Touching Base

Episode 19 (April 26, 2024): This week, the GEN editors celebrated DNA Day by sharing some stories about their favorite observations and applications of DNA research. Featuring Kevin Davies, PhD (Editorial Director, GEN), John Sterling (Editor in Chief, GEN), Uduak Thomas (Senior Editor, GEN), Alex Philippidis (Senior Business Editor, GEN), Fay Lin, PhD (Senior Editor, GEN Biotechnology), Jonathan Grinstein, PhD (Senior Editor, GEN), and moderated by Corinna Singleman, PhD (Managing Editor, GEN and IPM). Listed below are key references to the GEN stories, media, and other items discussed in this episode of Touching Base: The Life and Times of Rosalind FranklinGEN Webinar presented by Matthew Cobb, PhD, Oct 16, 2020. "Life Story" BBC film (1987). Nobel Winner Svante Pӓӓbo Discovered the Neandertal in Our GenesBy Daniela Mocker, Scientific American, Oct 4, 2022. “Svante Pӓӓbo, reader of the Neanderthal genome”Wielgus, Danielewski, and Walkowiak, Acta Physiol, Nov 23, 2022. Colossal’s Woolly Mammoth Project Advances as Elephant iPSCs Clear MilestonesGEN, Mar 7, 2024. The State of Omics 2024GEN Summit. “Genetic Ancestry Testing What is it and Why is it Important?”Jorde and Bamshad, JAMA, Mar 27, 2020. A Leading Cause of Autism Spectrum Disorders May Be Prevented by Novel ApproachGEN, May 21, 2023. AI Finds Autism-Causing Mutations in “Junk” DNAGEN, May 28, 2024. Pollution and Stress Alter Brain Development and Social Behavior in Male MiceGEN, Aug 3, 2022. “Mechanistic Basis of Resistance to PCBs in Atlantic Tomcod from the Hudson River”Wirgin, et al., Science, Mar 11, 2011.

Episode 18 (April 19, 2024):    Biology’s exploding data streams continue to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) tools to streamline drug development. How do we define AI in drug discovery? Who are notable players in the space? How do humans fit into these growing computational pipelines?   This week, Jonathan Grinstein, PhD (Senior Editor, GEN) and Fay Lin, PhD (Senior Editor, GEN Biotechnology) unpack one of the fastest growing topics in the biotech field, AI in drug discovery.  Listed below are key references to the GEN stories, media, and other items discussed in this episode of Touching Base:  The Difference Is the Data: Drug Discovery’s AI Revolution By Fay Lin, PhD, GEN Biotechnology, April 18, 2024  Archimedes’ Box: Diagonal Therapeutics Raises $128 Million to Discover Agonist Antibodies By Jonathan Grinstein, PhD, GEN Edge, April 3, 2024  Generate:Biomedicines Raises Largest Biotech Series C of 2023 By Jonathan Grinstein, PhD, GEN Edge, September 14, 2023  Alex Zhavoronkov Aims to Take Over the Drug Development World with AI By Jonathan Grinstein, PhD, GEN Edge, June 20, 2023  Diffusion Evolution: New Artificial intelligence Models Break Barriers in Protein DesignBy Fay Lin, PhD, GEN Biotechnology, October 16, 2023

Episode 17 (April 12, 2024):    This week, the GEN editors discuss the launch of Nvelop Therapeutics, a new start-up leveraging approaches developed by gene editing pioneers David Liu, PhD, and J. Keith Joung, MD, PhD, to advance delivery of genetic cargo. The GEN editors also recap highlights from the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting held in San Diego, California.  Featuring Uduak Thomas (Senior Editor, GEN), Alex Philippidis (Senior Business Editor, GEN), Julianna LeMieux, PhD (Deputy Editor-in-Chief, GEN), and Jonathan Grinstein, PhD (Senior Editor, GEN), and moderated by Fay Lin, PhD (Senior Editor, GEN Biotechnology)  Listed below are key references to the GEN stories, media, and other items discussed in this episode of Touching Base:   The State of Omics 2024 Registration  GEN Summit   Cloaking Device: Liu, Joung Launch $100M Nvelop Therapeutics to Advance Delivery of Genetic Cargo By Alex Philippidis, GEN Edge, April 9, 2024  Bertozzi, Regev, and More Inspire During the Opening Plenary Session of AACR By Julianna LeMieux, PhD, GEN, April 8, 2024  AACR 2024: Aviv Regev Shows How Single-Cell Atlases Foster New Axis to Genentech’s Drug Discovery By Jonathan Grinstein, PhD, GEN, April 8, 2024  AACR 2024: A Video Update from San Diego By Julianna LeMieux, PhD, and Jonathan Grinstein, PhD, GEN, April 8, 2024  A Video Update from Day Two of the AACR Meeting By Julianna LeMieux, PhD, and Jonathan Grinstein, PhD, GEN, April 9, 2024  AACR 2024: EpiBiologics Advances Degraders of Membrane-Bound Proteins By Jonathan Grinstein, PhD, GEN, April 8, 2024  Celebrating National Robotics WeekBy Uduak Thomas, GEN, April 12, 2024

Episode 16 (April 5, 2024): This week, the GEN editors discussed deep proteome profiling of home-sampled dried blood spots to assess the effects of SARS-CoV-2 in mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic, rapid liquid nitrogen treatment for converting tumor cells into carriers for gene editing tools that target cancer in vivo, Verve Therapeutics’ pausing of a clinical trial due to a serious adverse event, Iambic Therapeutics’ advancement of its first AI-designed candidate into the clinic, and the launch of Diagonal Therapeutics to find agonist antibodies for heteromeric receptor complexes. Featuring Uduak Thomas (Senior Editor, GEN), Alex Philippidis (Senior Business Editor, GEN), Jonathan Grinstein, PhD, (Senior Editor, GEN), and moderated by Corinna Singleman, PhD, (Managing Editor, GEN and IPM) Listed below are key references to the GEN stories, media, and other items discussed in this episode of Touching Base: The State of Omics 2024 Registration GEN Summit COVID-19 Infections Detected in Dried Blood Spots via At-Home Proteomic ProfilingBy GEN, April 2, 2024. CRISPR-Cas9 Targets Lung Cancer Using Cryo-Shocked Tumor CellsBy GEN, March 31, 2024. Iambic Rhythm: AI Drug Developer Enters the Clinic, Targeting HER2 CancersBy Alex Philipidis, GEN, April 3, 2024. Archimedes' Box: Diagonal Therapeutics Raises $128 Million to Discover Agonist AntibodiesBy Jonathan D. Grinstein, PhD, GEN Edge, April 3, 2024.

Episode 15 (March 29, 2024): From the expansion of Nvidia's generative artificial intelligence (AI) platform for drug discovery to AI notetakers that coach doctors to be more human, the GEN editors discuss the latest news in AI from two conferences in California: Nvidia GTC (San Jose) and Precision Med TRI-CON (San Diego). Featuring Alex Philippidis (Senior Business Editor, GEN), Fay Lin, PhD (Senior Editor, GEN Biotechnology), Jonathan D. Grinstein, PhD (Senior Editor, GEN), moderated by Corinna Singleman, PhD (Managing Editor, GEN and IPM). Listed below are key references to the GEN stories, media, and other items discussed in this episode of Touching Base: GTC 2024: Nvidia Highlights AI ‘Revolution’ in Drug Discovery, GenomicsBy Alex Philippidis, GEN, March 19, 2024. GTC 2024: Nvidia’s Quantum Expansion Runs through the CloudBy Alex Philippidis, GEN, March 20, 2024. Machines Bring Efficiency…and Empathy? Eric Topol Talks AI in Precision MedicineBy Fay Lin, PhD, GEN Edge, March 28, 2024.

Episode 14 (March 22, 2024): This week, the GEN editors cover identifying receptors and proteins for cellular uptake and intracellular processing of nanoparticles, and a new mRNA structure by adding multiple “tails” to the molecules that boosted mRNA activity levels in cells by 5 to 20 times.  Featuring Jonathan D. Grinstein, PhD, (Senior Editor, GEN), Uduak Thomas (Senior Editor, GEN), and moderated by Fay Lin, PhD, (Senior Editor, GEN Biotechnology)    Listed below are key references to the GEN stories, media, and other items discussed in this episode of Touching Base:   Nanoparticle Uptake Screen Informs Nanomedicine Design By GEN, March 19, 2024.   mRNA Therapeutics May Act Longer If Given Multiple TailsBy GEN, March 22, 2024 

 Episode 13 (March 15, 2024): This week, the GEN editors discussed business news from NanoString, Curio, and Cellares. Featuring Alex Philippidis (Senior Business Editor, GEN), Uduak Thomas (Senior Editor, GEN), Jonathan Grinstein, PhD, (Senior Editor, GEN), and moderated by Corinna Singleman, PhD, (Managing Editor, GEN and IPM). Listed below are key references to the GEN stories, media, and other items discussed in this episode of Touching Base: The State of Omics 2024 Registration GEN Summit NanoString Agrees to be Acquired by Investment Firm for $220MBy GEN, March 11, 2024. Curio Begins Testing Commercial Spatial Barcoding Technology for Single Cell SequencingBy GEN, March 12, 2024 Cellares Unveils Clinically-Compliant Cell Therapy Manufacturing PlatformBy Jonathan D. Grinstein, PhD, GEN, March 12, 2024

Episode 12 (March 8, 2024): Featuring Julianna LeMieux (Deputy Editor-in-Chief, GEN), Uduak Thomas (Senior Editor, GEN), and Alex Philippidis (Senior Business Editor, GEN), moderated by Fay Lin (Senior Editor, GEN Biotechnology) This week, the GEN editors cover a recent interview with the Lost Women of Science, advances in delivery with lipid nanoparticles, Novo Nordisk’s expansion in the Boston area, and how organoids derived from amniotic fluid show promise for understanding fetal diseases. Listed below are key references to the GEN stories, media, and other items discussed in this episode of Touching Base: At Lost Women of Science, the Unsung Are CelebratedBy Julianna LeMieux, GEN, March 7, 2024. To Mark International Women’s Day, C-Suite Women Share Leadership InsightsBy GEN, March 7, 2024. Lipid Nanoparticles Engineered to Target Lung Cells Reduce Tumor Size in MiceBy GEN, March 4, 2024. Novel Thio-lipids Developed Capable of Reaching Eyes and Lungs in AnimalsBy GEN, March 5, 2024. Novo Nordisk Expands Boston Area Research and Early DevelopmentBy Alex Philippidis, GEN, March 2, 2024.Metal-Organic Nanoparticles Enable Better Vaccine Delivery, Stronger Immune ResponseBy GEN, March 6, 2024. Organoids Originating from Cells in Amniotic Fluid Could Illiminate Congential ConditionsBy GEN, March 5, 2024.

Episode 11 (March 1, 2024): After being diverted by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic to develop and manufacture COVID-19 vaccines, Moderna gets back to advancing rare disease mRNA therapeutics; a look at rare autoimmune diseases that fly below the public radar; Form Bio announced a partnership with Ginkgo Bioworks to bring their AI out of the computer and into gene therapy production by optimizing genetic payloads. Listed below are key references to the GEN stories, media, and other items discussed in this episode of Touching Base: Rare Disease Day: Moderna Gets Back to Its RootsBy Jonathan D. Grinstein, GEN, February 28, 2024 Taming the Immune System When Rare Diseases StrikeBy Kathy Liszewski, GEN, February 27, 2024 Form Bio’s AI Ensures Gene Therapies Pass Muster, with Ginkgo’s HelpGEN, February 28, 2024