Why peanut allergy is so common and hot forests as test beds for climate change

Science Magazine Podcast

Science Podcast

News Commentary, News, Science

4.2 • 791 Ratings

🗓️ 12 June 2025

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

First up on the podcast, Staff Writer Erik Stokstad talks with host Sarah Crespi about how scientists are probing the world’s hottest forests to better understand how plants will cope with climate change. His story is part of a special issue on plants and heat, which includes reviews and perspectives on the fate of plants in a warming world. Next on the show, “convergent” antibodies may underlie the growing number of people allergic to peanuts. Sarita Patil, co-director of the Food Allergy Center at Massachusetts General Hospital and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, joins the podcast to discuss her research on allergies and antibodies. She explains how different people appear to create antibodies with similar gene sequences and 3D structures that react to peanut proteins—a big surprise given the importance of randomness in the immune system’s ability to recognize harmful invaders. This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy. About the Science Podcast Authors: Sarah Crespi; Erik Stokstad 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, one of America's leading research medical schools.
0:07.4	The school is the academic arm of the Mount Sinai Health System in New York City.
0:11.6	It's consistently among the top recipients of NIH funding.
0:15.3	Researchers at the Icon School of Medicine in Mount Sinai have made breakthrough discoveries in many fields vital to advancing the
0:21.7	health of patients, including cardiology, cancer, immunology, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence.
0:28.9	The Icon School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, we find a way.
0:34.7	This is the science podcast for June 12, 2025.
0:38.2	I'm Sarah Cresby.
0:39.4	First up on the show,
0:40.4	staff writer Eric Stockstad talks about how scientists are probing the world's hottest forest
0:44.9	to better understand how plants will cope with climate change.
0:49.2	His story is part of a special issue on plants and heat,
0:51.7	which includes reviews and perspectives on the fate of plants
0:55.0	in a warming world. Next on the show, convergent antibodies may underlie the growing number
1:01.3	of people allergic to peanuts. Researcher Sarita Patil joins us to discuss her research on
1:06.6	allergies and antibodies. She explains how different people actually appear to create antibodies
1:12.1	with very similar gene sequences and 3D structures that bind to peanut protein.
1:18.2	This is a big surprise given the importance of randomness in the immune system's ability
1:23.3	to recognize harmful invaders.
1:32.6	This week in science, we have a special issue on plants and heat.
1:39.6	Some of the topics covered include how changing temperatures are reshaping plant microbiomes and safeguarding photosynthesis in crops.
1:42.8	Be sure to check those all out.
	...

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