A heads-up, the Code of Life podcast is moving to Nice Genes! From healthcare and biotechnology to forests and fisheries, the evolving study of genomics is leading to some of the most exciting and world-changing discoveries in science and medicine. Like – did you know that your individual genomic signature can help determine the healthcare treatment you receive? Or that mapping the genomes of trees can inform forest management? But while the study of genomics holds great promise for the health of people, animals, and the environment, it also confronts us with big questions: How do we study genetic patterns in a way that respects sensitive genetic information, history, and equity? How do we use the power of genomic research to fight climate change? Save the salmon? Join Dr. Kaylee Byers – a self-described “rat detective” and science communicator as she guides you through fascinating conversations about the what, the why, and the how of genomics.
This session will examine importance of not sensationalizing data and being clear what the science means. Overly emotive clickbait stories do more harm than good. How can you help break the chain of misinformation? --- The Code of Life is a partnered program of Conversations That Matter, brought to you by GenomeBC. For more information on Genome BC's work, visit https://www.genomebc.ca. #covid19 #pandemic #health col015
This session will discuss public health response aided by genomics. Speed from sequencing to public health response: data drives course which requires flexibility to adjust and adapt accordingly. Vaccine has been produced at an unprecedented pace using a novel mRNA based technology which now allows us to update it taking only a few days to in response to the emerging escape variants. --- The Code of Life is a partnered program of Conversations That Matter, brought to you by GenomeBC. For more information on Genome BC's work, visit https://www.genomebc.ca. #covid19 #pandemic #health col014
COVID-19 with a relatively low R factor and mortality rate has challenged our health care system, society in general and our economy. Canada and the rest of the world were caught rather unprepared. The next virus may be more transmissible and deadlier. How do we make sure we are better prepared as the world, as a country and as a province? Hear from the experts. --- The Code of Life is a partnered program of Conversations That Matter, brought to you by GenomeBC. For more information on Genome BC's work, visit https://www.genomebc.ca. #covid19 #pandemic #health col013
Genomics has advanced health care by allowing medical treatments to be tailored to the specific needs of individual patients in what is sometimes described as ‘precision medicine’. But these genomic technologies, and the research that drives them, can be difficult for Indigenous populations to access or participate in. This is creating a genomic divide that prevents accurate diagnosis. A group of scientists hope to change that - to improve outcomes not only for Indigenous Peoples - but all Canadians.
In sports, any leg up to help edge out the competition is welcome. In fact, diet, sleep and supplements are key strategies that athletes have used for years to enhance their performance. And increasingly, genetics and genomics are playing a role – not just for elite athletes – but anyone who wants to improve their performance.
This episode picks up where the last one left off: a Q&A with BC’s Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, Dr. Mel Krajden, Medical Director at the BC Centre for Disease Control, and Dr. Carl Hansen, CEO of AbCellera. In this episode you’ll hear the most pressing questions answered about the pandemic- how we got here and where we are going.
In October of 2020 Genome British Columbia’s Don Rix Distinguished Keynote was focused on ‘fighting Covid-19 at the intersection of policy, treatment and prevention’. The panelists were Drs. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Health Officer for British Columbia; Mel Krajden, medical director of the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) Public Health Laboratory; and Carl Hansen, Chief Executive Officer, AbCellera.The panelists discussed the importance of providing applicable and real time evidence for policy from their diverse perspectives in industry, public policy and public health. The engaging discussion covered areas such as inequities in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, the role of the public sector in dealing with uncertainty, and issues to be addressed so we are in a better position locally and globally for a next outbreak.
Two scientists recently shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for transforming an obscure bacterial immune mechanism, called CRISPR, into “genetic scissors” – an editing tool for re-writing the code of life.The two female Nobel Prize winners accomplished this through collaboration – which is exactly how two Canadian scientists – also women – are working to crack the code on two incurable diseases – a type of congenital blindness in children, and a deadly form of brain tumours.
Healthy forests support a healthy environment. They purify the water and the air, maintain wildlife habitats and help preserve healthy soils, just to name a few. Studies are also showing human health is directly related to healthy forests. But increasingly our forests are facing unprecedented threats… from invasive species and pathogens that can cause irreversible damage. Once again, science, and scientists are coming to the rescue. Quietly studying these threats, coming up with devices to help uncover and stop them before they can establish and spread. --- The Code of Life is a partnered program of Conversations That Matter, brought to you by GenomeBC. For more information on Genome BC's work, visit https://www.genomebc.ca.
Malaria kills an estimated 400,000 people every year. In many countries, it's the leading cause of death in children and pregnant women. But malaria isn't just a health issue - it's also an economic one. Countries without malaria have five times greater economic growth than countries battling malaria. There are many tools to help fight malaria - but genomics may be the key to eradicating it once and for all. And the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is vowing to do that by the year 2040.
Every year, cervical cancer kills about 400 Canadian women. Worldwide, cervical cancer kills one woman every two minutes. But cervical cancer is a completely preventable illness. The HPV vaccine, offered to all students in Grade 6, and an accurate test that women can take themselves is enough to eliminate the disease altogether. Two Canadian scientists are working hard to bring the tools and awareness to the world to eliminate this deadly disease forever.
When the Vancouver Aquarium lost their two beloved belugas to a mysterious illness, they turned to genomics to help. They were able to completely sequence a beluga genome for the first time. The legacy of Aurora and Qila has helped scientists – and belugas – all over the world.---The Code of Life is a partnered program of Conversations That Matter, brought to you by GenomeBC. For more information on Genome BC's work, visit https://www.genomebc.ca.#biology #whales #aquarium
The way we ate 1,000 years ago is vastly different from the way we eat now. And two scientists who specialize in how food is produced believe the way we'll eat in 1,000 years will be much different than today.
Humans aren't the only ones fighting a pandemic right now. Honey bees are also at risk, under attack by a parasite that is killing millions of colonies around the world. Much like people, honey bees are employing techniques like hygiene and social distancing to survive. But parasites are just one of several threats to the world's honey bees. And scientists are using genomics to search for tools to save them.
In the early stages of a pandemic, the world needs answers fast. Genomics, the mapping of genes, is helping to find those answers with unprecedented speed. Two scientists at the BC Centre for Disease Control are at the forefront of this global race. They are using genomics to look for clues that would normally take months, if not years to find. They are using genomics to track transmissions to stop the pandemic and solve the code of COVID-19.