Mandë Holford: Killer Snail Hunter
Happy To Be Here
Greta Johnsen
4.8 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 14 December 2018
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In a curious twist, venomous, killer sea snails are helping scientists make some incredible biomedical advances. Dr. Mandë Holford is the head of the Holford Lab in New York City, but her line of research often means she’s taking nighttime scuba dives in seas and oceans across the globe.
“Yes, a snail can kill you,” Holford tells Greta. “But a snail can also help you! In various, various ways. And that’s what our lab is investigating: The power of these snails and the venom that they have to transform organisms and to transform lives.”
Holford is also an associate professor in chemistry at Hunter College and the Graduate Center at City University of New York, with scientific appointments at the American Museum of Natural History and Weill Cornell Medical College.
She tells us how snail venom can help relieve pain and treat cancer, how she’s giving back with a line of science-based board games, and how it feels to be on a “Top 100” list that includes Beyoncé.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This fall, W bez invites you to our upcoming live events. |
| 0:05.0 | Join us in person for smart discussions, heartfelt storytelling, and more. |
| 0:09.0 | Check out the full calendar now at W be easy.org |
| 0:12.6 | slash events. |
| 0:13.6 | From W be easy Chicago this is |
| 0:19.5 | Nurdette I'm Greta Johnson and |
| 0:20.9 | Nurdette is a show where we talk to your favorite or soon to be favorite people and this week we are talking with someone who is a pretty excellent human. |
| 0:30.0 | She was recently listed on the Route 100 which is a list of the most influential African Americans |
| 0:35.4 | between the ages of 25 and 45, no big deal. |
| 0:39.2 | She also runs a science lab in New York with her name on it and she spends a lot of her time |
| 0:44.8 | poking around for venomous snails. |
| 0:47.3 | I am talking about Dr. Mandy Halford. Mandy welcome to Nurdat. |
| 0:55.0 | Hi, how are you? |
| 0:56.5 | I am good, but I am a little surprised to hear that there is such a thing as toxic snails |
| 1:00.6 | and I'm a little bit worried about like, is this something I need to add to my list of current anxieties? |
| 1:05.8 | No, no, no, no. The whole point of our lab is to try to change these snails from agents of fear into agents of hope. And so yes they are deadly and yes |
| 1:16.8 | they are lethal and yes a snail can kill you but a snail can also help you in |
| 1:22.4 | various ways. |
| 1:23.6 | And that's what our lab is investigating |
| 1:25.8 | the power of the venom that they have |
| 1:28.5 | to transform organisms and to transform lives. |
| 1:40.0 | So not a lot of people are aware that there are venomous nails, but they're out there. So to be clear, Mandy isn't just talking about your run-of-the-mill |
... |
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