Brainless Embryos Suggest Bioelectricity Guides Growth

FromQuanta Science Podcast

Start listening View podcast show

Brainless Embryos Suggest Bioelectricity Guides Growth

FromQuanta Science Podcast

ratings:

Length:

21 minutes

Released:

Mar 13, 2018

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

Researchers are building a case that long before the nervous system works, the brain sends crucial bioelectric signals to guide the growth of embryonic tissues.

Released:

Mar 13, 2018

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

In-depth news about mathematics, physics, biology and computer science.

Skip carousel

New Letters Added to the Genetic Alphabet: Scientists hope that new genetic letters, created in the lab, will endow DNA with new powers. by Quanta Science Podcast
24 min listen
The Quantum Secret to Superconductivity: In a virtuoso experiment, physicists have revealed details of a “quantum critical point” that underlies high-temperature superconductivity. by Quanta Science Podcast
24 min listen
How Mutant Viral Swarms Spread Disease: A new understanding of viral swarms is helping researchers predict how viruses will evolve and where disease is likely to spread. by Quanta Science Podcast
28 min listen
Visions of Future Physics: Nima Arkani-Hamed is championing a campaign to build the world’s largest particle collider, even as he pursues a new vision of the laws of nature. by Quanta Science Podcast
33 min listen
The New Laws of Explosive Networks: How explosive networks form. by Quanta Science Podcast
22 min listen
Gravitational Waves Discovered at Long Last: This week: Long sought-after gravitational waves are found and a proposed fuzzball fix for a black hole paradox. by Quanta Science Podcast
35 min listen
Math Quartet Joins Forces on Unified Theory: A new breakthrough that bridges number theory and geometry is just the latest triumph for a close-knit group of mathematicians. by Quanta Science Podcast
31 min listen
A New Design for Cryptography’s Black Box: A two-year-old cryptographic breakthrough has proven difficult to put into practice. But new advances show how near-perfect computer security might be surprisingly close at hand. by Quanta Science Podcast
25 min listen
A New Map Traces the Limits of Computation: A major advance in computational complexity reveals deep connections between the classes of problems that computers can — and can’t — possibly do. by Quanta Science Podcast
27 min listen
At Tiny Scales, a Giant Burst on Tree of Life: At tiny scales, a giant burst on tree of life. by Quanta Science Podcast
20 min listen
The Oracle of Arithmetic: At 28, Peter Scholze is uncovering deep connections between number theory and geometry. by Quanta Science Podcast
14 min listen
A Life in Games: The mathematician John Horton Conway’s myriad accomplishments — including the Game of Life, sprouts and the surreal numbers — are the product of a mind at play. by Quanta Science Podcast
34 min listen
Einstein’s Parable of Quantum Insanity: Einstein refused to believe in the inherent unpredictability of the world. Is the subatomic world insane, or just subtle? by Quanta Science Podcast
24 min listen
How Life and Luck Changed Earth’s Minerals: How life and luck changed Earth's minerals. by Quanta Science Podcast
34 min listen
New Clues to How the Brain Maps Time: The same brain cells that track location in space appear to also count beats in time. The research suggests that our thoughts may take place on a mental space-time canvas. by Quanta Science Podcast
26 min listen
The Incredible Shrinking Sex Chromosome: Nature offers species a panoply of ways to determine an organism’s sex. That flexibility suggests we need not be concerned about losing sex chromosomes, but it raises the question of why such a fundamental property is so variable. by Quanta Science Podcast
30 min listen
How Humans Evolved Supersize Brains: Scientists have begun to identify the symphony of biological triggers that powered the extraordinary expansion of the human brain. by Quanta Science Podcast
37 min listen
The Mutant Genes Behind the Black Death: Only a few genetic changes were enough to turn an ordinary stomach bug into the bacteria responsible for the plague. by Quanta Science Podcast
27 min listen
Nature’s Critical Warning System: Scientists are homing in on a warning signal that arises in complex systems like ecological food webs, the brain and the Earth’s climate. Could it help prevent future catastrophes? by Quanta Science Podcast
34 min listen
A Twisted Path to Equation-Free Prediction: Complex natural systems defy standard mathematical analysis, so one ecologist is throwing out the equations. by Quanta Science Podcast
32 min listen
How the Body’s Trillions of Clocks Keep Time: Cellular clocks are almost everywhere. Clues to how they work are coming from the places that they’re not. by Quanta Science Podcast
31 min listen
A Surprise Source of Life’s Code: A surprise source of life’s code. by Quanta Science Podcast
34 min listen
Mapping the Brain to Build Better Machines: A project to decipher the brain’s learning rules could revolutionize machine learning. by Quanta Science Podcast
25 min listen
Theorists Draw Closer to Perfect Coloring: A theorem for coloring a large class of “perfect” mathematical networks could ease the way for a long-sought general coloring proof. by Quanta Science Podcast
20 min listen
Debate Intensifies Over Dark Disk Theory: In the new, free-for-all era of dark matter research, the controversial idea that dark matter is concentrated in thin disks is being rescued from scientific oblivion. by Quanta Science Podcast
14 min listen
Mathematicians Discover Prime Conspiracy: A previously unnoticed property of prime numbers seems to violate a long-standing assumption about how they behave. by Quanta Science Podcast
26 min listen
What Sonic Black Holes Say About Real Ones: Can a fluid analogue of a black hole point physicists toward the theory of quantum gravity, or is it a red herring? by Quanta Science Podcast
13 min listen
Mongrel Microbe Tests Story of Complex Life: A newly discovered class of microbe could help to resolve one of the biggest and most controversial mysteries in evolution — how simple microbes transformed into the complex cells that produced animals, plants and fungi. by Quanta Science Podcast
30 min listen
Scientists Debate Signatures of Alien Life: Searching for signs of life on faraway planets, astrobiologists must decide which telltale biosignature gases to target. by Quanta Science Podcast
25 min listen
Quantum Weirdness Now a Matter of Time: Bizarre quantum bonds connect distinct moments in time, suggesting that quantum links — not space-time — constitute the fundamental structure of the universe. by Quanta Science Podcast
34 min listen

More Episodes from Quanta Science Podcast

Skip carousel

During Pregnancy, a Fake 'Infection' Protects the Fetus: The placenta has a unique trick for keeping immune defenses on standby, even when no viral infections threaten a pregnancy. by Quanta Science Podcast
10 min listen
Why the Human Brain Perceives Small Numbers Better: A recent neurological study provides an unprecedented look at how number sense works in the human brain. by Quanta Science Podcast
21 min listen
Inside Scientists' Life-Saving Prediction of the Iceland Eruption: An Icelandic peninsula that hadn't seen any volcanism for 800 years has now awoken. Eruptions could continue for decades or even centuries. by Quanta Science Podcast
22 min listen
Echoes of Electromagnetism Found in Number Theory: Physics is a rich well of inspiration for mathematicians to draw from. by Quanta Science Podcast
21 min listen
Tiny Language Models Come of Age: Using large language models to generate training data for smaller models might be more effective than vacuuming up text from the internet and filtering out the garbage. by Quanta Science Podcast
21 min listen
Rogue Worlds Throw Planetary Ideas Out of Orbit: Astronomers have long known of rogue worlds - cosmic loners that drift through space, untethered to a star. Now JWST is spotting them in pairs. by Quanta Science Podcast
22 min listen
What Makes Life Tick? Mitochondria May Keep Time for Cells: We're all used to hearing about mitochondria as the powerhouse of the cell. It turns out that they are also the timekeepers. by Quanta Science Podcast
24 min listen
An Old Conjecture Falls, Making Spheres a Lot More Complicated: Many discoveries in mathematics make things simpler, but a recent disproof instead creates a universe of new, complicated possibilities. by Quanta Science Podcast
17 min listen
Even Synthetic Life Forms With a Tiny Genome Can Evolve: Biologists have discovered that even one of the weakest, simplest self-replicating organisms on the planet can evolve. by Quanta Science Podcast
15 min listen
Selfish, Virus-Like DNA Can Carry Genes Between Species: Genetic elements known as "Mavericks" may be responsible for transferring genes between different species throughout the history of life. by Quanta Science Podcast
13 min listen
Exoplanets Could Help Us Learn How Planets Make Magnetism: Earth has a magnetic field, but Venus, Earth's sister planet, doesn't. Why does one rocky planet have a magnetic field while the other does not? by Quanta Science Podcast
13 min listen
To Move Fast, Quantum Maze Solvers Must Forget the Past: If you've ever entered a room, and then completely forgotten how you got there, you may have something in common with a quantum computer. by Quanta Science Podcast
16 min listen
Underground Cells Make 'Dark Oxygen' Without Light: In the groundwaters beneath Alberta, Canada, researchers have found microbes that can produce abundant oxygen, even in the absence of light. by Quanta Science Podcast
14 min listen
How the Brain Protects Itself From Blood-Borne Threats: A system of sophisticated pumps and receptors protects the brain like bouncers at the door of an elite club. by Quanta Science Podcast
12 min listen
JWST Spots Giant Black Holes All Over the Early Universe: There's never been a more exciting time to study black holes. by Quanta Science Podcast
25 min listen
Is It Real or Imagined? How Your Brain Tells the Difference.: A recent neuroscience study reveals how human brains differentiate between the imagined and the observed. by Quanta Science Podcast
18 min listen
Chatbots Don't Know What Stuff Isn't: Researchers still don't understand whether machines will ever truly know the word "no." by Quanta Science Podcast
17 min listen
Global Microbiome Study Gives New View of Shared Health Risks: A recent study found that the more time you spend with someone, the more likely you are to share strains of species in your microbiome. by Quanta Science Podcast
21 min listen
Physicists Use Quantum Mechanics to Pull Energy out of Nothing: A recently demonstrated quantum protocol teleports energy from one location to another without violating any sacred physical principles. by Quanta Science Podcast
19 min listen
How Loneliness Reshapes the Brain: Loneliness doesn't just make people feel isolated. It alters their brain in ways that can hinder their ability to trust and connect to others. by Quanta Science Podcast
21 min listen
Gene Expression in Neurons Solves a Brain Evolution Puzzle: Our brains have even less in common with reptile brains than was once thought. by Quanta Science Podcast
20 min listen
Machines Learn Better if We Teach Them the Basics: To improve reinforcement learning algorithms, computer scientists are training them as if they were human. by Quanta Science Podcast
21 min listen
The Cause of Depression Is Probably Not What You Think: Better treatments for depression may require a clear-eyed look at the condition's nuance. by Quanta Science Podcast
22 min listen
Ants Live 10 Times Longer by Altering Their Insulin Responses: A tapeworm has evolved the ability to make its ant hosts live longer. Researchers recently discovered how the parasite does it. by Quanta Science Podcast
18 min listen
How the Brain Distinguishes Memories From Perceptions: The "blurriness" of remembered images may help our brains distinguish memories from current perceptions. by Quanta Science Podcast
14 min listen
What Causes Alzheimer's? Scientists Are Rethinking the Answer. (Pt 2): Researchers investigating alternatives to amyloid plaques as the possible cause of Alzheimer's disease have faced resistance, but intriguing new theories have emerged. by Quanta Science Podcast
41 min listen
What Causes Alzheimer's? Scientists Are Rethinking the Answer. (Pt. 1): For three decades, most Alzheimer's researchers have stuck by the theory that aggregations of proteins called amyloid plaques cause the disease. But unsatisfied with the slow pace of progress, some are now exploring other hypotheses. by Quanta Science Podcast
34 min listen
Astronomers Say They Have Spotted the Universe's First Stars: Thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope, we may have just gotten a glimpse of the first generation of stars. by Quanta Science Podcast
15 min listen
New Chip Expands the Possibilities for AI: Chips that run on an analog spectrum of memory rather than 0s and 1s could transform energy-efficient AI. by Quanta Science Podcast
19 min listen
How Supergenes Fuel Evolution Despite Harmful Mutations: "Supergenes" lock several genes together into a single inheritable unit. This type of evolution offers both risks and rewards. by Quanta Science Podcast
19 min listen

Related podcast episodes

Skip carousel

Ep. 179: “The Human Segmentation Clock” Featuring Dr. Miki Ebisuya: Dr. Miki Ebisuya is a Group Leader at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Barcelona. Her lab reconstitutes developmental mechanisms by making artificial gene circuits, and studies interspecies differences by comparing organoids of different an... by The Stem Cell Podcast
61 min listen
Mini-Brains: The Cutting Edge of Neurological Disorders Treatment Research: Dr. Paula Barreras and her colleagues create spheres of living brain cell tissue from skin cells. They are proving that these brain organoids can offer testing and research platforms normally reserved for animals. This podcast explores the process of... by Finding Genius Podcast
23 min listen
Episode 238 -- Bennett Novitch PhD by Neuroscientists Talk Shop
32 min listen
The electrical blueprints that orchestrate life | Michael Levin: The electrical blueprints that orchestrate life | Michael Levin by TED Talks Science and Medicine
19 min listen
AI Draws New Value from Old Medical Technology - Dr. Jacob Donoghue, Co-Founder & CEO of Beacon Biosignalslue from EEGs - Beacon Biosignals by Raise the Line
19 min listen
Ep. 250: “Blastoid Development and Implantation” Featuring Dr. Nicolas Rivron: Dr. Nicolas Rivron is a Principal Investigator at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna. His group recreates embryonic development using mammalian stem cells in a dish to better understand the encoded pr... by The Stem Cell Podcast
97 min listen
Breakthrough in Cell Biology and Neuroscience in 2023 by Frontier Space
2 min listen
Renewing This Old Brain - Dr. Jean Hebert by Talking Biotech with Dr. Kevin Folta
34 min listen
Ep 39: Bioelectric Computation by Big Biology
69 min listen
Bioelectric Computation (Ep 39 Re-release) by Big Biology
67 min listen
A machine learning-enabled shortcut to engineer human liver organoids: How wonderful would it be if you could deposit your skin cells at a medical facility and get an organ you need within weeks, ready to be transplanted? For decades, scientists have relentlessly worked to recapitulate functionally and physiologically relev... by Science Rehashed
38 min listen
Lighting the Way – Nicolas C. Pégard, PhD, University of California, Berkeley – How Neuroscientists Are Using Light to Understand the Brain and Neural Circuit Dysfunction: Nicolas C. Pégard, Ph.D., a University of California, Berkeley neuroscientist will provide an illuminating overview of his work to develop optical systems that are designed to help neuroscientists solve problems. Of… by Finding Genius Podcast
25 min listen
Episode 252 -- Symposium 2022: 3D Models of Human Cortex and Development by Neuroscientists Talk Shop
43 min listen
Topology in Biology - Prof Julia Yeomans FRS: Active systems, from cells and bacteria to flocks of birds, harvest chemical energy which they use to move and to control the complex processes needed for life. by Theoretical Physics - From Outer Space to Plasma
39 min listen
The Software of Cell Signaling: Michael Levin Researches How Cells Build Anatomies: Curious about how to make a two-headed flatworm? Michael Levin's lab has done just that. This podcast explores exciting regenerative medicine achievable in our lifetime. Listen in to hear how Professor Michael Levin has found a way to manipulate... by Finding Genius Podcast
56 min listen
Enhancing Connections: Rebuilding Neural Circuits in Spinal Cord Injury by The Stem Cell Report with Martin Pera
25 min listen
Biologically Speaking – Denis Noble, CBE, PhD, FRS, Renowned British Biologist – The Complex Biology of Cells and Extracellular Vesicles: Denis Noble, CBE, PhD, FRS, the famed British biologist, delivers an interesting overview of his life’s work studying the intricate details of biology and what new developments can mean for the treatment of disease. As a celebrated British... by Finding Genius Podcast
56 min listen
Babies cry in utero, and pushing preprints: Developing babies learning to cry, brain structures that underpin speech proficiency, and the power of the preprint... by The eLife Podcast
33 min listen
How Bioelectricity Could Regrow Limbs And Organs, with Michael Levin: In the near future, birth defects, traumatic injuries, limb loss and perhaps even cancer could be cured through bioelectricity—electrical signals that communicate to our cells how to rebuild themselves. This innovative idea has been tested on flatworms and frogs by biologist Michael Levin, whose research investigates how bioelectricity provides the blueprint for how our bodies are built—and how it could be the future of regenerative medicine. Levin is professor of biology at Tufts University and director of the Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology. by Big Brains
29 min listen
Ep. 266: “From Stem Cells to Cortical Circuits” Featuring Dr. Pierre Vanderhaeghen: Dr. Pierre Vanderhaeghen is a Professor and Principal Investigator at VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research. His lab studies the mechanisms of cortical development and brain evolution. He talks about species-specific neuronal development, by The Stem Cell Podcast
84 min listen
71 Ed Boyden - Blowing Up the Brain: Ed Boyden is the head of the MIT Media Lab’s Synthetic Neurobiology research group and he wants blow up the brain. Sort of. He and his team have discovered a way to examine brain tissue by physically expanding it—a process that lets them look at tissue w by Inquiring Minds
50 min listen
Dinky is the Brain: Scientists can grow miniature versions of human brains — called organoids — in the lab, but during the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience two teams of scientists presented previously unpublished research on how these human mini-brains can gro by We Have Concerns
25 min listen
Brain Cells In A Dish Play Pong And Other Brain Adventures by Short Wave
14 min listen
Exploring Loops in the Human Genome: Dr. Erez Lieberman Aiden Explains His Research: Dr. Aiden works on analyzing the bending of our human genome, a 3-D complex arrangement that, in part, regulates our cells. This conversation explores how each chromatid forms unique loops and bends while patterns emerge across similar cell types,... by Finding Genius Podcast
36 min listen
The First Pig to Human Kidney Transplant by What's Your Problem?
36 min listen
Closer to a Cure: Type 1 Diabetes Pancreas Research with Diana Elena Stanescu: Finding a cure for includes two essential goals: growing insulin-producing beta cells and introducing them into patients successfully. Those two achievements appear fast-approaching yet also seem elusive. This podcast takes a closer look at these... by Finding Genius Podcast
34 min listen
Dawn of the Planet of the Mice: Scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York have successfully implanted human glial cells into the brains of mice to shocking result. Not only were the cells not rejected, but the human cells completely dominated the mouse brain by We Have Concerns
19 min listen
Extracellular Vesicle Endeavors—Veronika Kralj-Iglic: Veronika Kralj-Iglic, PhD is a physicist and Chair of Biomechanics at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia who has done a variety of work in the field of medicine, classical physics, quantum physics, and orthopedics, but who says her favorite work... by Finding Genius Podcast
30 min listen
Harder, Better, CRISPR, Stronger: The first known attempt at creating genetically modified human embryos in the United States has been carried out by a team of researchers in Portland, Oregon. The effort, led by Shoukhrat Mitalipov of Oregon Health and Science University, involved changi by We Have Concerns
21 min listen
Featured Author Podcast: High Initial Dose Sevoflurane Induction on Children’s EEG: Moderator: BobbieJean Sweitzer, M.D. Participants: Jessica C. Martin, Ph.D., B.Sc. and Jerry Chao, M.D., M.Sc. Articles Discussed: by Anesthesiology Journal's podcast
24 min listen

Discover this podcast and so much more

Brainless Embryos Suggest Bioelectricity Guides Growth

Brainless Embryos Suggest Bioelectricity Guides Growth

Description

Titles in the series (100)

More Episodes from Quanta Science Podcast

Related podcast episodes