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The Active Site

William Wallace, Ph.D.

The Active Site is an investigative science show hosted by Dr. William Wallace, examining the claims shaping health, medicine, nutrition, and human biology. Through scientific history, landmark studies, hidden contradictions, competing interpretations, and unresolved questions, each episode asks not only whether a belief is true—but how we came to believe it in the first place.


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  • 21 episodes
  • Avg 12 min
  • English
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  • #69
    Nov 6, 2025 · 7 min

    The Mitochondrial “Vitamin” from Interstellar Dust

    There’s a molecule that’s been tentatively identified in the same interstellar material that forms stars and planets, yet it also shapes growth, metabolism, and cognition here on Earth. In several mammalian species,Its absence causes deficiency and it's repletion, resolution; and no, it’s not a vitamin, but should it be? Its chemistry is analogous to the combination of vitamin B2, vitamin B6 vitamin C, and its role in evolution may trace back to the very beginning of biology. 00:00 – From Interstellar Dust to Human Biology 01:06 – Discovery: A New Redox Co-Factor 01:44 – Biological Role: Deficiency, Growth, and Evolution 02:41 – Mechanisms: NAD⁺ Regeneration and Mitochondrial Signaling 03:11 – Human Evidence: Cognitive and Metabolic Effects 04:41 – Chemistry & Safety: Potency and Tolerability 06:55 – Conclusion https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8533503/

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