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BioPOD

BioPOD

BioPod Edinburgh

Explore the edges of known biology and meet the people - a podcast direct from the PhD students at the heart of university research. BioPOD is the official podcast from the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Edinburgh.
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Top 10 BioPOD Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best BioPOD episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to BioPOD for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite BioPOD episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

BioPOD - Living the PhD Life
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02/02/22 • 38 min

In this extra special episode, 5 different PhD students at different stages discuss their own unique PhD journey. We hear from the recent graduate Miguel (@mcueva89) about how his career plans changed during the highs and lows of his experience. Rist discusses how he dealt with getting scooped – and how he experienced fatherhood at the same time. Joan (@JoanCortadaGar) moved with his supervisor from Glasgow to Edinburgh in the midst of his second year and talks about the impact this had on his research. We hear from Lindsay what it was like to have children during her PhD and how working part-time has helped her with that. Finally, Liz (@LizGaberdiel) discusses the benefits and difficulties of moving to a new discipline when starting her PhD.

Interviewing and editing by Sam Haynes @youvegotmyname.

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In this episode of our four-part vaccine 15-minute miniseries, biopodder Chris Donohoe interviews Dr. Thomas Williams on how to track and tackle the different COVID variants.
edited by Apple Chew (Yen Peng) media and art by Hanna Peach

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How can we produce useful materials from Bacteria? Today we have PhD Student Jack Suitor to tell us how we can modify bacteria against their own nature to act as mini-factories to convert guaiacol, a paper industry byproduct, to adipic acid, a key component of Nylon production that is otherwise produced from oil!
Our CODA is a special dive into microbiology with our resident microbiologist Hanna Peach.

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This episode is about the use of synthetic organisms to produce pharmaceuticals and other high-value products.

Preceding the development of synthetic drugs in the 18th and 19th centuries, medicine relied on the use of products found in nature. It is not surprising even nowadays that a lot of drug discovery undertaken by the pharmaceutical industry incorporates compounds found in nature. Biotechnology offers the opportunity to create these same natural products in large quantities, in a sustainable manner.

In order to do that, bioscientists can take genes for metabolic pathways that create a specific compound with human health benefits from plant genomes and replicate them in microorganisms such as bacteria and yeast. These modified microbes can now be used as factories to sustainably and efficiently produce the drug of interest in the lab or in a controlled industrial environment.

To help us understand this topic a bit better and the potential advantages and challenges of this technology, Joan Cortada-Carcia interviewed Dr. Tessa Moses, a former postdoc in the Rosser lab group at the University of Edinburgh and current head of metabolomics at the university’s mass spectrometry facility called Edinomics. Media by Hanna Peach.
#BioPod #BiologyPodcast #SciencePodcast #SyntheticBiology #SynBio #SynthSys

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Ep 7: Crops, Robots and Rolling Pins featuring PhD student @TaraCanelaWight interviewed by @donohoho has dropped! Happy weekend curious beings!

Stay tuned until the end to hear our resident microbiologist Hanna Peach's story of the rich history of whisky in Scotland + zero waste uses for whisky waste: MiAlgae, Celtic Renewables.

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Completing his PhD in geomicrobiology at the UK centre for astrobiology, Dr Samuels investigated the extreme conditions that microbes can live in such as shale cliffs and acid mine draining sites. Now a post-doctoral research associate at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology Dr Samuels researches the adaptation of Southern Ocean plankton to ocean warming.
Our very own Verity Hill interviews Dr Toby Samuels about a recently started experiment expected to run for 500 years. Dr Toby Samuels is interested in the ability of certain microbes, called cyanobacteria, to survive in the most extreme of conditions. An experiment he is involved in consists of two separate chests consisting of vials containing an exact number of dormant cells. At regular intervals over the next 500 years the vials will be carefully opened and the number of cells alive and active will be counted. The depth of the ability of these microbes to survive or even thrive in these conditions is still unknown. Dr Samuels introduces us to the origins and the far reaching (think Martian) implications of the experiment.
This episode concludes by celebrating the long overdue awarding of degrees to the first female medical graduates in the UK, nicknamed the Edinburgh Seven. We focus on the inspiration life and work of Chrystal Macmillian who followed in the footsteps of the Edinburgh Seven to become the first female science graduate, graduating with a degree in mathematics in 1896.

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BioPOD is back with an episode on Smartphone Biosensors and the importance of Synthetic Biology in today's global landscape. This episode focuses on a fluorescent bacterial biosensor that quantifies levels of toxic arsenic in the environment and connects to a smartphone. Stay tuned for this episode where we interview Dr Baojun Wang and Dr Xinyi Wan from the Synthetic Biological Engineering Lab at the University of Edinburgh. This lab specializes in engineering bacteria to act as biosensors which are applied to monitor toxic metal concentrations in the environment.

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With many PhD students interested in alternative career pathways in science, we are keen to explore and demystify the world of scientific publishing. In this episode, Severina Marija Pociunaite talks to Dr Manuel Breuer, a deputy editor at Springer Nature, about his journey into scientific publishing. In particular, they explore the diversity of the role, how scientific publishing has changed in recent years, and advice for scientists preparing and submitting their manuscripts to improve their chances of acceptance.

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BioPOD - Academia Through Time
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08/30/22 • 50 min

In this unique episode, Hend and Julie chat with scientists at different career stages and backgrounds about changes that have been happening in Academia over the years. We hear from Prof. Jim Kaufman and Dr Nisha Philip of the Institute of Immunology and Infection Research, and Prof. Loeske Kruuk, and Dr Helen Alexander of the Institute of Ecology and Evolution. How was Academia when these scientists began their careers and how have their lived experiences shaped who they are now as academics? What are their thoughts on the “two-body problem” in Academia? What advice can they give to academics who are also trying to carve their own scientific careers? We hear about their answers to these questions and more.
Although the qualities of being a scientist are still the same, the world of Academia has changed. Things like collaboration has become more prominent. Working with colleagues across the world has become easier with technology. Awareness for mental health and work environments has also been given considerable focus. On the negative side, the biggest challenges for current academics are job and financial security. Diversity in available careers should be highlighted: not everyone wishes to be a Principal Investigator so training for these alternate career paths should be highlighted.

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FAQ

How many episodes does BioPOD have?

BioPOD currently has 57 episodes available.

What topics does BioPOD cover?

The podcast is about Life Sciences, University, Research, Microbiology, Natural Sciences, Medicine, Podcasts, Technology, Science, Communication and Biology.

What is the most popular episode on BioPOD?

The episode title 'iGEM2022 Petalution - How to clean our water using synthetic biology' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on BioPOD?

The average episode length on BioPOD is 35 minutes.

How often are episodes of BioPOD released?

Episodes of BioPOD are typically released every 33 days.

When was the first episode of BioPOD?

The first episode of BioPOD was released on Apr 25, 2019.

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