Show Notes
What genomics can tell us about food safety, the microbiome, and the mind.
You’ve heard the saying, “you are what you eat”... Well, our gut microbes take that very literally. If you’ve ever gone on vacation, eaten something tasty, and next thing you find yourself bonding with a bathroom floor, you’re not alone. Food poisoning might occasionally make for a good story later, but it’s a serious issue that lands millions of people in hospitals every year– and tracing the culprit isn’t always as simple as pointing at last night’s tacos.
In this episode, Dr. Kaylee Byers chats with microbiologist Dr. Lawrence Goodridge, who explains how genomics helps track foodborne outbreaks – from the harmful bacteria in our food to the microbes living inside us. Then, Dr. Mary Sco. dives into the science of the gut-brain connection, revealing how your gut and brain are constantly in conversation.
So grab a snack, and get ready to stomach the science.
Highlights
(4:00) The bacteria behind food poisoning (10:13) How genomics helps track foodborne outbreaks (16:35) The microbiome in all its glory, and the gut-brain connection (23:59) Some poo-ticular scientific treatments
–
Resources
1. Yearly food-borne illness estimates for Canada- Government of Canada 2. Salmonella Syst-OMICS – Salmonella Syst-OMICS Consortium 3. Hack Your Health- The Secrets of Your Gut Health- Netflix 4. Probiotics: 100 years (1907-2007) after Elie Metchnikoff's Observation- Research Gate 5. Revisiting Metchnikoff: Age-related alterations in microbiota-gut-brain axis in the mouse- Brain, Behavior, and Immunity 6. Intragastric infection of germfree and conventional mice with Salmonella typhimurium- NIH 7. A randomised controlled trial of dietary improvement for adults with major depression (the ‘SMILES’ trial)- BMC Medicine 8. Pick fecal microbiota transplantation to enhance therapy for major depressive disorder- Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry
More from Nice Genes!
Artificial Intelligence has gone from science fiction to something that is almost impossible to avoid in the day-to-day. But what happens when AI intersects with our DNA?
Many rare genetic diseases are caused by a “typo” in our DNA. For most, fixing that spelling mistake has been out of reach. But a recent clinical trial has changed everything, opening up the door for possible cures we never thought were possible through a cutting-edge gene-editing tool called prime editing.
For the past 25 years, we’ve been hearing that male contraceptives are just a few years away. And then a few more… and then some more after that. So for something that has been in development for such a long time, what is with the hold up?
If you’ve ever watched the TV show Survivor, you know the rules: outwit, outplay, outlast.
Have you heard about the radioactive wolves in Chernobyl? Or the latest gene-editing tech that’s curing rare diseases? Or that male birth control might be on the horizon? No?!