“Eventually, my dream would be to simulate a virtual cell.” —Demis Hassabis The aspiration to build the virtual cell is considered to be equivalent to a moonshot for digital biology. Recently, 42 leading life scientists published a paper in Cell on why this is so vital, and how it may ultimately be accomplished. This conversation is with 2 of the authors, Charlotte Bunne, now at EPFL and Steve Quake, a Professor at Stanford University, who heads up science at the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative The a...
Mar 18, 2025•44 min
Thank you Katelyn Jetelina , Andy Meyers , Tracy Paeschke, MD, FACC , Bruce Lanphear , Tay MacIntyre , and many others for tuning into my live video with Katelyn Jetelina ! Join me for my next live video in the app. Get full access to Ground Truths at erictopol.substack.com/subscribe...
Mar 14, 2025•27 min
Funding for the NIH and US biomedical research is imperiled at a momentous time of progress. Exemplifying this is the work of Dr. Anna Greka, a leading physician-scientist at the Broad Institute who is devoted to unlocking the mysteries of rare diseases— that cumulatively affect 30 million Americans— and finding cures, science supported by the NIH. A clip from our conversation The audio is available on iTunes and Spotify. The full video is linked here, at the top, and also can be found on YouTub...
Mar 09, 2025•49 min
Before getting into this new podcast, have you checked out the recent newsletter editions and podcasts of Ground Truths? — the first diagnostic immunome —a Covid nasal vaccine update — medical storytelling and uncertainty —why did doctors with A.I. get outperformed by A.I. alone? The audio is available on iTunes and Spotify. The full video is embedded here, at the top, and also can be found on YouTube . Transcript with links to Audio and External Links Eric Topol ( 00:07 ): Well, hello. It's Eri...
Feb 28, 2025•54 min
Before getting into this new podcast, have you checked out the recent newsletter editions of Ground Truths? —how are gut microbiome drives sugar cravings —the influence of s leep on brain waste clearance and aging —the new findings of microplastics in the brain —the surprise finding about doctors and A.I. In this podcast with Dr. Emily Silverman, an internist and founder of The Nocturnists , an award winning podcast and live show, we discuss what inspired her in medicine, what led to her disillu...
Feb 09, 2025•47 min
The Chief Scientific Advisor at Novo Nordisk, Lotte Bjerre Knudsen, was the key force who pushed hard to develop GLP-1 drugs for treating obesity and subsequently for Alzheimer’s. She was recently recognized by the 2024 Lasker Medical Research Award, and the 2024 AAAS Bhaumik Breakthrough of the Year Award. That recognition is richly deserved, since it is unclear if the GLP-1 drug path to obesity treatment, and all of the associated benefits, would have been seen at this time without her influen...
Jan 04, 2025•47 min
Piezo touch and pressure-sensing ion channels are showing up everywhere as the explanation for physiologic phenomena, both at the macro and micro levels. Ardem Patapoutian, my friend and colleague at Scripps Research, discovered these receptors back in 2010 and was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2021 for his work. As you’ll see/hear from our conversation, the field has exploded. And you’ll get to know Ardem, who is such a fun, charismatic, and down-to-earth person. He also recently got a unique tatt...
Dec 29, 2024•40 min
American healthcare is well known for its extreme cost and worst outcomes among industrialized ( such as the 38 OECD member ) countries, and beyond that to be remarkably opaque. The high cost of prescription drugs contributes, and little has been done to change that except for the government passing the Affordable Insulin Now Act at the end of 2022 , enacted in 2023. But in January 2022 Mark Cuban launched Cost Plus Drugs that has transformed how many Americans can get their prescriptions filled...
Dec 20, 2024•38 min
A leader for conducting rigorous randomized trials of humans along with animal models for understanding nutrition and metabolism, Dr. Kevin Hall is a Senior Investigator at the National Institutes of Health , and Section Chief of the Integrative Physiology Section, NIDDK. In this podcast, we reviewed his prolific body of research a recent publications. The timing of optimizing our diet and nutrition seems apropos, now that we’re in in the midst of the holiday season! Below is a video snippet of ...
Nov 30, 2024•48 min
Below is a brief video snippet from our conversation. Full videos of all Ground Truths podcasts can be seen on YouTube here . The current one is here . If you like the YouTube format, please subscribe! This one has embedded one of my favorite TikTok’s from Will. There are several links to others in the transcript. The audios are also available on Apple and Spotify. Transcript with links to both audio and videos, commencement addresses, NEJM article coverage Eric Topol ( 00:06 ): Hi, it's Eric To...
Nov 16, 2024•35 min
Above is a brief video snippet from our conversation. Full videos of all Ground Truths podcasts can be seen on YouTube here . The audios are also available on Apple and Spotify. Transcript with links to audio and external citations Eric Topol ( 00:06 ): Well, hello it's Eric Topol with Ground Truths, and I'm really delighted to welcome Dr. Rachael Bedard, who is a physician geriatrician in New York City, and is actually much more multidimensional, if you will. She's a writer. We're going to go o...
Nov 02, 2024•43 min
Superimposed on an impressive body of work on the blood-brain-barrier and immune system, Prof Akassoglou and her collaborators just published an elegant study in Nature that centered on the direct binding os the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to fibrin with marked downstream pro-inflammatory effects. The findings and potential treatments have implications beyond Covid, Long Covid to other neurologic diseases. Full videos of all Ground Truths podcasts can be seen on YouTube here . The audios are also a...
Oct 19, 2024•36 min
When I think of digital biology, I think of Patrick Hsu—he’s the prototype, a rarified talent in both life and computer science, who recently led the team that discovered bridge RNAs, what may be considered CRISPR 3.0 for genome editing, and is building new generative A.I. models for life science. You might call them LLLMs-large language of life models. He is Co-Founder and a Core Investigator of the Arc Institute and Assistant Professor of Bioengineering and Deb Faculty Fellow at the University...
Oct 13, 2024•47 min
Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor are well regarded computer scientists at Princeton University and have just published a book with a provocative title, AI Snake Oil. Here I’ve interviewed Sayash and challenged him on this dismal title, for which he provides solid examples of predictive AI’s failures. Then we get into the promise of generative AI. Full videos of all Ground Truths podcasts can be seen on YouTube here . The audios are also available on Apple and Spotify. Transcript with links to ...
Sep 24, 2024•39 min
Francis Collins is a veritable national treasure. He directed the National Institutes of Health from 2009 to 2021. Prior to that he led the National Human Genetics Research Institute (NHGRI) from 1997-2009, during which the human genome was first sequenced. As a physician-scientist, he has made multiple seminal discoveries on the genetic underpinnings of cystic fibrosis, Huntington’s disease, neurofibromatosis, progeria, and others. This brief summary is barely scratching the surface oh his vast...
Sep 11, 2024•40 min
Professor Joseph Allen directs the Healthy Buildings Program at Harvard Chan School of Public Health. His expertise extends far beyond what makes buildings healthy. He has been a leading voice and advocate during the Covid pandemic for air quality and ventilation. He coined the term “Forever Chemicals” and has written extensively on this vital topic, no less other important exposures, which we covered In our wide-ranging conversation. You will see how remarkably articulate and passionate Prof Al...
Sep 05, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Steve Horvath made the seminal discovery of the— Horvath Clock — an epigenetic clock based on DNA methylation, which is now being used extensively in medical research and offered commercially for individuals (←we talk about that!). He was on the faculty at UCLA from 2000-2022 as a Professor of Human Genetics and Biostatistics, and now works on anti-aging research at Altos Labs. A perspective on the importance of epigenetic clocks this week’s Nature ”This insight is crucial for deriving reliable ...
Aug 23, 2024•41 min
Pradeep is a brilliant geneticist and Director of Preventive Cardiology, holds the Paul & Phyllis Fireman Endowed Chair in Vascular Medicine at Mass General Hospital and on faculty at Harvard Medical School and the Broad Institute. His prolific research has been illuminating for the field of improving our approach to reduce the risk of heart disease. That’s especially important because heart disease is the global (and US) #1 killer and is on the increase. We didn’t get into lifestyle factors...
Aug 13, 2024•58 min
A video snippet of our conversation. Full videos of all Ground Truths podcasts can be seen on YouTube here . The audios are also available on Apple and Spotify. Shane Crotty: A Landmark Study on Upper Airway Mucosal Immunity Transcript This is the first time a Ground Truths podcast is being posted simultaneous with a new publication, this one in Nature , by Professor Shane Crotty and his colleagues at La Jolla Institute for Immunology . Shane is one of the leading immunologists and virologists i...
Jul 31, 2024•38 min
Full videos of all Ground Truths podcasts can be seen on YouTube here . The audios are also available on Apple and Spotify. Thank you for reading Ground Truths. This post is public so feel free to share it. Transcript with audio and external links Eric Topol ( 00:05 ): Hello, it's Eric Topol with Ground Truths, and I am really thrilled to have with me Professor Faisal Mahmood, who is lighting it up in the field of pathology with AI. He is on the faculty at Harvard Medical School, also a patholog...
Jul 28, 2024•41 min
Recently, a series of papers were published in Nature and Nature journals illuminating the physiologic effects of exercise from an NIH initiative called MoTrPAC. To understand the wealth of new findings, I spoke with Professor Euan Ashley, who, along with Matt Wheeler, heads up the bioinformatics center. Earlier this week, Stanford announced Euan Ashley will be the new Chair of the Department of Medicine. He has done groundbreaking work in human genomics, including rapid whole genome sequencing ...
Jul 05, 2024•48 min
A book that reads like a novel; it’s humorous, it’s a love story. Dr. Christopher Labos, an imaginative cardiologist and epidemiologist at McGill University , takes us through multiple longstanding misconceptions about different foods and drinks, and along the way provides outstanding educational value. Video snippet from our conversation. Full videos of all Ground Truths podcasts can be seen on YouTube here . The audios are also available on Apple and Spotify. Transcript with external links and...
Jun 26, 2024•45 min
The most enthralling conversation I’ve ever had with anyone on cancer. It’s with Charlie Swanton who is a senior group leader at the Francis Crick Institute, the Royal Society Napier Professor in Cancer and medical oncologist at University College London, co-director of Cancer Research UK. Video snippet from our conversation. Full videos of all Ground Truths podcasts can be seen on YouTube here . The audios are also available on Apple and Spotify. Transcript with audio links and many external li...
Jun 14, 2024•56 min
In this podcast, Thomas Czech, Distinguished Professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, with a lineage of remarkable contributions on RNA, ribozyme, and telomeres, discuss why RNA is so incredibly versatile. Video snippet from our conversation. Full videos of all Ground Truths podcasts can be seen on YouTube here . The audios are also available on Apple and Spotify. Transcript with links to the audio and external links Eric Topol ( 00:07 ): Well, hello, this is Eric Topol from Ground Trut...
Jun 05, 2024•49 min
Professor Venki Ramakrishnan, a Nobel laureate for his work on unraveling the structure of function of the ribosome, has written a new book WHY WE DIE which is outstanding. Among many posts and recognitions for his extraordinary work in molecular biology, Venki has been President of the Royal Society , knighted in 2012, and was made a Member of the Order of Merit in 2022. He is a group leader at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology research institute in Cambridge, UK. A brief video snippet of...
May 28, 2024•50 min
After finishing her training in neurology at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Svetlana Blitshteyn started a Dysautonomia Clinic in 2009 . Little did she know what was in store many years later when Covid hit! Ground Truths podcasts are on Apple and Spotify. The video interviews are on YouTube Transcript with audio and external links Eric Topol ( 00:07 ): Well, hello, it's Eric Topol from Ground Truths, and I have with me a really great authority on dysautonomia and POTS. We will get into what that is for those ...
May 20, 2024•53 min
“We haven't invested this much money into an infrastructure like this really until you go back to the pyramids”—Kate Crawford Transcript with links to audio and external links. Ground Truths podcasts are on Apple and Spotify. The video interviews are on YouTube Eric Topol ( 00:06 ): Well, hello, this is Eric Topol with Ground Truths, and I'm really delighted today to welcome Kate Crawford, who we're very lucky to have as an Australian here in the United States. And she's multidimensional, as I'v...
May 12, 2024•51 min
If there’s one person you’d want to talk to about immunology, the immune system and Covid, holes in our knowledge base about the complex immune system, and where the field is headed, it would be Professor Iwasaki. And add to that the topic of Women in Science. Here’s our wide-ranging conversation. A snippet of the video, Full length Ground Truths videos are posted here and you can subscribe. Ground Truths is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becom...
May 04, 2024•42 min
“ Where do I think the next amazing revolution is going to come? … There’s no question that digital biology is going to be it. For the very first time in our history, in human history, biology has the opportunity to be engineering, not science.” —Jensen Huang, NVIDIA CEO Aviv Regev is one of the leading life scientists of our time. In this conversation, we cover the ongoing revolution in digital biology that has been enabled by new deep knowledge on cells, proteins and genes, and the use of gene...
Apr 28, 2024•36 min
Professor Doudna was awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Professor Emmanuelle Charpentier for their pioneering work in CRISPR genome editing. The first genome editing therapy (Casgevy) was just FDA approved, only a decade after the CRISPR-Cas9 editing system discovery. But It’s just the beginning of a much bigger impact story for medicine and life science. Ground Truths podcasts are now on Apple and Spotify. And if you prefer videos, they are posted on YouTube Transcript with links to...
Apr 14, 2024•31 min
