Mutant cells in the esophagus, and protecting farmers from dangerous pesticide exposure

Science Magazine Podcast

Science Podcast

News, News Commentary, Science

4.3 • 842 Ratings

🗓️ 18 October 2018

⏱️ 23 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

As you age, your cells divide over and over again, leading to minute changes in their genomes. New research reveals that in the lining of the esophagus, mutant cells run rampant, fighting for dominance over normal cells. But they do this without causing any detectable damage or cancer. Host Sarah Crespi talks to Phil Jones, a professor of cancer development at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, about what these genome changes can tell us about aging and cancer, and how some of the mutations might be good for you. Most Western farmers apply their pesticides using drones and machinery, but in less developed countries, organophosphate pesticides are applied by hand, resulting in myriad health issues from direct exposure to these neurotoxic chemicals. Host Meagan Cantwell speaks with Praveen Vemula, a research investigator at the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine in Bengaluru, India, about his latest solution—a cost-effective gel that can be applied to the skin to limit pesticide-related toxicity and mortality. This week’s episode was edited by Podigy. Download a transcript of this episode (PDF) Listen to previous podcasts. About the Science Podcast [Image:Navid Folpour/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.science.org and search for Frontiers of Medical
0:27.5	Research-Wedmen's Health. The Icon School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, we find a way.
0:43.4	Welcome to the science podcast for October 19, 2018.
0:44.8	I'm Sarah Crespi.
0:46.0	And I'm Megan Cantwell.
0:53.7	On this week's show, I talk with Phil Jones about his work on finding non-cancer-causing mutations in the human body.
0:56.8	How many do we have and what are they doing?
1:02.5	And I talk with Praveen Vimula about developing a gel to protect farmers from harmful pesticides.
1:11.1	In our lifetimes, we're constantly replacing cells all over the body.
1:13.5	Our organs, skin, blood, things like that.
1:19.9	Each time these cells arise, the genome is copied from their parents and mistakes can be made.
1:30.4	But whether these changes, these changes in the genomes are harmful or benign, these cells are just not quite like their parents. And we don't really understand how common these changes are, these mutations are, or their impact on the body as a whole.
1:35.8	Phil Jones and colleagues looked for these slight genetic variations in the cells lining the
1:40.9	esophagus. And we'll talk about why the esophagus in a minute, and they found a hidden
1:45.6	world of mutation in people that don't have disease in their esophagus. He's here to tell us
1:50.7	about these findings in more detail and what they might mean for our understanding of cancer
	...

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