into our everyday world, citing a few examples such as self-driving cars and digital assistants like Siri and Alexa. Dawn asks Matt if he can use self-driving cars as a way to explain the gaps and challenges that intelligent technologies still face.

[00:18:52] Matt talks about how humans are still far better at driving cars and that the technology for self-driving cars still has a long way to go before matching the safety record of humans.

[00:20:11] Dawn describes how Elon Musk told a group of governors that they should adopt AI legislation before robots go rouge and start roaming the streets killing people. She asks Matt if he agrees with Musk, or if the notion of rouge robots is an over exaggeration.

[00:21:23] Ken mentions that it seems natural to think of AI, and technology in general, as a means to compensate for human limitations. He goes on to mention that Matt’s article in AI Magazine warns people to be aware of misconceptions associated with this viewpoint, and asks Matt to talk about them.

[00:24:16] Matt compares human-machine teamwork with a musician playing a duet to illustrate the idea of “teaming intelligence.”

[00:25:47] Ken asks what “common ground” means in regards to the communication between humans and AI, given that “common ground” has a technical meaning in communication theory and is generally mentioned in regards to intelligent human beings who share an understanding or mental model of the world.

[00:27:14] Ken asks Matt for his takeaways from the book “Digital Apollo” by David Mindell, which described tensions that existed between the engineers and astronauts during the Apollo years.

[00:28:43] Dawn mentions that Matt was recently awarded a grant to work with on a NASA-related project to use machine-learning to optimize signal capture on a novel device being developed at CalTech lymphatic imaging.

[00:29:08] Ken asks Matt what he does in his downtime.

[00:29:34] Dawn asks Matt about his frequent humanitarian trips to Hatti, which he has been making over the past several years as a volunteer at an orphanage and adjacent medical clinic.

Links:

Matt Johnson bio

Episode 85: David Geary discusses our shrinking brains, cognitive development and sex differences

Today’s guest is Dr. David Geary, a cognitive developmental scientist whose wide-ranging interests are particularly focused on evolutionary psychology, sex differences and children’s mathematical development.

He is a Curators’ Distinguished Professor and a Thomas Jefferson Fellow in the Department of Psychological Sciences and Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program at the University of Missouri Columbia.

David’s book, “Male, Female: The Evolution of Human Sex Differences,” has been described as a landmark text that provides a comprehensive evolutionary model to explain sex differences. His research on children’s mathematical development resulted in a MERIT award from the National Institutes of Health. In addition to authoring four books, he has published more than 300 articles and chapters across a diverse range of topics.

David has served as a member of the President’s National Mathematics Advisory Panel and was appointed by President George W. Bush to the National Board of Directors for the Institute for Education Sciences.

Show notes:

[00:02:36] Dawn asks about David’s childhood, mentioning that his family moved around quite a bit before settling down in Northern California.

[00:03:00] Dawn asks if David’s early struggles in elementary school were due to jumping around from classroom to classroom because of family moves.

[00:03:43] David talks about how he first became interested in science.

[00:04:15] Ken asks why David decided to go to Santa Clara University in Silicon Valley.

[00:04:47] David explains how he ended up majoring in developmental psychology.

[00:05:18] David recounts the story of how he went from working at an auto parts store to getting his master’s degree in clinical child and school psychology at California State University.

[00:06:06] Dawn mentions that before David earned his master’s degree, he went to work as a school psychologist and counselor. She then asks what led him to decide to enter the Ph.D. program as the University of California Riverside.

[00:07:05] After finishing his Ph.D., David had a number of university positions before landing at the University of Missouri in Columbia. Ken asks David about the school’s interdisciplinary evolution group, which was a key reason David was interested in the university.

[00:08:12] Dawn asks how children’s mathematical development and evolutionary psychology became two of David’s primary research focuses.

[00:10:04] David summarizes the factors that determine human intelligence.

[00:11:11] David explains why the attempt to define intelligence has always been a controversial issue.

[00:11:51] Ken asks about David’s research in the ‘90s that made a distinction between evolved forms of cognition, such as language, and other forms of cognition that are more dependent on schooling, such as reading and arithmetic.

[00:14:44] David talks about his interest in Evolutionary Educational Psychology, and how that relates to the insights gleaned from his recent article that argued that there is built-in scaffolding that helps a child’s mind learn to talk, use tools, and play, but that there is nothing of the sort for learning how to read, write, or do math.

[00:17:14] David has been investigating children’s mathematical cognition for nearly 25 years, including a 2015 paper on the numerical foundations of young children’s mathematical development.Dawn asks David to share his key takeaways from this research.

[00:20:08] David gives an overview of the MU Math Study, which is supported by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, and focuses on mathematical development from preschool all the way through high school.

[00:22:32] David discusses his research into human sex differences, and human sexual selection.

[00:23:46] Dawn asks about David’s paper that focused on human cognitive sex differences, which illustrated how sexual selection can result in sex differences in the brain and cognition. The paper also explored how these differences appear to be related to mitochondrial functioning, which led David propose a taxonomy of sex differences in human condition-dependent cognitive abilities. Dawn asks David to talk about these underlying brain systems and their development.

[00:26:36] Ken asks how disease, premature birth, and pre- and postnatal exposure to toxins affect males and females differently.

[00:28:56] Dawn mention’s David’s 2018 paper in “Psychological Review”that argued that the overall efficiency of mitochondrial functioning is critical to general health, brain development and functioning, as well as age-related changes in health and cognition. She goes on to ask David about his view that mitochondrial functioning provides a plausible basic biological mechanism that underlies the relations among all these phenomena.

[00:32:10] Ken mentions Doug Wallace, one of the pioneers of mitochondrial research, who was interviewed on episode 67 of STEM-Talk, who has shown that mitochondrial haplotypes have adapted to the environment, with some being better adapted to colder weather. He asks David if these haplotypes are at greater risk of decreased intelligence due to their decreased ATP efficiency as a result of their environmental adaptation.

[00:33:52] Some whole genome sequencing studies have suggested that several hundred genetic loci associated with intelligence might explain 5 to 10 percent of an individual’s intelligence. One interpretation of these results would suggest that the environment is by far the largest determinant of human intelligence. Dawn asks how these findings might be integrated into David’s mitochondrial hypothesis.

[00:37:04] Ken asks if the sexually-dimorphic differences in cellular antioxidant capacity translate to differences in mitochondrial function and intelligence over the lifespan.

[00:39:57] Dawn asks why mitochondrial approaches to treating neurological diseases have not resulted in improved outcomes.

[00:39:30] David talks about his interest in Evolutionary Educational Psychology, and how that relates to the insights gleaned from his recent article that argued there is built-in scaffoldingthat helps a child’s mind learn to talk, use tools, and play, but that there is nothing of the sort for learning how to read, write, or do math.

[00:42:21] Ken mentions that David, and a number of other scientists, were cited in a 2010 Discover magazine article titled, “If Modern Humans Are So Smart, Why Are Our Brains Shrinking?”Ken asks David to talk about why human brain volume is shrinking.

[00:44:28 Dawn asks if there is evidence to give credence to the idea that because more educated men and women are procreating later, or not at all, is contributing to our decreasing brain volume.

[00:47:02] Dawn asks about the selection pressures that drove our brains to increase in size prior to the rise of agriculture.

[00:50:10] David explains how population density relates to brain size.

[00:52:20] Ken asks if the shrinkage of the human brain, which has decreased from 1,500 cubic centimeters to 1,350 cubic centimeters, is found in all locations and populations.

[00:53:01] David describes why he believes that the available evidence supports the notion that our smaller brains equate to less intelligence, or less capacity for intelligence.

[00:56:11] Ken asks if mitochondrial function has changed since the agricultural revolution.

[00:57:02] Ken asks if there is a “worst case scenario” with regards to AI and our increasing dependence upon it, asking if with continuing to off-load evolutionary pressure on brain size and cognitive capacity onto our technology.

[01:02:32] Dawn asks about David’s book Male, Female: The Evolution of Human Sex Differences, and how it has been described as the first comprehensive evolutionary model to analyze sex differences and how they have evolved by means of sexual selection.

[01:05:34] David elaborates on his words in an interview with The Guardian, where he said “People talk about cultural factors creating sex differences. I think it’s the other way around: There’s pressure to disconfirm the way people are. Cultural hype tries to make the sexes more alike, which is stressful for boys and girls and men and women.”

[01:08:55] Dawn mentions that David is perhaps the first academic to frame biological sex differences in terms of their vulnerability. She asks him why he believes that this approach could transform science and medicine.

[01:11:56] David discusses the Basic Index of Gender Inequality, which was devised in partnership with Gigster Stoet of the University of Essex in the UK. He describes why the index as a new measurement tool is fairer to both men and women. He talks about how the index presents a simplified but more accurate picture of people’s well-being than measurements like the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Index.

[01:16:55] Ken mentions that David’s index marks Italy and Israel as the two most egalitarian nations in regards to gender, with the United States placing at number 61 of 134.

[01:18:00] Ken asks why it is that Saudi Arabia is listed as the third-most gender egalitarian nation on the index.

[01:19:41] Dawn asks about David’s other projects in evolutionary psychology, that range from the study of social signaling, and mate quality, to sex differences in face perception.

[01:22:06] David ends the interview talking about what he does with his spare time.

Links:

David Geary bio

MU Math Study

David Geary Amazon page

Episode 84: Joe Gomes discusses optimizing human performance and resiliency in the NFL and elite warfighters

Today’s guest is Joe Gomes, the former head strength and conditioning coach for the NFL’s Oakland Raiders, who today is IHMC’s new High Performance Director.

Joe came to IHMC a little more than a year ago to be part of a new biological team that is searching for innovative ways to extend the capabilities and resilience of high-performing humans who operate in extreme environments. In today’s interview, you’ll hear Joe talk about a number of projects he’s working on, including his work with IHMC’s engineers and NASA to develop an exercise machine for long-duration space missions.

Joe was with the Raiders for the 2016 season when Oakland won 12 games and went to the playoffs for the first time in 14 years. Although Joe has spent most of his career helping professional and amateur athletes, he also spent five years in North Carolina as a senior advisor and performance director for the United States Army Special Operations Command.

Show notes:

[00:03:43] Ken asks about Joe’s childhood and whether he played a lot of sports growing up.

[00:04:14] Joe talks about being drawn to rugby because of the teamwork that’s involved.

[00:05:27] Joe describes how he and a friend decided to take some time off from school and travel to Australia.

[00:06:41] Joe discusses returning to London to go to back to school and major in sports science and rehabilitation.

[00:07:37] Ken mentions that even as a young man Joe was very interested in the science of how the human body worked, and asks Joes how it came about that he started to question some of the basic training techniques offered by coaches.

[00:08:40] Joe talks about working with John Allen, a physiotherapist who worked with the British track and field team, where he helped Allen set up a hydrotherapy program to assist injured athletes. He goes on to talk about how he also became involved in a program to screen elite athletes who were potential Olympic medalists.

[00:11:36] Joe explains how he became interested in strength and conditioning.

[00:12:52] Ken asks how a sports-medicine conference in Las Vegas led to Joe moving from London to Phoenix Arizona.

[00:14:47] Joe tells of how he began working with the Argentinian national rugby team back in 2007.

[00:16:36] Joe explains how his experience with the Argentinian rugby team helped him better understand that in addition to physical training, instilling a winning mindset is also important to get the best performance from athletes.

[00:18:36] Joe talks about his passion for teaching athletes about self-accountability.

[00:19:44] Ken asks Joe to talk about his biggest takeaways in terms of optimizing athletes’ performance after working with the Argentinian ruby team.

[00:20:43] Joe gives an account of “his own world tour,” where he hopped around working with different national teams and governing bodies for three years after his experience with the Argentinians.

[00:22:01] Ken asks for Joe to describe his time running the NFL annual scouting combine, where Joe helped train 35 first-round draft picks in a three-year period while working for EXOS as the director of performance.

[00:24:16] Ken comments on how the NFL combine seems quite artificial, focused heavily on explosive power and strength. He notes that much of the training for the combine is designed to stiffen the tendons of the athletes for better power and strength transfer. He goes on to ask if this has resulted in the tendons being stiffer than the muscles are strong, and if there has been a higher injury rate in athletes who have attended the combine training. If so, Ken asks, does it come down to how their team handled them after the combine at the start of training camp.

[00:26:54] Joe discusses how he came to work for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg.

[00:28:13] Ken explains how impressed he was by the good work Joe was doing in facilitating the performance, and also preserving the health, of elite warfighters at Fort Bragg. Ken then asks about the similarities and differences between the training for the NFL as opposed to tier-1 military units.

[00:30:13] Joe describes the work he did at Fort Bragg as the most important work of his career.

[00:32:38] Joe tells the story of how he came to work with the Oakland Raiders.

[00:33:44] After arriving in Oakland, Joe helped to plan and open a new state-of-the-art training facility for the Raiders. Ken asks what the process was like and what a state-of-the-art NFL training facility entails.

[00:35:48] Ken asks Joe about the need for a personalized approach to optimize an NFL player’s performance.

[00:37:53] With injuries in the NFL, and sports in general, being a common occurrence, Joe discusses how he uses technology and science to implement strategies for mitigating the risk of injury.

[00:39:23] Ken asks whether coaches and staff fully appreciate the importance of good nutrition and exercise for their own health.

[00:40:31] Joe discusses recommendations and strategies for the preservation of strength and muscle mass, both for athletes and everyday people.

[00:42:48] Joe talks about the importance of sleep. He points out that even though we can all have bad nights where we don’t get optimal rest, people should keep a week to week “rolling total” number of hours of sleep.

[00:44:01] Ken mentions that while working with the NFL, Joe spent a lot of time ensuring that travel didn’t negatively impact players’ performance. Joe explains his methodology for mitigating jet lag in players.

[00:46:14] Joe discusses what high performers consistently do, and also lists some of the common hindrances and pitfalls of progress.

[00:47:23] Joe explains the metrics used in determining the success of an intervention.

[00:48:48] Ken comments on how technology today allows everyone to collect a massive amount of data about themselves. He goes on to ask, for those individuals who want to keep things simple and collect a minimal amount of data, what are the key fundamental metrics of health and performance that a person needs to track.

[00:51:14] In regards to heart-rate variability (HRV), Ken asks if its utility is confined to individuals, or can HRV data be meaningfully interpreted across people.

[00:52:12] Ken asks if the countermeasures to increase HRV, implemented in many elite sports, is like simply treating a symptom rather than looking into the underlying causes behind the HRV readings.

[00:54:05] Joe discusses how the advice for people training for marathons has changed over the years, from just going on long runs, to the advice now given on implementing short, high-intensity workouts.

[00:55:50] Joe mentions some lessons learned with working with elite athletes that can be incorporated into the lives of everyday individuals.

[00:56:38] Ken asks Joe to explain why he came work at IHMC.

[00:57:49] In regards to the exercise machine being developed at IHMC in collaboration with NASA for long-duration space missions, Joe talks about potential commercial applications of this device here on Earth.

[00:59:36] Ken talks about blood flow restriction training, which was the topic of episode 34 of STEM-Talk, and points out that the training has benefited the elite populations of both special-operations forces and athletes. He then asks if there are any carryover applications for the general population.

[01:00:54] Joe talks about his daily training regimen, diet and sleep schedule.

[01:02:15] Joe ends the interview talking about how he and his family have enjoyed the transition to Pensacola.

Links:

Joe Gomes bio

Oxytocin is an age-specific circulating hormone necessary for muscle maintenance and regeneration

Episode 83: Ken and Dawn host their first Ask Me Anything episode

It has only taken us nearly three years to get around to it, but we’re finally doing our first “Ask Me Anything” episode. It’s hard to believe, but Ken and Dawn sat down to interview their first STEM-Talk guest back in 2016. And during that time, listeners have been emailing us questions.

So, in this episode, Dawn and Ken will be asking each other questions that listeners have directed their way. The show turned out to be a lot of fun and the chairman of the double-secret selection committee who chooses all the guests who appear on STEM-talk promises not to wait three years before getting around to do another Ask Me Anything episode.

If you want to check out Ken and Dawn’s bios before you listen to today’s show, be sure to click on the links above, which will take you to their profile pages at ihmc.us. Also, links to papers mentioned in this episode can be found at the bottom of the show notes.

Show notes:

[00:02:31] Dawn asks about Ken’s time growing up in Guantanamo while his father was stationed there in the Navy.

[00:02:59] Ken points out that Dawn spent part of her time growing up on a farm and asks her what that was like.

[00:04:46] Dawn asks Ken about visiting Navy gyms when he was a kid. Ken then talks about how much he enjoyed those times, but that gyms have now become fitness centers.

[00:05:43] Ken talks about his pet peeves during his workouts.

[00:06:40] A listener writes in to say that he tried a ketogenic diet, but was never able to get over the “keto-flu.” He asks Ken to discuss this phenomenon and whether the ketogenic diet may not be for everyone.

[00:07:44] Dawn follows up on the previous question and asks Ken for his thoughts on what constitutes a good diet if someone finds that the ketogenic diet isn’t right for them.

[00:08:30] A listener asks Dawn about the APOE genotype, which has been mentioned on STEM-Talk several times. The listener asks about Dawn’s research into the genotype and what that research uncovered in regards to its relation to brain health.

[00:11:09] Ken responds to a question about his views on the effectiveness of the ketogenic diet for older and middle-aged individuals, and why he thinks the diet might be considered an anti-aging diet.

[00:14:39] A listener asks Ken to explain what the Mediterranean diet actually is, given the nebulous nature of the term. The listener goes on to write that they have never seen any noticeable weight loss benefit for people on the Mediterranean diet, unlike what the listener has seen for people adhered to the ketogenic and Paleo diets.

[00:17:16] Dawn asks Ken how he would define the ketogenic diet, given that the Mediterranean diet is so ill-defined.

[00:19:58] A listener asks Dawn if she has ever attempted a vegetarian ketogenic diet, given that Dawn is a vegetarian. In answering the question, Dawn mentions that Dom D’Agostino’s website lists resources for vegetarians and vegans who want to know more about ketogenic diets.

[00:21:08] Dawn asks Ken for his thoughts on people on the ketogenic diet drastically limiting their protein intake.

[00:22:57] Ken is asked about his thoughts on exogenous ketones, and he refers to a promising ketone ester developed by Oxford and NIH scientists.

[00:24:34] Ken explains what sarcopenia is, and why people should want to avoid it.

[00:26:17] Dawn mentions that Ken has said that the maintenance of skeletal muscle is contingent upon the balance between muscle protein synthesis and muscle breakdown. She goes on to ask what some of the factors are that drive this process in one direction or the other.

[00:27:11] Ken discusses oxytocin, which is commonly thought of as the ‘trust’ or ‘bonding’ hormone and is important in reproduction. Dawn asks about the role of oxytocin in the context of the age-related loss of muscle mass and function.

[00:28:22] Ken describes what oxytocin is and does.

[00:28:50] Dawn comments on how Ken mentioned that Conboy’s group at UC Berkeley used subcutaneous injections of oxytocin, and asks about other forms of administration, such as intranasal.

[00:29:36] Ken has received several questions along the lines of how oxytocin impacts weight loss, and gives his thoughts on the matter.

[00:31:14] Ken lists off some natural ways of increasing oxytocin.

[00:32:01] Ken closes his discussion on oxytocin with the aspects of the subject that interest him the most.

[00:33:11] Dawn mentions how Ken, and other researchers in human performance, have touted the benefits of sauna. She asks if there are any new findings in this regard.

[00:34:32] A listener asks Dawn why we never hear about free divers having the bends.

[00:35:40] Ken asks Dawn if she experienced any changes from living under water during her NASA NEEMO mission the Atlantic.

[00:38:33] Ken asks Dawn how she sees genetics and genomics fitting into undersea or other extreme environments in regards to a person’s resilience and performance.

[00:38:39] A listener mentions an interesting blog post they read by William Davis about the benefits of Lactobacillus reuteri. The listener then asks Ken for his thoughts on the probiotic and if he has ever used it.

[00:39:23] Ken discusses his favorite performance-enhancing supplements.

[00:40:58] A listener asks what kind of coffee Ken enjoys.

[00:41:31] A listener asks if Ken reads fiction or just science and technology books, and if he does read fiction, does he have a favorite author.

[00:42:26] A listener asks Dawn to clear up an error in the media about the NASA twin study, where the media mistakenly said that there were thousands of changes to Scott Kelly’s genes.

[00:43:44] Dawn explains what the current research is in regards to the brain’s lymphatic system, also known as the glymphatic system.

[00:46:15] A listener asks Ken about his favorite recent meal, and also if one should eat breakfast on days when one isn’t fasting.

[00:48:57] A listener asks Dawn if she has had a favorite guest she has interviewed on STEM-Talk.

[00:49:44] Ken talks about his appointment to the newly formed National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence and his role on the commission.

[00:50:43] Dawn wraps up by asking Ken about the house he and his wife Nancy are building in Wyoming.

Links:

NASA Twins Study

Oxytocin reduces caloric intake in men

Oxytocin increases heart rate variability in humans at rest

Cardiovascular and other health benefits of sauna bathing

Coffee consumption and health

[00:10:59] A recent study (2017) showed that whole eggs promoted a greater amount of muscle protein synthesis than egg whites, suggesting that there may be benefits to the extra nutrients found in the egg yolk.

Episode 82: Stu Phillips discusses the importance of dietary protein and its role in muscle

Our guest today Dr. Stuart Phillips, a professor of kinesiology at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, who is best known for his research into muscle health and the benefits of dietary protein.

Stu is the director of the McMaster Physical Activity Centre of Excellence, a state-of-the-art exercise research and training center. It is devoted to studying and improving the health and well-being of older adults as well as people with chronic diseases and disabilities.

In addition to his work in the kinesiology department at McMaster, Stu is adjunct professor in the university’s School of Medicine. He is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and the American College of Nutrition. He received the New Investigator Award from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the Ontario Premier’s Research Excellence Award, and the Young Investigator Award from Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology.

In today’s interview we discuss:

[00:08:19] Dawn introduces the importance of dietary protein and its role in muscle health, and tissue regeneration more generally, which makes it one of the only macro nutrients we need on a daily basis.

[00:12:53] Why Stu believes the recommended daily allowance for protein is too low.

[00:14:06] The differences between animal and plant-based protein.

[00:16:31] The phenomenon of muscle synthesis (anabolism) and catabolism.

[00:17:54] Highlights of the recent findings coming out of Kevin Tipton’s group which indicates that the dose-response relationship may depend on the amount of muscle tissue that was recruited during exercise, with the ingestion of 40 g protein further increasing muscle protein.

[00:20:43]A 2013 paper from Stu’s group titled, “Dose-dependent responses of myofibrillar protein synthesis with beef ingestion are enhanced with resistance exercise in middle-aged men.”

[00:27:52] Stu’s thoughts on the recommendation of pre-sleep protein feeding.

[00:37:52] An overview of the Physical Activity Centre of Excellence, a state-of-the-art, exercise research and training lab at McMaster.

[00:43:37] The importance of maintaining healthy functional muscle mass and function as we move into middle and later life.

[00:46:56] Stu’s paper, “Muscle Disuse as a Pivotal Problem in Sarcopenia-Related Muscle Loss and Dysfunction.”

[00:50:25] The need to add more protein to our diets as we get older, which is something that Dr. Valter Longo discussed on episode 64 of STEM-Talk.

[00:56:24 How fasting affects muscle protein turnover, which were topics covered in episode 7 of STEM-Talk, an interview with Mark Mattson, and episode 79, which was an interview with Satchin Panda, author of the “The Circadian Code.”

[00:57:32] Whether a ketogenic diet with sufficient protein would in any way be detrimental to muscle mass.

[01:05:47] Stu’s thoughts on a study that was conducted on behalf of the American College of Sports Medicine that found supplementation with HMB failed to enhance body composition to a greater extent than a placebo.

Show notes

[0:02:51] Stu talks about being born in the UK but growing up in Canada.

[00:03:09] Dawn asks about Stu’s passions for all kinds of sports as a kid.

[00:03:27] Stu recalls his high school science teacher, who was responsible for getting him interested in biology and chemistry.

[00:03:44] Dawn asks what led Stu to choose McMaster University after high school.

[00:04:19] Ken brings up that Stu was captain of the Ruby team his senior year, and while it looked as though he was headed to a great season, things didn’t turn out as planned. He asks how that season led to Stu’s decision to focus on nutritional biochemistry.

[00:05:16] Stu explains how he ended up at Waterloo University to work on a doctorate in physiology.

[00:06:01] Dawn asks Stu why he headed off to Texas after graduating from Waterloo.

[00:06:36] Dawn asks if it is true that after three years in Texas, Stu moved back to Canada to get married.

[00:07:18] Stu talks about why he went back to McMasters to study protein, exercise, and muscle synthetic versus catabolic dynamics, among other things.

[00:08:19] Dawn asks how Stu first became interested in the process by which protein plays a role in regenerating muscle, making it one of the only macro nutrients we need on a daily basis, and to give listeners an overview on the importance of dietary protein.

[00:09:49] Dawn asks Stu how much of his work has focused on muscle- protein turnover and if changes in muscle-protein turnover directly correlate with changes in muscle growth.

[00:10:59] Ken mentions that many protein-intervention studies use supplementation in the form of whey, which has a clear benefit from a muscle standpoint given its high leucine content and convenience. He goes on to mention, however, that some researchers are starting to look at interventions with whole food protein. A recent study (2017) showed that whole eggs promoted a greater amount of muscle protein synthesis than egg whites, suggesting that there may be benefits to the extra nutrients found in the egg yolk.Understanding this, Ken asks if it is possible that by taking an isolated supplement like whey, we are missing out on a spectrum of other nutrients found in protein rich whole foods?

[00:12:53] Stu explains why he believes that the recommended daily allowance for protein is too low.

[00:14:06] Dawn mentions that she is a vegetarian, and by that token has to be more creative about making sure she gets enough protein. She asks Stu to explain the differences between animal and plant-based protein.

[00:15:20] Ken asks if it might be helpful for vegans or vegetarians to supplement with essential amino acids, provided that they are vegan approved.

[00:16:31] Dawn asks Stu to elaborate on the phenomenon of muscle synthesis and catabolism, which are like a sinusoidal wave going from anabolism to catabolism. Over a 24-hour period, one may see more anabolism, then have a net improvement in muscle mass, and vice versa.

[00:17:54] The currently accepted amount of protein required to achieve maximal stimulation of myofibrillar protein synthesis (MPS) following resistance exercise is 20–25 g. Ken asks Stu to discuss the recent findings coming out of Kevin Tipton’s group which indicates that the dose-response relationship may depend on the amount of muscle tissue that was recruited during exercise, with the ingestion of 40 g protein further increasing muscle protein.

[00:20:43] Dawn explains that aging impairs the sensitivity of skeletal muscle to anabolic stimuli, such as amino acids and resistance exercise. She goes on to bring up a 2013 paper from Stu’s group which reported that, in the context of resistance exercise, “it appears that the MPS “machinery” in older muscles is less responsive to low and modest doses of protein. The key finding from this study being that in middle-aged men, ingestion of beef promotes a dose–response relation for myofibrillar MPS, with the greatest response occurring with ingestion of 170 g of beef … roughly 6 oz containing 36 g of protein.

[00:22:45] Ken asks if given the leucine oxidation responses Stu reported, does it seem reasonable that approximately 170 g of beef is the maximally effective dose, after which additional protein would fail to increase MPS.

[00:24:29] Stu discusses the issue of “protein timing” in relation to a bout of resistance training and total protein intake over the course of the day.

[00:27:52] Multiple studies coming from Van Loon’s lab suggesting that 40 g of protein ingested before sleep can be beneficial for muscle protein synthesis, especially in older individuals.While consuming protein before bed may provide some benefits, it may also be detrimental from a circadian rhythm perspective. Forty g of protein equates to 7 eggs or 5 cups of milk or a substantial steak. Given the importance of sleep to anabolic and other processes, Ken asks Stu for his thoughts on the recommendation of pre-sleep protein feeding.

[00:30:15] Ken asks if the observed benefit of pre-sleep protein could be driven more by topping up of the day’s total protein consumption, or if the timing of protein right before bed matters?

[00:31:57] Ken asks for Stu’s thoughts on a 2017 paper published by Robert Wolfe in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Medicine, which concluded that the claim that the consumption of dietary BCAAs stimulates muscle protein synthesis or produces an anabolic response in humans is unwarranted.

[00:37:52] Stu gives a brief overview of the Physical Activity Centre of Excellence, more popularly known as the PACE lab, a state-of-the-art, exercise research and training center at McMaster.

[00:40:04] Ken brings up that loss of muscle mass, strength, and quality starts earlier in life than many realize, especially in more sedentary individuals, while also accelerating as people age. He asks if there are any warning signs people need to look out for.

[00:43:37] Dawn asks why is it so important to maintain healthy functional muscle mass and function as we move into middle and later life.

[00:43:37] Dawn asks if sarcopenia progresses the same way in westernized vs non-westernized populations?

[00:46:56]Stu talks about one of his papers published in the Journal of Frailty and Aging titled, “Muscle Disuse as a Pivotal Problem in Sarcopenia-Related Muscle Loss and Dysfunction.”

[00:48:34] Stu talks about anabolic resistance and whether there is compelling evidence to support low-protein intake for optimal healthspan and longevity.

[00:50:25] Stu talks about the need to add more protein to our diets as we get older, which is something that Dr. Valter Longo discussed on episode 64 of STEM-Talk.

[00:54:33] Stu talks about the myth that too much protein creates kidney damage.

[00:56:24] Mark Mattson discussed intermittent fasting in Episode 7 of STEM-Talk. More recently, in episode 79, Satchin Panda of the Salk Institute talked about time-restricting eating. Stu gives his thoughts on how fasting affects muscle protein turnover.

[00:57:32] Ken asks if a ketogenic diet with sufficient protein would in any way be detrimental to muscle mass.

[01:02:13] Dawn brings up that physical inactivity impairs insulin sensitivity and that it is exacerbated with aging. A paper Stu and his colleagues produced examined the impact of two weeks of acute inactivity and recovery on glycemic control, and integrated rates of muscle protein synthesis, in older men and women.

[01:04:00] Stu discusses why most of the research on protein has been in relation to males.

[01:05:47] Stu discusses a study that was conducted on behalf of the American College of Sports Medicine that found supplementation with HMB failed to enhance body composition to a greater extent than placebo.

[01:10:13] Dawn asks if Stu had a $20-mllion budget and could undertake any research project without limitation, what would it be and why?

[01:13:05] Dawn ends the interview by mentioning that Stu had to give up rugby in his 40s. She asks what his exercise routine looks like now in his middle age, and if he still plays any sports.

Links:

Stuart Phillips McMaster faculty page

McMaster Physical Activity Centre of Excellence

Charles Brenner University of Iowa profile

Episode 81: Charles Brenner discusses NR and the benefits of boosting NAD as we age

Our guest today is Dr. Charles Brenner, the Roy J. Carver Chair of Biochemistry at the University of Iowa.

Charles is one of the world’s leading experts on nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, commonly referred to as NAD, which is an essential molecule found in every living cell. In 2004, he discovered the nicotinamide riboside kinase pathway, which leads to a special form of vitamin B3.

We talk to Charles about his research into NAD and why he believes supplementation with NR could help people age better. In addition to his work at the University of Iowa, he is also the chief scientific advisor for ChromaDex, which markets the NR supplement Tru Niagen.

Toward the end of our interview, Charles talks about dozens of exciting new papers and studies that are on the horizon. One of those papers – Maternal Nicotinamide Riboside Enhances Postpartum Weight Loss, Juvenile Offspring Development, and Neurogenesis of Adult Offspring– was published in Cell Reports on the same day as our interview with Charles went live.

Also in today’s interview, we discuss:

[00:06:29] How Charles became the first cancer biology graduate student in the biology department at Stanford University.
[00:07:51] Charles’ research into nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) during his time on the faculty at Thomas Jefferson University.
[00:09:15] Charles’ discovery that nicotinamide riboside (NR) is a precursor of NAD.
[00:19:47] Why Charles doesn’t use the term “anti-aging.”
[00:25:52] The importance of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) and its role as the central regulator of reactive oxygen species toxicity.
[00:34:56] The circadian rhythms of NAD and the potential benefit of diurnal dosing.
[00:38:45] Why skeletal muscle is one of the most sensitive target tissues for the anti-aging effects of NMN.
[00:45:42] How the benefits of a ketogenic diet, intermittent fasting, time restricted eating could be related to NAD.
[00:47:02] A recent human trial conducted by the University of Colorado that found Niagen increased NAD+ by 60 percent in healthy middle-aged and older adults after just six weeks.
[00:49:19] The optimal dose of NR for humans.

Show notes:

[00:03:06] Charles talks about growing up as a kid who dreamed about becoming either a comedian or rabbi.

[00:03:26] Charles describes his success on the math team in high school and how he also enjoyed playing tennis and running cross-country.

[00:03:43] Charles reflects on his decision to attend Wesleyan University.

[00:04:09] Although Charles decided to major in ecology, he found out upon arriving at Wesleyan that they did not have an ecology department.

[00:05:05] Dawn mentions that after graduating with honors in biology, Charles traveled across the country to work in the Bay Area. She asks him what he did.

[00:06:29] Charles talks about when and why he became interested in cancer research, and how he was the first cancer biology graduate student in the biology department at Stanford University.

[00:07:51] Dawn asks about the work Charles did from 1996 to 2003 on nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) during his time on the faculty at Thomas Jefferson University.

[00:09:15] Ken brings up Charles’ research at Dartmouth, asking about his discovery that nicotinamide riboside (NR) is a precursor of NAD.

[00:12:35] NAD is a coenzyme found in all living cells. It serves both as a critical coenzyme for enzymes that fuel reduction-oxidation reactions, carrying electrons from one reaction to another, and as a co-substrate for other enzymes. Charles gives an overview of the research into NAD and its relationship to overall health and age-related diseases.

[00:19:47] Dawn asks Charles why he doesn’t use the term “anti-aging.”

[00:20:54] Charles discusses how Verdin and numerous other investigators have reported that NADcontent declines with age in multiple organs, such as pancreas, adipose tissue, skeletal muscle, liver, skin, and brain, as well has his own hypothesis.

[00:25:52] Charles gives an overview of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH), which is particularly important because of its role as the central regulator of reactive oxygen species toxicity.

[00:29:19] Dawn asks about experiments Charles’ lab conducted on mice that looked at obesity and type-2 diabetes.

[00:33:08] Dawn asks if there is an easy way someone can determine if their NAD levels are dysregulated.

[00:34:56] Ken asks Charles about the circadian rhythms of NAD, and the potential benefit of twice a day dosing.

[00:36:02] Charles discusses why one shouldn’t simply supplement directly with NMN, despite the findings of a 2016 Cell Metabolism paper.

[00:38:45] According to the Cell Metabolism study (linked in the previous question), the authors suggest that skeletal muscle is one of the most sensitive target tissues for the anti-aging effects of NMN. Charles discusses his thoughts on this.

[00:40:42] Some people are going the route of intravenous NAD infusions. Since it is believed that cells can’t take up NAD directly, NAD IV clinics springing up around the country seem somewhat unlikely to be effective. Charles discusses the possible reasons for the anecdotal evidence of reported benefits.

[00:45:42] Charles discusses the ketogenic diet, intermittent fasting, time restricted eating and how the benefits of these approaches could be related to NAD.

[00:47:02] Dawn inquires about the recent human trial conducted by the University of Colorado that found Niagen increased NAD+ by 60 percent in healthy middle-aged and older adults after just six weeks.

[00:48:14] Dawn asks if it is possible to deplete methyl groups by taking high doses of a B3.

[00:49:19] Ken asks what the evidence suggests the optimal dose of NR is for humans.

[00:52:16] Charles gives an overview, and his thoughts, on research reported in 2017 coming from Joshua Rabinowitz’s lab at Princeton, which challenged the long-held view that the mitochondrial inner membrane is impermeable to pyridine nucleotides and suggested the existence of an unrecognized mammalian NAD (or NADH) transporter.

[00:53:13] Charles give his thoughts on the 2018 Liu paper in Cell Metabolism, also from Rabinowitz’s lab,which seems to show that in mice oral NR is only converted to NAD by the liver with no other tissue is seeing enough NR (or presumably NMN) to reach adequate cytosolic levels. Thus, unless increasing hepatic NAD provides benefit, this study would lead one to believe that oral ingestion of NR is of little value.

[00:57:19] Ken asks what the future is for additional human trials with NAD and also what additional papers about nicotinamide riboside are on the horizon. (One of those papers – Maternal Nicotinamide Riboside Enhances Postpartum Weight Loss, Juvenile Offspring Development, and Neurogenesis of Adult Offspring– was published in Cell Reports on the same day as our interview with Charles went live.)

[01:00:52] Charles, as a fitness enthusiast, discusses what his exercise regime looks like.

Links:

Brenner Lab

Charles Brenner Wikipedia page

Chromadex website

Tru Niagen website

Episode 80: Butler Hine talks about paving the way for robotic space exploration

Our guest today is Dr. Butler Hine, the Flight Project Manager and Chief Technologist for Engineering at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. Butler is also a senior research scientist and a colleague of Ken and Dawn at IHMC.

Butler is currently the project manager for NASA’s Arcus mission, which is an X-ray observatory that has a possible launch date of 2023. The mission will include a high-resolution X-ray grating spectrometer that will study the hot gas that is the dominant component of the normal matter in the Universe, much of which has not yet been directly seen.

In today’s interview, we discuss:

[00:03:57] How Butler became interested in astronomy and started building telescopes as a youth.
[00:08:37] How Butler wound up managing the robotics lab at NASA.
[00:11:55] The challenges of trying to change the thinking of the science community about ways to adapt technology to science.
[00:17:34] Artificial intelligence and data mining.
[00:26:59] The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer mission, also known as LADEE.
[00:30:07] The concept of modularity in spacecraft design.
[00:41:58] The scientific goals of NASA’s Arcus mission, which Butler is currently managing.
[00:45:58 The complexity of developing a robotic platform for space or lunar exploration
[00:51:24] The future of robotic space exploration.

Show notes:

[00:02:27] Butler begins the interview talking about moving around a lot as a youth because of his father’s career in the Army.

[00:03:17] Butler talks about growing up as “classic nerd,” and the influence that the Apollo Moon landings had him.

[00:03:57] Butler describes how he became interested in astronomy in junior high school started building telescopes.

[00:05:49] Dawn asks what the difference is between science and science implementation, something Butler became interested in during graduate school.

[00:06:40] Butler discusses going to NASA Ames Research Center for his post-doc work.

[00:08:37] Butler talks about how he wound up managing the robotics lab at NASA.

[00:09:29] During his time with the robotics lab, Butler worked on performing field-science investigations through remote mobile platforms in an attempt to approximate what a scientist does in the field. Ken asks what the primary challenges were in this work.

[00:11:55] Butler describes the difficulty of trying to change the thinking of the science community about ways to adapt technology to science, such as getting people to buy into the usefulness of remote planetary rovers.

[00:15:20] Butler talks about virtual-reality techniques for presenting complex information that he and his team at Ames developed, and how he left NASA to create a company to apply those techniques to other areas.

[00:17:34] Dawn asks about a program Butler pushed for in the mid-to-late ’90s that focused on artificial intelligence and data mining.

[00:20:11] Dawn asks about Butler’s days at NASA that overlapped with Ken’s time at the agency.

[00:21:14] Ken asks how Butler become interested in developing low-cost, high-performance spacecraft designs.

[00:26:59] Butler talks about becoming the project manager for the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer mission, otherwise known as LADEE.

[00:30:07] Ken asks if Butler thinks that the concept of modularity in spacecraft design is something that will be embraced in future missions.

[00:32:16] Dawn asks what the scientific objectives of the LADEE mission were.

[00:35:38] Butler talks about how LADEE was not only a science mission, but it also showcased several new technologies.

[00:37:35] Butler discusses the trajectory of LADEE from launch to its impact into the backside of the moon.

[00:41:58] Butler talks about the scientific goals of NASA’s Arcus mission, which he is currently managing.

[00:44:30] Ken asks about the new technologies that are driving the Arcus mission.

[00:45:58] Dawn asks about the complexity of developing a robotic platform for space or lunar exploration and what the makeup of Butler’s team at NASA Ames looks like for these missions.

[00:48:30] Butler gives advice for young people interested in a science career and perhaps one day working at NASA.

[00:51:24] Dawn asks what Butler sees as the exciting next steps in robotic space exploration.

[00:54:45] Ken ends the interview asking Butler what he does with his free time.

Links:

Butler Hine bio

NASA LADEE website

Circadian rhythms, time-restricted feeding, and healthy aging

DawnKernagisbio

Episode 79: Satchin Panda discusses circadian rhythms and time-restricted eating to improve health and even reverse disease

Dr. Satchin Panda is a professor and researcher at the Salk Institute who has become recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on circadian rhythm. In today’s wide-ranging interview, he discusses how the body’s natural day-night cycle can help us improve our health, get a better night’s sleep and lose weight. He also shares how adopting a lifestyle that is aligned with the body’s natural internal clock can even help us prevent and reverse disease.

Satchin also has been generating significant attention for his research into the health benefits of time-restricted eating. He is the author of “The Circadian Code” and in today’s interview he shares how listeners can become involved in a research project he and his colleagues are conducting through a smartphone app called My Circadian Clock.

In addition to his work at the Salk Institute, Satchin is also a founding executive member of the Center for Circadian Biology at the University of California, San Diego. Key topics covered in today’s interview include:

[00:03:46] How a rapidly evolving modern society disrupts the interconnectedness of our biological rhythms.
[00:13:41] How Satchin became interested in circadian rhythms and metabolism.
[00:17:11] Satchin’s first mouse study on time-restricting feeding, which so surprised him that he ended up repeating the study three times.
[00:21:37] The role of ketosis in time-restricted eating, particularly in regard to weight loss and potential health benefits.
[00:25:01] Whether having black coffee signals the beginning of a person’s eating window.
[00:27:31] The potential use of caffeine to treat jet lag induced by international time-zone travel.
[00:29:31] Satchin’s mouse studies that looked at obesity and type-2 diabetes.
[00:30:58] The dangers of shift work and the importance of sleep.
[00:45:39] Satchin talks about the importance of darkness when it comes to sleep and our circadian rhythms.
[00:48:42] Satchin’s 2017 paper in Aging Research Reviews titled “ Circadian rhythms, time-restricted feeding, and healthy aging.“
[00:51:59] Satchin’s recent paper in Cell Metabolism, “Time-Restricted Feeding Prevents Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome in Mice Lacking a Circadian Clock.”
[01:00:19] The role of diet in people who lost weight during time-restricted feeding.
[01:06:30] “My Circadian Clock,”an app Satchin and his lab at Salk Institute have developed.
[01:20:02] Satchin discusses how he convinced his mother to try time-restricted eating.
[01:25:32] What Satchin’s diet and eating window looks like on a typical day.

Show notes:

[00:03:05] Satchin begins the interview talking about being raised in India and his parents’ expectation that he would become a doctor or engineer.

[00:03:46] Satchin talks about his book “The Circadian Code,” which is dedicated to his maternal and paternal grandparents. He touches on how a rapidly evolving modern society disrupts the interconnectedness of our biological rhythms.

[00:06:14] Satchin shares how when he was a junior in high school, he lost his father in an accident with a truck driver.

[00:07:21] Dawn asks Satchin to talk about how going to agricultural school like his father did cemented Satchin’s interest in science.

[00:08:44] Dawn asks how Satchin ended up with a research job at a flavor and fragrance manufacturer in India after finishing his master’s degree.

[00:10:10] Satchin talks about what led him to Canada and eventually the U.S.

[00:11:21] Ken asks Satchin why he decided to pursue at Ph.D. in plant circadian rhythm.

[00:13:41] The circadian rhythm field primarily focuses on understanding the timing mechanism in biological systems like plants, fruit flies, mice and humans. Satchin discusses how he took a different route and became interested in circadian rhythms and metabolism.

[00:15:13] Dawn asks what it is like to work at the Salk institute, a place where Nobel laureates such as Francis Crick once worked.

[00:17:11] Satchin talks about his first time-restricted feeding mouse study, which so surprised him that he repeated the study three times.

[00:19:03] Ken asks Satchin what he was expecting to learn when he started the mouse studies.

[00:20:06] Dawn asks about Satchin’s published findings of his experiments in 2012, which raised the question of whether eight hours was the magic number for time-restricted eating.

[00:21:37] Knowing that people go into ketosis after 12 to 16 hours without food, Dawn asks if Satchin has looked at the role of ketosis in time-restricted eating, particularly in regard to weight loss and potential health benefits.

[00:22:39] In the mouse studies, the mice that followed time-restricted eating also had an endurance benefit. Dawn asks if Satchin thinks this might also be related to ketosis.

[00:25:01] Satchin says in his book, “The moment you eat breakfast, or have your first cup of coffee or tea, is the beginning of your eating window.” Dawn points out that Satchin also says in the book that water doesn’t signal the start of the eating window. She then asks about black coffee, which, like water, has no calories.

[00:27:31] Ken asks about the potential use of caffeine to treat jet lag induced by international time-zone travel.

[00:29:31] Satchin talks about mouse studies his lab did a few years ago that looked at obesity and type-2 diabetes.

[00:30:58] Satchin discusses the point he makes in his book about the dangers of shift work and the importance of sleep.

[00:35:11] Dawn asks about a study Satchin is currently undertaking looking at firefighters and shift work.

[00:38:10] Numerous studies have shown that time restricted feeding schedules may be able to shift the phase of activity in animals such as mice. Ken asks what Satchin thinks the underlying mechanisms of this may be.

[00:40:56] In his book, Satchin mentions that chronotypes — the existence of night owls and morning larks — are largely a myth. Ken asks if we really know whether chronotypes exist or not.

[00:44:14] Satchin talks about how he responded when, while at a symposium in Stockholm, a well-respected scientist in the area of obesity came up to Satchin after his talk and said there was no data that shift work causes more disease.

[00:45:39] Satchin talks about the importance of darkness when it comes to sleep and our circadian rhythm.

[00:48:42] Satchin’s 2017 paper in Aging Research Reviews titled “ Circadian rhythms, time-restricted feeding, and healthy aging.“ points out that circadian rhythms optimize physiology and health by temporally coordinating cellular function, tissue function and behavior. Dawn asks how this study found that optimizing the timing of external cues with defined eating patterns could sustain a person’s circadian clock and possibly prevent disease.

[00:51:59] Satchin discusses his mouse study that was detailed in his recent paper in Cell Metabolism titled, “Time-Restricted Feeding Prevents Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome in Mice Lacking a Circadian Clock.”

[00:54:59] Ken asks if the benefits of time-restricted feeding reproduced in different mouse strains and across genders, or if all studies been done on the same mouse strain/gender.

[00:56:43] Dawn asks if the experimental models using mice, who are nocturnal animals, are presenting difficulties in terms of translating the effects of time-restricted feeding on humans.

[00:58:39] Ken asks Satchin for his thoughts on the findings of Joseph Takahashi’s work. Ken wonders if Takahashi’s findings imply that some of the benefits of caloric restriction in mice may actually be due to time restriction.

[01:00:19] In Satchin’s human studies, people who had 8- to 12-hour eating windows also had some health benefits and lost weight. Dawn asks what role a person’s diet played in weight loss.

[01:03:03] Satchin discusses his thoughts on the translatability of research examining circadian rhythm and inflammatory mechanisms in mice.

[01:06:30] Satchin and his lab at Salk Institute have developed an app called “My Circadian Clock,” which is part of a research project that’s using smartphones to track people’s daily behaviors. Dawn asks Satchin to give an overview of the project and discuss how people can participate in the research.

[01:09:53] Satchin briefly talks about any potential efficacy in commercial sleep tracking devices.

[01:12:08] Satchin talks about the findings of a National Institute of Aging paper that showed time-restricted eating might increase longevity.

[01:14:40] Satchin talks about his work with Dr. Valter Longo, who was the guest on episode 64 of STEM-Talk.

[01:16:45] While research on chronopharmacology is encouraging, Satchin discusses what some of the main logistical constraints we face in trying to apply its tenets in the clinic.

[01:20:02] Satchin discusses how he convinced his mother to try time-restricted eating.

[01:23:01] Commenting on how all of Satchin’s mother’s siblings have some sort of metabolic disease, either high cholesterol, diabetes, hypertension or a combination of the three, Dawn asks what is it about the Indian diet that is so unhealthy.

[01:25:32] Satchin talks about what his diet and eating window look like on a typical day.

[01:26:28] Regarding the symposium Satchin attended in Stockholm. Ken asks how he deals with travel and jet lag in terms of his circadian rhythm.

[01:28:27] In terms of the future, Dawn ends the interview asking Satchin what new studies he is considering and what direction he thinks his research will take.

Links

Salk Institute

Dr. Satchin Panda bio

“The Circadian Code”

My Circadian Clock app

Time-Restricted Feeding Prevents Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome in Mice Lacking a Circadian Clock

Dr. Valter Longo, who was the guest on episode 64 of STEM-Talk.

Episode 78: Jeff Phillips talks about physiologic episodes among tactical aircrew

SEO: Jeff Phillips, Naval Medical Research Unit, University of Alabama, F-22 Raptors, hypoxia, oxygen saturation measurement, arterial gas embolism, aircraft oxygen systems, physiologic episodes, Delores Etter Award, Ken Ford,Dawn Kernagis,Jon Clark,IHMC

Today’s interview is with IHMC Research Scientist Dr. Jeff Phillips. Jeff joined IHMC a year ago after spending six years as a research psychologist at the Naval Medical Research Unit in Dayton, Ohio. He worked almost exclusively on hypoxia in tactical aviation and was part of team that was instrumental in getting the F-22 Raptors back into operation after a series of hypoxia-related episodes among jet pilots. In 2012, Jeff won the Dolores Etter Award, which the Department of Navy annually awards to its top performing scientists and engineers.

Jeff is a University of Alabama graduate who earned his Ph.D. in experimental psychology. At IHMC, he works on research that ranges from physical and cognitive performance in extreme conditions to the role that ketone esters can play in protecting special operators from hypoxia, fatigue and other issues.

Because Dawn Kernagis was in London giving a presentation when we conducted our interview with Jeff, IHMC Senior Researcher Jon Clark joined Ken Ford to co-host the episode.

In today’s episode, we discuss:

[00:15:45] Jeff’s participation on a team that investigated hypoxia-like episodes F-22 pilots in the Air Force were having.
[00:17:02] The problems with aircraft oxygen systems (OBOGs) and the related physiologic episodes (PE) that extend beyond the F-22 to virtually all frontline tactical jet aircraft.
[00:18:19] The physiological effects of hypoxia on the brain and the associated cognitive and perceptual performance deficits.
[00:19:54] The most promising technologies for detecting a hypoxia event.
[00:29:10] The challenge of understanding what may be a multifaceted phenomenon like OBOGS-related PE events.
[00:32:30] Studies that have shown pure oxygen in the lungs causes the alveolar cells to collapse.
[00:37:10] The possibility that increased breathing (hyperventilation) may be occurring in aircrew involved in PE events who develop rapid onset hypoxia-like symptoms.
[00:48:36] The role that mindfulness plays in elite performance as well as day-to-day life.

Show notes:

[00:06:06] Jeff talks about growing up in Sandflat, Alabama.

[00:06:57] Jon asks Jeff what he was like as a kid.

[00:07:32] Jeff talks about the impact that reading Stephen Hawking’s “A Brief History of Time” had on him.

[00:08:19] Jeff explains how he headed off to the University of Alabama expecting to become a newspaperman, but ended up switching his major to psychology.

[00:09:50] Jon asks Jeff about his mentors at Alabama who encouraged him to purse a doctorate in experimental psychology.

[00:11:50] Jeff talks about a paper he helped author on handshaking and how it generated so much attention that he was interviewed by the Associated Press and network news shows.

[00:14:16] Jon asks Jeff how he ended up at the Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory in Pensacola, Florida.

[00:15:02] Ken asks Jeff to describe the work he did at the Pensacola lab.

[00:15:45] Jeff talks about becoming part of a team that investigated hypoxia-like episodes F-22 pilots in the Air Force were having when the Pensacola lab relocated to Dayton, Ohio.

[00:17:02] Ken points out that problems with aircraft oxygen systems (OBOGs) and the related physiologic episodes (PE) extended beyond the F-22 and affected virtually all frontline tactical jet aircraft. Ken asks Jeff to talk about the how the different military services approached the problem.

[00:18:19] Ken asks Jeff about the physiological effects of hypoxia on the brain and the associated cognitive and perceptual performance deficits.

[00:19:16] Jon asks Jeff about his participation in studies that assessed different oxygen saturation measurement techniques.

[00:19:54] Ken asks Jeff about the most promising technologies for detecting a hypoxia event.

[00:21:29] Jon points out that Jeff has been involved in studies that demonstrated a residual cognitive deficit that pilots had following a hypoxic exposure that was still present at two hours after recovering on room air. Jon asks Jeff if he knows why this deficit exists so far after hypoxic exposure.

[00:23:41] Jon points out one possible cause of prolonged symptoms is arterial gas embolism causing bubbles in the brain. This is why US aircraft carriers have been recently fitted with hyperbaric chambers to treat aircrew for AGE. The suspected mechanism is sudden pressure fluctuations in the breathing system that is causing over-pressurization to the lungs that some aircrew have experienced. Jon asks Jeff if he thinks that this mechanism could account for prolonged symptoms.

[00:024:52] Ken asks if there is a good return-to-duty marker or assessment tool for pilots following a hypoxic exposure.

[00:26:14] Jeff gives an overview of the different laboratory-based simulations for studying hypoxia.

[00:28:02] Ken asks to what extent pilots in tactical aircrafts are experiencing breathing resistance?

[00:29:10] Jeff talks about the challenge of understanding what may be a multifaceted phenomenon like OBOGS-related PE events.

[00:32:30] Jon mentions that studies have shown that pure oxygen in the lungs causes the alveolar cells to collapse. He asks Jeff if this is one of the reasons pilots experience hypoxia.

[00:35:36] Jon points out that g-forces expose tactical aircraft pilots to atelectasis. He asks if the effects of oxygen atelectasis could increase the potential for hypoxia-like symptoms.

[00:37:10] Now that the comprehensive clinical case review has been completed, Ken says it is apparent that aircrew declaring a PE event have developed rapid onset hypoxia-like symptoms at altitudes incompatible with rapid onset hypoxia. Ken asks Jeff if this suggests that increased breathing (hyperventilation) may be occurring in aircrew involved, and can this be addressed with enhanced physiologic training on the consequences of hyperventilation.

[00:38:55] Jon asks Jeff to elaborate on his study of emergency oxygen activation based on aircrew symptoms.

[00:42:12] Jon mentions that Jeff was recognized by the Navy in 2012 as one of its top performing scientists and engineers. He asks Jeff to talk about the award and the research he was doing that led to the award.

[00:44:12] Ken points out that much of the work Jeff has done over the years has been to help people maintain and improve their physical and cognitive performance. He asks Jeff if this played a role in his decision to join IHMC.

[00:46:52] Ken asks Jeff about his research into the role that consciousness and mindfulness can pay in people’s lives.

[00:48:36] Jon points out that mindfulness plays a role in elite performance as well as day-to-day life. He asks Jeff to talk about the next steps it would take to do proper research on mindfulness in the area of performance and resilience.

[00:50:36] Jon points out that neuroplasticity is more easily accomplished in young brains. He asks Jeff how people can keep their brains more plastic as they age.

[00:52:27] Jeff talks about the relationship between belief and knowledge and how they can work together to either advance or suppress science.

[00:54:38] Jeff ends the interview talking about how his wife and two children live on five acres and that his best ideas often come to him while feeding the chickens or digging fence posts.

Links:

Jeff Phillips bio

John’s Stanford faculty bio

Episode 77: John Ioannidis discusses why most published research findings are false

Our guest today is Dr. John Ioannidis, a Stanford professor who has been described by “BMJ” as “the scourge of sloppy science.” Atlantic magazine has gone so far as to refer to him as one of the world’s most influential scientists.

John is renowned for his 2005 paper, “Why Most Published Research Findings Are False,” which has been viewed more than 2.5 million times and is the most citied article in the history of the journal PLoS Medicine. He has authored nearly a thousand academic papers and has served on the editorial board of 30 top-tier journals.

At Stanford, John is a professor of medicine, of health research and policy, and of biomedical data science in the school of medicine as well as a professor of statistics in the school of humanities and sciences. He is the co-director of the university’s Meta-Research Innovation Center and the former director of the Stanford Prevention Research Center.

In today’s wide-ranging interview, John talks about:

[00:07:43] What led him to begin questioning the reliability of medical research during his residency at Harvard.
[00:12:03] His 2005 paper, “Why Most Published Research Findings Are False.”
[00:26:27] How a major issue facing science is a lack of replication.
[00:30:51] Which studies are worse, nutritional studies or drug studies.
[00:38:25] If it’s possible to remove sampling biases like the healthy user bias.
[00:46:50] The need for scientists to disclose their personal dietary biases as well as their personal diets when publishing research findings.
[00:52:40] His recent paper, “Evidence Based Medicine Has Been Hijacked,” which argues that vested interests have transformed clinical medicine into something that resembles finance-based medicine.
[00:55:36] The impact that funding pressure is having on the veracity of research being done today.
[01:08:42] The need for future research to be designed by scientists without vested interests.
[01:14:58] The ways John would fix the system if he had magic wand.
[01:18:42] And as a bonus, John reads an excerpt from his latest book.

Show notes:

[00:02:37] Dawn begins the interview asking John about being born in New York but raised in Athens.

[00:03:54] John talks about how his parents were physicians and researchers and how they instilled in him a love for mathematics at an early age.

[00:05:26] Dawn asks John about winning the Greek Mathematical Society’s national award when he was 19 years old.

[00:06:23] John talks about his decision to go to medical school and to attend Harvard.

[00:07:43] Ken mentions that John began questioning the reliability of medical school during his residency at Harvard, and asks John to talk about his interest in an “evidence-based medicine” movement that was gathering momentum at the time.

[00:08:47] Dawn asks John about his work with the late Tom Chalmers, who played a major role in the development of randomized controlled trials.

[00:09:58] John talks about returning to Greece to take a position at the University of Ioannina.

[00:12:03] John talks about his 2005 paper “Why Most Published Research Findings Are False,” which became the single most-cited and downloaded paper in the history of the journal PLoS Medicine.

[00:15:32] Dawn mentions that when the paper came out, it was theoretical model. She asks John to talk about how now there are a number of studies pointing out problems with preclinical research on drug targets.

[00:17:34] Dawn asks John about his decision to leave the University of Ioannina to take a position at Stanford University.

[00:21:02] Dawn asks John for his thoughts on ways to improve the peer-review process.

[00:24:09] John talks about how he and his colleagues have found that most medical information that doctors rely on is flawed.

[00:26:27] Dawn points out that a major issue facing science is a lack of replication. She talks about how funding for repeat studies is hard to come by and that many journals will reject data that replicates previously published work. She asks John for his thoughts about ways to change this.

[00:29:14] Ken asks John if he sees interesting variations across disciplines.

[00:30:51] Ken follows up with a question about which studies are typically worse: nutritional studies or drug studies?

[00:31:28] John talks about the issues with nutritional epidemiology that stems from the often-implausible results arising from food frequency questionnaires.

[00:33:04] Dawn mentions that John has talked about the importance of getting nutritional epidemiology right because people are dying from bad decisions. She asks John if we’re at a point where we should scrap all nutritional epidemiological findings.

[00:36:20] Ken talks about how John has shown that almost all of the variables in nutritional epidemiology are connected, which partly explains multiple positive results. Ken asks John if there is a way to adjust for that.

[00:38:25] Ken points out that many studies proclaim they have adequately adjusted for multiple known health risk factors such as obesity, physical activity, and smoking. Ken asks John if it’s possible to do this in an accurate way in order to remove sampling biases like the healthy user bias.

[00:41:21] Dawn mentions that John in the past has said that a way to move forward in nutritional science is to run more large, long-term randomized trials. Considering that the problem is often a lack of behavior change due to the physical and social environment rather than a lack of knowledge about what to eat, she asks John what is the likelihood that large and expensive trials would truly give a meaningful result.

[00:44:49] Dawn asks John about the PREMIDED trial, which had originally been characterized as a rigorous and large randomized trial with long-term outcomes, but was later revealed not to be a randomized trial.

[00:46:50] Ken asks John about his argument that scientists should disclose their personal dietary biases as well as their personal diets when publishing their research findings.

[00:49:24] Dawn talks about the need for the scientific process to be objective, rigorous and ruthless about what is fact and what isn’t. She applauds John for his work that has shown how easy it is for researchers to manipulate data and results, and asks him to talk about the ways research is being manipulated.

[00:52:40] Dawn asks John to talk about his paper, “Evidence Based Medicine Has Been Hijacked,” which makes the argument that vested interests have transformed clinical medicine into something that resembles finance-based medicine.

[00:55:36]Dawn talks about how intense competition for funding has led to an aggressive environment where scientists are tempted to skew their findings to influence future funding. She asks John for his thoughts on the impact that funding is having on the veracity of research being done today.

[00:56:59] Ken asks John to elaborate on his comments that the healthcare system has become a threat to human health.

[00:58:39] John shares some ideas about ways to fix the healthcare system.

[00:59:39] Ken mentions an article John wrote that described how the biomedical research community has promoted the idea that genetics coupled with information technology will improve and transform healthcare and human health. Ken asks John to talk about why he thinks this approach has largely failed, and also talk about his proposal for a wholesale reevaluation of biomedical research.

[01:02:49] John talks about his research into “hyper-prolific” authors.

[01:06:13] Dawn brings up the need for universities to do a better job educating future scientists on ways to design studies and recognize biases. She asks John if he thinks we’re making progress in this area.

[01:08:42] Dawn points out that John in the past has talked about the entrenched bias in research and the need for future research to be designed by those without vested interests. She asks John if there’s a realistic way for researchers to balance expertise versus bias.

[01:10:39] Ken says it seems that the research enterprise is currently following a model of “product control,” that is, assessing the research once it has been finished and written up. He adds that this model coupled the reality of “publish or perish” thinking seems to be driving a lot of the problems we’re seeing with research quality and replication. Ken asks John how do we move from a “product control” model to more of a “process control” method in science, as is used in manufacturing, to ensure that the finished product is good by default.

[01:13:11] Dawn points out that there’s an increasing number of journals, including open access journals, and that this may lead to lower-quality research findings being published. She asks John for his thoughts.

[01:14:58] John talks about ways he would fix the system if he had magic wand to wave at the problem.

[01:17:29] Dawn points out that John has been writing literature since he was eight years old and has published seven books. She asks John about the role writing has played in his life.

[01:18:42] John ends the interview reading an excerpt from his latest book.

Links:

List of John’s published research

John’s Wikipedia page

Atlantic article about Ioannidis

Why Most Published Research Findings Are False

Evidence-based Medicine Has Been Hijacked

What Happens When Underperforming Big Ideas in Research Become Entrenched

TED video: How to create a Spacesuit

Episode 76: Dava Newman on getting humans to Mars and creating the next-generation spacesuit

Today’s episode features Dr. Dava Newman, the first female engineer to serve as NASA’s deputy administrator. Dava is currently the Apollo Professor of Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

For more than 20 years, she has worked passionately to figure out what it will take to put humans on Mars. She is perhaps best known, however, for developing a next-generation spacesuit called the BioSuit, a slim-fitting compression suit that’s designed to make it easier for astronauts to move around on lunar surfaces.

Dava joined the faculty at MIT in 1993 and served as NASA’s deputy administrator from 2015 to 2017. She also is on the faculty of the Harvard–MIT Health, Sciences, and Technology department. As the director of MIT’s Technology and Policy Program from 2003 to 2015, she led the institute’s largest multidisciplinary graduate research program with more 1,200 alumni.

She is the author of “Interactive Aerospace Engineering and Design,” an introductory engineering textbook, and has published more than 300 papers. Links to Dava’s book, papers and bio, as well as videos of the BioSuit, are included at the bottom of the show notes.

In today’s interview with Dava, we discuss:

[00:03:01] Her memories of watching the Apollo Moon landings as a child.

[00:06:36] How Dava made the Notre Dame women’s varsity basketball team as a walk-on.

[00:09:49] Her work over the past 20 years to get people on Mars.

[00:11:19] Dava’s thinking behind the design of a slim-fitting spacesuit.

00:15:12] The physiological monitoring systems she would like to see incorporated into next-generation spacesuits.

[00:26:00] How she thought the call from the White House about the NASA position was a prank.

[00:27:06] Dava’s takeaways from her four space missions to measure astronaut performance in microgravity.

[00:28:41] Her transition back to MIT after her stint as NASA deputy administrator.

[00:38:42] Dava’s advice for today’s young aspiring scientists and engineers, a group she says will become known as the Mars generation.

Show notes:

[00:02:30] Dawn begins the interview by asking Dava to elaborate on comments she has made about having the best job in the world.

[00:03:01] Dawn asks Dava about growing up in Montana during the Apollo years and watching the moon landings on TV.

[00:03:43] Dava talks about her years in middle school and high school.

[00:04:17] Ken asks Dava about her decision to attend Notre Dame.

[00:05:40] Dava talks about how she was often the only women in her science and engineering classes back in the early 1980s.

[00:06:36] Dawn asks Dava about making the Notre Dame women’s varsity basketball team as a walk-on.

[00:08:30] Dawn asks Dava about her decision to write an introductory aerospace engineering textbook shortly after accepting a faculty position at MIT.

[00:09:49] Dava talks about how her goal of getting people to Mars has been a passion of hers for the past 20 years.

[00:11:19] Ken points out that Dava is perhaps best known for designing a slim-fitting spacesuit call the BioSuit. Ken asks Dava what motivated her to redesign spacesuits.

[00:13:38] Dawn asks Dava what human bio-energetic requirements will look like for lunar surface operations and how they differ from current EVA operations?

[00:15:12] Dawn asks Dava about the physiological monitoring systems she would like to see incorporated into next generation spacesuits.

[00:17:09] Dava talks about how spacesuit design has faced significant biomedical challenges, particularly for women.

[00:21:30] Ken mentions that Dava wrote the proposal for the BioSuit while on a sailing trip during a sabbatical, and follows up by asking her to tell the story of how she and her husband became stranded in the middle of the Pacific.

[00:26:00] Dava explains that when she got a call from the White House about becoming the deputy administrator for NASA, she thought the phone call was a prank.

[00:27:06] Dawn points out that Dava has flown four space experiments to measure astronaut performance in microgravity. Dawn asks Dava what stands out in terms of those experiences.

[00:28:41] Dava talks about her transition back to MIT after her time as NASA deputy administrator.

[00:31:09] Ken asks Dava for her thoughts on the Space Launch System, a space shuttle-derived super heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle.

[00:32:21] Ken talks about InSight, a robotic lander that has been designed to study the interior of Mars and is expected to land on the planet in time for Thanksgiving. Ken asks Dava to give an overview of the mission and how it might lead to a new understanding of Mars.

[00:35:05] Dava talks about how in addition to Mars, teaching is another one of her passions and that she is particularly interested in getting more women and people of color into science.

[00:37:29] Dawn asks Dava about her role models who helped guide her career path.

[00:38:42] Dava ends the interview talking about how young people today, especially teen-agers, will become known as the Mars generation, the first generation to walk on Mars, and offers advice for aspiring scientists and engineers.

Links:

Dava’s MIT bio

Dava’s NASA bio

Dava’s Wikipedia page

Adam Savage interview with Dava

Amazon: “Interactive Aerospace Engineering and Design”

Rob Mueller LinkedIn page

Episode 75: Rob Mueller: Using the resources of space to build lunar outposts on the Moon and Mars

Today’s guest today is Rob Mueller, one of NASA’s senior technologists who is leading an effort to establish a base station on the Moon, and eventually Mars, as well as other destinations in the solar system.

Rob is the senior technologist for the Advanced Projects Development at NASA Kennedy Space Center and a co-founder of Swamp Works, an innovation lab that has brought together NASA engineers, researchers and scientists to work on creating Spaceports across the solar system.

As most of our listeners know, NASA has been working toward an eventual mission to Mars. But before venturing to Mars, NASA first plans to build a lunar base on the Moon. In announcing the agency’s decision to return to the Moon, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said that this time the agency isn’t interested in just leaving flags and footprints on the lunar surface. “This time when we go, we’re going to go to stay,” he said.

As part of this mission, Rob’s work is particularly focused on ways to excavate and mine the resources of space so that astronauts and eventually others will be able to live off the land in space. In today’s interview, Rob talks about his nearly 30-year career with NASA as well as the future of space exploration. Topics we cover include:

[00:12:40] In order to survive and thrive in space, we need to be able to build things in space.

[00:14:51] Rob’s lab at NASA called Swamp Works.

[00:18:44] Swamp Works’ goal of expanding civilization into the solar system.

[00:20:33] The Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot project.

[00:24:59] How there are billions and billions of times the resources in outer space than here on Earth, and our potential to excavate these materials.

[00:30:41] The Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway.

[00:35:29] NASA’s decision to return to the Moon before venturing to Mars.

[00:37:33] How new technologies being developed for Spaceflight could eventually have applications on Earth as well.

[00:40:29] How to survive and thrive on the Moon and Mars, we will need to be able to build landing pads, habitats and roads.

[00:49:03] A partnership Swamp Works has with Astrobotic to develop a micro-rover.

[00:51:11] How the regolith of the Moon, Mars and other planets as well as asteroids contain valuable resources.

[00:54:12] The future of space exploration.

[00:57:16] How Rob responds to people who question the cost and relevance of going to the Moon and beyond.

[01:02:13] And if people are a little less likely to take Rob’s phone call given that there’s a Robert Mueller in Washington who’s conducting a Russian investigation.

Show notes:

[00:03:26] Rob talks about growing up in Portugal and how Rob ended up with an international background as a kid because of his father’s work.

[00:04:00] Dawn asks Rob if it’s true that as a 12-year-old he was a pioneer of surfing in Portugal.

{00:04:40] Rob talks about how his interest in advanced technology led him to the states and the University of Miami after graduating from high school.

[00:06:48} Rob describes how he graduated from Miami shortly after the Challenger accident and ended up applying for a job at NASA.

[00:07:56} Ken points out that it was an O-ring on the Solid Rocket Boosters that failed to maintain a seal that led to the Challenger explosion. Ken asks Rob to talk about how he came to work on the Solid Rocket Boosters when NASA hired him in 1989.

[00:10:09] Rob talks about he actually was more interested in robotics than space when he went to work at the Kennedy Space Center.

[00:11:02] Dawn asks Rob about his decision to work on an MBA at the Florida Institute of Technology while he was working at NASA.

[00:11:45] Dawn follows up with a question about how Rob ended up in the Netherlands studying for a master’s degree in internal space systems engineering.

[00:12:40] Dawn points out that Rob has been at NASA for nearly 30 years and that he is often quoted as saying that if we are going to survive and thrive in space we need to be able to build things in space. She asks Rob to explain what he means by that.

[00:14:51] Rob talks about his lab at NASA, called Swamp Works, and how the lab is trying to foster a more innovative environment at the space agency.

[00:17:43] Dawn asks Rob how he came up with the name Swamp Works.

[00:18:44] Rob mentions that a goal of Swamp Works is to expand civilization into the solar system. Dawns asks him to talk about what that means.

[00:20:33] Ken points out the Rob is the lead technologist for the Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot project, and asks Rob to talk about his work in this area.

[00:24:59] Ken mentions that Carl Sagan was known to say that there are billions and billions of times the resources in outer space than here on Earth. Ken asks Rob to talk about the potential and possibilities that our ability to excavate these materials will provide.

[00:27:56] Dawn talks about how we will need new technologies if we’re going to survive and thrive in space. She asks Rob about 3D printing, which is a good example of one of the technologies that could, with further development, completely change the game.

[00:30:41]A few years ago, an asteroid mission was the official destination of NASA with respect to human spaceflight. Ken mentions that many of NASA’s current plans for the future of human spaceflight are focused on development of what is currently referred to as the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway. Ken asks Rob to describe the Gateway and the rationale for its construction.

[00:35:29] Mars remains the long-term goal for human spaceflight. But from an engineering and budgetary perspective, Ken says it seems more logical to first return to the moon and that, indeed, the conversation within the agency has shifted back to the Moon. In announcing the agency’s decision to return to the Moon, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said that this time the agency isn’t interested in just leaving flags and footprints on the lunar surface. “This time when we go,” he said, “we’re going to go to stay.” Ken asks Rob to talk about this promising development.

[00:37:33] Dawn mentions that IHMC is working with NASA on designing an exercise machine for human Spaceflight beyond LEO (low-Earth orbit). NASA has known for a long time that astronauts on long-duration spaceflights lose muscle strength and mass as well as bone density because their bodies spend so much time in microgravity. Dawn says that one aspect of this project is that it could end up developing a whole new way of resistance training not only for space flight, but also for here on Earth. She asks Rob if the new technologies for space that he’s working on could also eventually have applications on Earth as well.

[00:40:29] To survive and thrive on Mars, we will need to be able to build landing pads, habitats and roads. Dawn asks Rob to talk about the work that’s being done in this area.

[00:42:42] In addition to the civil engineering requirements that will be needed to enable a sustainable presence on the Moon and eventually Mars, Ken says it makes sense to “live off the land” to the extent possible. In particular, insitupropellant production on the Moon, says Ken, seems intriguing. But given that it can take billions of dollars up front and years to deploy the infrastructure required to produce industrial levels of cryogenic propellants on the moon, Ken asks how can we ever get to the point where we have reusable systems using insituresources when it’s so much cheaper and faster just to use Earth-supplied expendable systems?

[00:49:03] Dawn asks Rob about a partnership Swamp Works has with Astrobotic to develop a micro-rover.

[00:51:11] Ken talks about how on Earth, regolith includes soil, which is a biologically active medium and a key component in plant growth as well as life on Earth. Although regolith also appears on the surfaces of the Moon, Mars and other planets as well as asteroids, their surfaces do not contain soil. But their surfaces do contain other valuable resources. Ken asks Rob to talk about this.

[00:54:12] Dawn asks Rob to talk about the future of space exploration.

[00:57:16] In the just-released movie “First Man,” which is about NASA’s mission to put a man on the moon, there are several scenes of politicians and demonstrators protesting the financial and human cost of going into space and traveling to the moon. She asks Rob to talk about how he responds to people who question the cost and relevance of going to the Moon and beyond.

[01:02:13] Given the current Russian investigation that’s being conducted by Washington’s Robert Mueller, Dawn asks Rob if people are a little less likely to take his phone calls these days.

Links:

Rob Mueller NASA bio

Swamp Works home page

NASA home page

Video: NASA experiments with 3D-printing robots

The Verge: How NASA plans to use lunar dust to build structures on the Moon

“Anatomy of an Epidemic”

Episode 74: Robert Whitaker: the drug-based paradigm of psychiatric care in the U.S.

Today’s guest is a science journalist and author who has written extensively about the pharmaceutical industry. Robert Whitaker is also the founder of Mad in America, a nonprofit organization that focuses on getting people to rethink psychiatric care in the United States.

As you will learn in today’s episode, one in six Americans takes a psychiatric drug. More than 130,000 children under the age of five are taking addictive anti-anxiety drugs prescribed by doctors.

Whitaker has spent most of his career focused on changing the current drug-based paradigm of psychiatric care in the U.S. He has written three books about the pharmaceutical industry and the psychiatric profession. He has looked at how drugs used for depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are causing a spike in America’s disability numbers. He also has investigated the history of medications prescribed for these disorders, how they are marketed, and why they’ve grown in popularity.

Discover magazine named Whitaker’s first book, “Mad in America,” one of the best science books of 2002. His second book, “Anatomy of an Epidemic,” won the 2010 Investigative Reporters and Editors book award for best investigative journalism. His third book, “Psychiatry Under the Influence,” is a textbook used in university classrooms around the country.

In today’s interview, we discuss:

[00:11:08] When Robert first became disillusioned with the pharmaceutical industry
[00:16:53] How Robert’s investigation into schizophrenia in the U.S. led him to write his first book, “Mad In America.”
[00:26:58] Why the U.S. has seen such a sharp increase in the number of disabled, mentally ill people since the advent of psychotropic medications.
[00:45:10] How many drugs may have efficacy in clinical trials over the short term, but overwhelming evidence shows over the long term many medications actually increase a person’s risk of becoming chronically ill and functionally impaired.
[01:00:43] Robert’s investigation into the FDA’s review of studies that looked at Prozac
[01:03:38] Antidepressants and their side effects.
[01:08:40] How concerns over ADHD have led to an alarming percentage of children, especially boys, being drugged for exhibiting what once considered normal or at least acceptable behavior.
And much more.

Show notes:

[00:02:24] Robert talks about growing up in Denver and taking family vacations around the country.

[00:03:48] Robert explains how in high school he was so convinced he was going to attend Stanford University that he didn’t bother to apply to another college.

[00:05:48] Dawn mentions that Robert graduated with a degree in English literature and after college decided he wanted to lead a life of adventure. Dawn asks him where that career path took him.

[00:07:11] Robert talks about abandoning his dream of becoming a novelist and taking a job at a small newspaper in upstate New York.

[00:08:51] Dawn points out that Robert eventually went to work for a newspaper in Albany, N.Y., where he became a medical writer. She asks him about the year he spent as a Knight Science Journalism fellow at MIT.

[00:09:50] Ken asks Robert about moving to Boston and becoming director of publications at Harvard Medical School.

[00:11:08] Robert talks about co-founding CenterWatch, a publishing company focused on the business of clinical drug trials. He describes how he became disillusioned with the pharmaceutical industry because it seemed to him that clinical trials had become so commercialized that they were corrupting the testing of new drugs.

[00:13:44] Ken mentions that during this period, Robert came upon information about abuses of psychiatric patients in research settings. Ken asks Robert to share how he took this information and went to the Boston Globe to propose a newspaper series.

[00:16:53] Dawn describes how the work Robert did for this series in the Boston Globe led him to information that schizophrenics in the U.S. were faring worse than patients in the world’s poorest countries. Dawn asks Robert to talk about how this information led him to write his first book, “Mad In America.”

[00:19:42] After “Mad In America,” Robert became convinced that much of the information medical professionals were sharing with the mainstream press was out of sync with the science. Robert describes a scene in the movie “A Beautiful Mind” that he says illustrates this sort of misinformation.

[00:21:43] Ken asks Robert about the criticism he received after the publication of “Mad In America.”

[00:23:30] Dawn mentions that even though Robert had decided not to write another book about psychiatry, he started looking at disability numbers and became curious as to why there was an extraordinary rise in the number of people in the U.S. going on disability. Dawns asks Robert about the book that came about because of that curiosity, “Anatomy of an Epidemic.”

[00:26:58] Ken points out that the book investigates why the U.S. has seen such a sharp increase in the number of disabled, mentally ill people since the advent of psychotropic medications. Ken asks Robert about the mix of causes that has led to this increase.

[00:35:00] Ken says that it seems that psychiatry’s expanded diagnostic boundaries have meant that many more people are deemed mentally ill. Ken points out that almost anyone can identify themselves in the voluminous “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,” which runs something like 950 pages and describes more than 300 maladies. Ken asks Robert if just being human is enough for people to identify themselves somewhere in the book.

[00:43:33] Ken asks Robert about the financial disincentives to go off disability and return to work.

[00:45:10] Dawn asks Robert to talk about how drugs may have efficacy in clinical trials over the short term, but there is overwhelming evidence that over the long term these medications actually increase a person’s risk of becoming chronically ill and functionally impaired.

[00:52:29] Ken asks Robert about the textbook he co-wrote, “Psychiatry Under the Influence,” which takes a deep dive into the behavior of the American Psychiatric Association.

[00:57:57] Dawn asks Robert about the clinical trials for alprazolam, which Upjohn eventually marketed as Xanax. She asks Robert about the problems the drug created that never seemed to make it into the mainstream media.

[01:00:43] Dawn asks Robert about his investigation into the FDA’s review of studies that looked at Prozac.

[01:02:15] Ken mentions that after Prozac, Pfizer created sertraline, which is sold as Zoloft. Ken asks Robert to talk about how Zoloft failed to produce a better result than a placebo in four of the six trials that Pfizer submitted to the FDA.

[01:03:38] Dawn asks Robert to talk about antidepressants and their side effects.

[01:05:56] Ken points out that Robert has often commented that if you pour antidepressants into a society the way we do in the U.S., thatyou can expect an increase in violence and homicides. Ken asks Robert to expand on this.

[01:08:40] Ken says it seems we have an epidemic of ADHD and that an alarming percentage of children, especially boys, seem to be drugged for exhibiting what was once considered normal or at least acceptable behavior. There have always been kids who were rowdy, says Ken, boys who couldn’t sit still, goofed off or displayed other less than ideal behaviors. But, Ken adds, we did not drug them, and the vast majority turned out just fine. Ken asks Robert if he has looked into this.

[01:12:08] Dawn wraps up the interview by asking Robert if he has finally followed his agent’s advice to not write another book about psychiatry, or if he is working on another one.

Links:

Mad in America website

Robert Whitaker bio

“Mad in America” book

“Psychiatry Under the Influence”

Robert Whitaker Amazon page