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?

On this episode we learn about a tool called CRISPR-GPT, which uses AI to help scientists design gene edits and tackle some of the challenges of treating rare diseases. We also confront the many ethical considerations that these technologies raise. Listen in as geneticist Dr. Le Cong and bioethicist Dr. Mohammed Hosseini join Kaylee to explore the possibilities – and pitfalls – of putting this much computational power to work on our body’s building blocks.

Who gets to use these tools? How do we keep them safe? And when it comes to AI and genomics, should we… slow our roll?
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Highlights
05:51- CRISPR-GPT: Your AI Gene-Editing Assistant
19:21- Could We Bring Back the Neanderthals?
23:36- When Science Needs a Safety Catch

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Sources
CRISPR-GPT Turns Novice Scientists into Gene Editing Experts
A plea for caution and guidance about using AI in genomics
Mohammad Hosseini: Should AI be used to resurrect extinct species like the Neanderthal?

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.

In this episode, Ty Sperle takes us through his own story of being cured of a rare disease called chronic granulomatous disease while his doctor, Dr. Stuart Turvey gives Kaylee the 411 on the science behind Ty’s treatment – and what it could mean for rare diseases more broadly. We also make a stop at the PrimeSight Lab, where researchers are exploring how prime editing could help bring the world into focus for people with inherited vision loss.

For a treatment that once sounded like science fiction, could prime editing be a glimpse of the future of medicine?

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Highlights
00:01 - Ty’s World-First Cure
07:11 - Inside the Prime Editing Revolution
23:43 - Can Prime Editing Restore Sight?

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Sources
First-in-world BC patient successfully treated for rare immune disease
B.C. teen cured of rare disease
Future Perspectives of Prime Editing for the Treatment of Inherited Retinal Diseases

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?

In this episode, Dr. Kaylee Byers takes us through the history of birth control – from silk condoms to beaver testicles – before heading back to high school bio for a good old-fashioned male anatomy lesson. Then, urologist Dr. Premal Patel walks us through the current options for males (spoiler alert: not a lot), and endocrinologist Dr. Stephanie Page gives us the lowdown on some of the promising gels, pills, injections and other methods that could finally change the game.

So hit play for some sexy science– from vasectomies, to genomics and infertility research, to reproductive equity for all.

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Highlights
2:18 - The wacky history of contraceptive methods
7:54 - Breaking down misconceptions of vasectomies
18:29 - A gel and a frontrunner for male birth control

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Sources
The History and Future of Birth Control - Live Science
World Contraception Day: 10 of history’s most horrible contraceptives - BBC
Breakthrough takes big step toward safe, reversible male contraception - Cornell

If you’ve ever watched the TV show Survivor, you know the rules: outwit, outplay, outlast.

But in the animal kingdom, Survivor isn’t a game– in a very real way, it’s adapt, or…

And as climate change intensifies and human disasters reshape the environment, animals are being forced to come up with new ways to cope- fast!

In this season 6 premiere, host Dr. Kaylee Byers explores some winning (and losing) survival strategies. First up, wildlife biologist Dr. Kendall Calhoun takes us into the aftermath of wildfires to see how different animals are adapting to an ever-changing landscape. Then, evolutionary biologist Dr. Cara Love brings us to her work in Chernobyl, where a population of wolves is living a radioactive life– and their genomes could even offer clues for cancer treatment.

Highlights
04:58 Deer vs. Squirrels – Who’s Built to Survive a Wildfire?
12:27 Barry the Bear – The 500-Pound Bear Who Moved In After a Fire
19:57 Chernobyl’s wolves – Survival in a Radioactive World


Sources
FACT SHEET: Climate change and wildfires - Climate Institute
Movement behavior in a dominant ungulate underlies successful adjustment to a rapidly changing landscape following megafire - Movement Ecology
40 Years After Chernobyl, Wolves May Be Adapting to Live With Radiation - Science Alert
Signatures of Radiation-Induced Stress and Putative Selection on Immune Targets in Chornobyl Wolves - Molecular Ecology
Surviving in a poisoned land: Chernobyl's wildlife is different, but not in the ways you might think - BBC
What We Know About the Chernobyl Animal Mutations - ThoughtCo.

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?!

Well, get ready, because while we’ve been busy living our lives, genomics has been moving – fast! Things that once read like science fiction are moving on over to the non-fiction section.

This season on Nice Genes!, join Dr. Kaylee Byers as she engages in some big genomics breakthroughs – from personalized cancer treatments, to how our bodies react in space, to how animals adapt to the most extreme environments, and whether we can actually change how we age.

It’s a whole new gene-eration (if you will) of discoveries that you won’t want to miss!
New episodes every two weeks, starting September 8th. Make sure you follow Nice Genes! so you don’t miss an episode!