Forum

In this episode of Forum, Chief Editor Barbara Cheifet speaks with Madeline Lancaster and Sergiu Pasca about organoids – cell cultures derived from stem cells and crafted to replicate a particular organ or certain cell types that make up an organ. These two experts in the field discuss neural organoids specifically, and how they are being used to study both basic biology of the brain and their future impacts on disease research.

On this episode, our Associate Editor Cláudia Vilhena interviews Sean Johnson, the first author of a timely and great story on how to experimentally evaluate the performance of AI-generated enzymes.Sean and Cláudia discussed the timely topic of AI for protein design and the implications for future research, and also touched base on how it was to transition from academia to industry.For those who are interested in protein functionality, this episode is for you!

On this episode of From Bench to Podcast, our Associate Editor Cláudia Vilhena interviews Roman Sarrazin-Gendron, first author of an absolutely incredible story about...videogames!During this informal chat, Roman and Cláudia talked about the behind the scenes of Boderlands Science. They explored the concepts of Citizen Science, Massively Multiplayer Online Video Games, and the impact of community work on gathering data about our microbiome.For those that love microbiology and/or video games, and wish to know how these two worlds merge, this episode is for you!Check out the trailer and spot the famous actress!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_mH6Ak_Ny0&t=5s

On this episode, Chief Editor Barbara Cheifet speaks with Polina Anikeeva from MIT, Grégoire Courtine from EPFL, and Jocelyn Bloch, a neurosurgeon at Lausanne University Hospital. These three leaders in the field of neurotechnologies discuss new devices that help us learn how our brain works, implantable brain-computer interfaces that are helping patients with neurological disorders walk again, and why this field is so exciting today.

In this episode, our Associate Editor Cláudia Vilhena talks with three authors of the method Starfysh, a computational toolbox combining spatial transcriptomics and histology data.During their chat, Siyu, Yinou and Lingling, all at different stages of their academic path, dig into the layers of Starfysh and its relevance for cancer research. They also share the struggles of peer review, the wonders of collaborative work and how this experience shaped their, sure-to-be fantastic, academic careers.

On our very first episode of the new podcast series from Nature Biotechnology, our Associate Editor Cláudia Vilhena interviews Marcus Walker, first author of a fantastic story on engineered bacteria used to stain textiles.With an informal and honest touch, Marcus and Cláudia dive into the behind the scenes of the paper. From the inspiration to combine microbiology and fashion, passing by what went wrong at the bench, all the way to the economical and environmental implications of living biomaterials.For all those who struggle with measuring optical density, this episode is for you!

For our special Focus Issue, Chief Editor Barbara Cheifet talks with Charlotte Deane and Gevorg Grigoryan about applying new machine learning methods to protein structure prediction and protein design. We discuss exciting new technologies and their current and future clinical applications.

Microscopy methods today are enabling researchers to see small details within cells, previously undetectable by light microscopy. Chief Editor Barbara Cheifet speaks with Drs. Ed Boyden and Johann Danzl about the technological advances and challenges in the fields of super resolution and expansion microscopy.