Talking Biotech with Dr. Kevin Folta Colabra

This is an update on the American Chestnut Restoration Project, as discussed previously on the podcast. The American Chestnut dominated the forests of Appalachia until an imported fungus destroyed the entire range. Efforts to restore the chestnut and its ecology have employed a biotechnology approach, integrating a gene from wheat that limits the mechanism the fungus uses to attack the tree. Dr. Andy Newhouse and Erik Carlson join the podcast to discuss progress in the project.  

Despite being over half of the population women's health care lags behind other areas of drug development. The problem is caused by many facets, but is augmented by the fact that many of the conditions are not life threatening or are functions of aging. Sabrina Johnson, CEO of Daré Bioscience, discusses how the disparity exists, the pipeline of drugs that seek to mitigate female-specific conditions, and how smaller, leaner businesses can have significant impacts in this space. 

After a three month hiatus the Talking Biotech Podcast is back. Today's episode is a visit with Colarbra CEO Aoi Senju about his view for the podcast, followed by synopsis of three major news stories that broke since the last Talking Biotech Podcast. The new format includes a video component, and I'll be speaking with panels and also discussing recent news stories. It is an exciting opportunity to capture a new audience, expand listenership, and provide new levels of programming to the popular format.  Thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy the new episodes. Kevin

After 8.5 years of weekly podcasts I'm going to take a 5 week break and plan new episodes for 2024.  I'm going through a medical glitch that has me unable to do my normal work. On top of this we're going to switch to an audio plus video format to find a wider audience. So check back in 2024 for the next episode. Have a great rest of 2023, thank you for listening, and looking forward to better times. 

Even under the best conditions, crops need our assistance to survive the numerous threats that limit production. Classically, synthetic and natural compounds have been used to control insects, fungi and weeds, sometimes with negative collateral effects or fostering resistance of genetically tolerant genotypes. Todd Hauser from Trillium Ag describes his company's novel RNAi approach.  RNAi can be used to target specific insect species, and his company's design and particle-based technology appears to offer safety, effectiveness, and specificity. We discuss the use of RNAi and how it may be a key point of crop protection strategies, along with its inherent challenges.  

There is tremendous variation in the plant kingdom, as plants have adapted to many ecological niches with discrete challenges. Part of adaptation is production of novel secondary metabolites, compounds not required for central metabolism that serve a role in the plant, such as defense or attraction of pollinators. The rainforest is replete with unusual plants and their resident metabolites. Indigenous peoples have identified therapeutic qualities of specific plants. How can this knowledge be transferred to aid those suffering beyond the rainforest? Lisa Conte is the CEO, President and Founder of Jaguar Health, a subsidiary of Napo Pharmaceuticals.  We discuss process of working with indigenous peoples to learn from their findings, then test and validate them in ways to identify novel mechanisms of action for use in modern medicine.