BioHackers Podcast

Welcome to Episode 3 of the BioHackers Podcast!

In this episode, David and Alex welcome Ben Sherman to the show. Together, they discuss the role of AI in finding patterns in data, the magic of workflows, image analytics, the top 3 skills of a computational scientist, and how to become a Groovy coder.

Watch the Video Podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Q5kSRbg2w1M

Here is a list of topics:

• Welcome to Episode 3 (00:00)
• AI Eyes Find Patterns in Data (02:45)
• Feltus + GTA + AI = Tumor Genomics (06:00)
• Welcome Ben to the Show (07:30)
• How Did You Get into AI and Bioscience? (11:32)
• Magic of Workflows | Ben’s Dream Job (15:30)
• Workflow Managers = Next Generation of Code (18:28)
• How Hard is it to Use Workflow Managers? (21:14)
• “Groovy” Nextflow Programming Language (25:49)
• Nextflow Tower is an Onramp to the Cloud (29:38)
• BioScience Research is Troubleshooting (31:50)
• AI Applications for BioSciences (36:04)
• Image Analytics is Common Denominator for AI Applications (46:04)
• Top 3 Skills to become a Computational Scientist (48:09)
• What is a BioHacker to You? (54:30)

Enjoy the Show!

Welcome to Episode 2 of the BioHackers Podcast!

In this episode, David and Alex welcome Reed Bender to the show. Together, they discuss creative ways for science to help find order in life’s randomness, including chaos theory, yoga’s role in biosciences, single cell RNA sequencing, democratized compute, sonic brain interactions, and holistic approaches to cancer research. It is a lot of FUN!

Watch the Video Podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/k6g3l8ZI-VM

Here is a list of topics:

• Welcome to Episode 2 (00:00)
• What is Chaos Theory? (00:44)
• The Order of Life’s Randomness (02:30)
• Welcome Guest: Reed Bender (05:39)
• Integrating Yoga and BioSciences (09:26)
• BioHackathon (13:40)
• Chaos Theory in BioSciences (14:45)
• Can BioHackers Disintermediate Science and Medicine? (18:21)
• What is Single Cell RNA Sequencing? (24:41)
• How to Achieve Democratized Compute (31:52)
• Is Compute a Fundamental Service? (35:08)
• Is Discord a Good Model for Democratized Compute? (38:24)
• Currency Mining and the Development of Compute-based Biology Research (43:43)
• Holistic Perspective Toward Cancer Research (48:00)
• Universe as a Cloud (50:10)
• Sound and the Brain (52:57)
• What is a Biohacker to You? (1:01:05)
• Closing Comments (1:04:45)

Enjoy the Show!

Welcome to Episode 7 of the BioHackers Podcast!

In this episode, David and Alex welcome space biologist Josh Vandenbrink to the show. Together, they discuss the James Webb Space Telescope, heliotropism, overcoming the challenges of space science, NASA GeneLab, Arabidopsis, the Praxis Pyramid, and feeding colonists on Mars.

Watch the Video Podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/mK3uMV0_PAY

Here is a list of topics:

• Welcome to Episode 7 (00:00)
• James Webb Space Telescope (01:37)
• Perspective = Outer Space + Inner Space (06:30)
• Welcome Josh to the Show (09:48)
• Josh’s Story in Biosciences (14:23)
• Josh’s Clemson Adventure (18:48)
• Space and Plant Heliotropism (21:01)
• Feeding Colonists on Mars (25:00)
• NASA GenLab: Mice & Rice (28:00)
• When Are You Visiting the Space Station? (35:23)
• Golden Age of Space Science (43:02)
• Josh is a Space V.I.P. (49:20)
• Major in What You Love ... and Learn Python (56:23)
• Interdisciplinary Nature of Bioinformatics (01:05:25)
• What is a BioHacker to You? (01:08:55)

Enjoy the Show!

Welcome to Episode 6 of the BioHackers Podcast!

In this episode, David and Alex welcome Courtney Shearer from Harvard Medical School. Together, they discuss Courtney’s journey from Clemson to Crispr to Harvard, the power of biohacking, the joy of interdisciplinary collaboration, the Zen of running, virtual research in biotechnology, and the best way to learn new skills.

Watch the Video Podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/bpHI-ODEI8A

Here is a list of topics:

• Welcome to Episode 6 (00:00)
• Alex’s Experience with Hackathons (03:39)
• Upcoming BioHackers BioHackathons (05:09)
• Welcome Courtney to the Show (06:10)
• Courtney’s Time at Clemson (07:17)
• Courtney’s Time in Industry (10:45)
• Courtney’s Lab (13:14)
• What Are BioHackathons? (17:08)
• Collaboration as an Educational Goal (22:35)
• Navigating a Spectrum of Skills to Solve Problems (27:30)
• Is the Hackathon the Ideal Model for New Skill Acquisition? (31:14)
• Virtual Hackathons (35:12)
• Courtney’s Favorite Hackathon Experience (38:24)
• Alex’s Favorite Hackathon Experience (40:05)
• What is Courtney’s Plan After Her PhD? (45:45)
• What is a BioHacker to You? (47:57)
• Closing Thoughts (50:03)

Enjoy the Show!

Welcome to Episode 5 of the BioHackers Podcast!

In this episode, David and Alex welcome famous inventor and systems theorist Ken Matusow to the show. Together, they discuss the emergence of quantum mechanics as a tool for curing cancer, the power of imaginary numbers, the New Renaissance, quantum weirdness, and valuable life lessons learned from Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy.

Watch the Video Podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/isBLpZwArgc

Here is a list of topics:

• Welcome to Episode 5 (00:00)
• Complexity: The New Renaissance (01:32)
• How Can Quantum Mechanics Explain Biology? (06:21)
• Welcome Ken to the Show (09:50)
• Ken’s Story: Serendipity and Silicon Valley (11:50)
• The New Renaissance and Deeper Truth (18:05)
• Quantum Mechanics as a Tool for Curing Cancer (25:14)
• Tricorder: 4-Dimensional Tools to Understand Complexity (35:10)
• Foundation 2022: Paper 1 – Uncertainty (39:25)
• Quantum Weirdness: Nature Isn’t Weird (44:29)
• The New Renaissance: Education Transformation (47:26)
• Foundation 2022: Paper 2 – Nentropy (54:47)
• How To Roll 20,000 Dice (01:00:47)
• Foundation 2022: Paper 3 – Predicate (01:07:01)
• Psychohistory: Ability to Understand our New Reality (01:12:45)
• Supercomputer-powered Systems Biology (01:14:40)
• What is a BioHacker to You? (01:19:20)
• Closing Thoughts (01:24:00)

Enjoy the Show!
Link to Alex’s Paper on Quantum Mechanics in Cancer: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29802335/