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Natural Prodcast

JGI

Natural Prodcast is a podcast about natural products and the science and scientists of secondary metabolism. Natural products, secondary metabolites, specialized metabolites -- whatever you want to call them, they're the chemicals that make species unique and different from one another, and are incredibly important to medicine, the environment, and human health. Hosts Dan Udwary and Jackie Winter introduce concepts in this exciting field, and talk to the fascinating scientists who work in it. This series brought to you by the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute. 

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  • 25 episodes
  • Updated Nov 15, 2023

Episodes25

Newest first
  • Mar 17, 2020 · 35 min

    Natural Prodcast Ep 4 - Nancy Keller

    This episode is our conversation with Nancy Keller, a fantastic fungal natural products researcher from the University of Wisconsin. Like we discussed in the primer podcasts, which you should be able to find earlier in the feed, the secondary metabolism field has been dominated for … well, as long as I can remember, by bacterial research. So it was great to hear her passion and enthusiasm for fungi. And we talk a lot about some of the technical challenges to that, most of which seem to be history. Transcript at https://jgi.doe.gov/natural-prodcast-episode-4-nancy-keller-fungi/

  • Mar 17, 2020 · 31 min

    Natural Prodcast Ep 3 - The Primer - part 3 of 3

    This is Dan again, and you’re about to listen to the 3rd and final part of Natural Prodcast’s “Primer” episodes. This IS the third part, so if this is the first episode you’re checking out, you probably want to go back and listen to the first two parts so you understand what’s happened so far in the conversation between me and Alison. In the previous episodes we talked about the basic science and the history of the field of natural products or secondary metabolism, depending on which term you prefer. In this episode we’re going to finish up by talking about the modern, post-golden age history of natural products discovery, and we’ll talk a lot about the current state of things, and what we’re hoping to accomplish at JGI in this area. Like I said in the intro to the first episode, after this we’re going to be spending some time talking some great scientists, who all have really interesting stories and very cool research. I hope you’ll stick around. But, for now, here’s episode 3 of the Primer! Transcript: https://jgi.doe.gov/natural-prodcast-episode-3-primer-part-3/

  • Mar 17, 2020 · 24 min

    Natural Prodcast Ep 2 - The Primer - part 2 of 3

    This is part 2 of our “primer” episode, so if you ended up here somehow without having listened to the first part, you might be a little lost, and I’d suggest you go back and check the first episode out. This one continues the introductory conversation between myself and Alison, and we continue with the basic ideas of the science of natural products, and we dive into the very early history of the field. If you continue on, in the next episode you’ll hear us talk about the modern history of natural products and the state of the field today. Transcript at https://jgi.doe.gov/natural-prodcast-episode-2-primer-part-2/

  • Mar 17, 2020 · 24 min

    Natural Prodcast Ep 1 - The Primer - part 1 of 3

    These first three episodes were recorded as a longer conversation, which I cut into more digestable pieces. In the first episode you’ll meet me, and my co-host, Alison. We’ll tell you some stories about natural products, so you can get a feel for why I think this is so important, and we’ll start to explain some of the terms and the basics so that you, the audience, who might not be familiar, can start to understand what this is all about. In the second episode, we’ll talk some more about the differences between primary metabolism and secondary metabolism, and we talk about the early history of the field. Then, in the third episode, if you’re still with us, we’ll discuss the modern history of natural products and where we are today. After that, we have lots of great conversations that we’ve already recorded with some excellent scientists, and that’s probably how we’ll continue for a while. To be fair, it’s probably going to help you some to have some basic knowledge of modern biology. We’re trying to keep this as general as possible, but scientists love technical jargon. If you don’t have that background, well, everybody starts somewhere right? Most of what you need to know is a Google search away! Transcript: https://jgi.doe.gov/natural-prodcast-episode-1-the-primer-part-1/

  • Feb 28, 2020 · 1 min

    Natural Prodcast - Coming Soon!

    HI, I’m Dan Udwary. I’m a chemist, and I do research to try to understand natural products, and how living organisms do the amazing chemistry that makes life diverse and unique. I’ve been a professor, I’ve worked in the biotech industry, and now I work at the Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute. I love my work, I love this field, and I’ve met a ton of super cool scientists along the way. Now, I want to tell you about them. So, join me and my co-host, Alison Takemura. She’s my colleague at JGI, and she’s going to learn about natural products, maybe along with you! We’ll chat about the science. And we’ll talk to some of the most amazing scientists I know, about what they do. So, check it out. Natural Prodcast. Coming soon, on Apple, Google, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.