How the appendix could hold the keys to Parkinson’s disease, and materials scientists mimic nature

Science Magazine Podcast

Science Podcast

News, News Commentary, Science

4.3 • 842 Ratings

🗓️ 1 November 2018

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For a long time, Parkinson’s disease was thought to be merely a disorder of the nervous system. But in the past decade researchers have started to look elsewhere in the body for clues to this debilitating disease—particularly in the gut. Host Meagan Cantwell talks with Viviane Labrie of the Van Andel Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan, about new research suggesting people without their appendixes have a reduced risk of Parkinson’s. Labrie also describes the possible mechanism behind this connection. And host Sarah Crespi talks with Peter Fratzl of the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam, Germany, about what materials scientists can learn from nature. The natural world might not produce innovations like carbon nanotubes, but evolution has forged innumerable materials from very limited resources—mostly sugars, proteins, and minerals. Fratzl discusses how plants make time-release seedpods that are triggered by nothing but fire and rain, the amazing suckerin protein that comprises squid teeth, and how cicadas make their transparent, self-cleaning wings from simple building blocks. Fratzl’s review is part of a special section in Science on composite materials. Read the whole package, including a review on using renewables like coconut fiber for building cars and incorporating carbon nanotubes and graphene into composites. This week’s episode was edited by Podigy. Download the transcript (PDF) Listen to previous podcasts. About the Science Podcast [Image: Roger Smith/Flickr; Music: Jeffrey Cook] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This podcast is supported by the Icon School of Medicine at Mount Sinai,
0:04.0	the academic arm of the Mount Sinai health system in New York City,
0:07.5	and one of America's leading research medical schools.
0:10.7	What are scientists and clinicians working on to improve medical care and health for women?
0:15.5	Find out in a special supplement to Science magazine prepared by the Icon School of Medicine
0:20.0	and Mount Sinai in partnership
0:21.6	with science. Visit our website at www.combe at www.combe-science.org and search for Frontiers
0:27.0	of Medical Research-Dash-Womeness Health. The Icon School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, we find a way.
0:33.3	Morgan State University, a Baltimore, Maryland-Karnege R2 doctoral research institution,
0:39.2	offers more than 100 academic programs and awards degrees at the baccalaureate,
0:44.0	master's, and doctoral levels, is furthering their mission of growing the future, leading
0:48.7	the world. Morgan continues to address the needs and challenges of the modern urban environment.
0:54.4	With a four-year quadrupling of research, more than a dozen new doctoral programs,
0:59.4	and eight new National Centers of Excellence, Morgan is positioned to achieve Carnegie R1 designation in the next five years.
1:07.4	To learn more about Morgan and their ascension to R1, visit morgan.edu slash research.
1:17.6	Welcome to the science podcast for November 2, 2018. I'm Sarah Crespi. On this week's show, Megan Cantwell talks with Vivian Lebris about the
1:29.0	surprising link between the appendix and Parkinson's disease. Why is getting rid of a tiny bit of the
1:35.7	gut linked with a lower risk of a neurological disease? And I talked to Peter Fratzel about his
1:41.9	review on sustainable composites or what material scientists can
1:46.3	learn from butterfly wings, titan carpuses, and spring-loaded seed pods.
1:53.1	I'm with Vivian LeBrie to discuss her research on the relationship between the appendix
1:58.4	and the development of Parkinson's disease. Hey, Vivian.
	...

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