Science Speaks: Conversations on Health

Diagnosing Disease: The Past, Present and Future

The diagnosis of transmissible pathogens, such as HIV and SARS-CoV-2, is critical to public health and safety. Over the past decades, the diagnosis of infectious diseases has significantly evolved as technology has advanced and scientists have gained a deeper understanding of pathogens and their spread. In this episode of Science Speaks: Conversations on Health, Vicky Edkins from the Basel Research Centre for Child Health talks to Dr Michele Gregorini and Dr Tobias Schindler, both postdoctoral researchers at the Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering at ETH Zurich and the co-founders of the ETH spin-off company Diaxxo, about diagnosing diseases in the past, present and future. Download the full episode transcript here [https://brc.ch/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Diagnosing-Disease-The-Past-Present-and-Future-Full-Transcript.pdf]. Learn more about the BRCCH-funded project “peakPCR: Making DNA Analyses Faster and More Accessible” here [https://brc.ch/covid-research/peakpcr-making-dna-analyses-faster-and-more-accessible-4/]. Learn more about the work being done at Diaxxo here [https://diaxxo.com/]. The Basel Research Centre for Child Health (BRCCH) [https://brc.ch/] aims to drive outstanding and innovative paediatric research that can be translated into a clinical or user setting to improve the health and well-being of children and adolescents worldwide. The BRCCH is generously funded by Fondation Botnar [https://www.fondationbotnar.org/] and operates in collaboration with its partner institutions ­–the University of Basel [https://www.unibas.ch/en.html], ETH Zurich [https://ethz.ch/en.html], the University Children’s Hospital Basel [https://www.ukbb.ch/en/] and the Swiss Public and Tropical Health Institute [https://www.swisstph.ch/en/]. To learn more and sign up for our newsletter, visit the BRCCH website [https://brc.ch/]. Follow us on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/brcch/] or X [https://twitter.com/BRC_CH] for more updates. Podcast editing by Sebastian Schell at the University of Basel New Media Centre [https://nmc.unibas.ch/en/] Theme music by Aleksey Chistilin (Lexin_Music [https://pixabay.com/users/lexin_music-28841948/])

Keeping Pace with Virus Evolution

Protein engineering is a valuable tool used by molecular biologists to build proteins with specific functions. Scientists have implemented this technique for various applications – from effective treatments for rheumatoid arthritis to cat food that decreases human allergic reactions to cats. In this episode of Science Speaks: Conversations on Health, Vicky Edkins from the Basel Research Centre for Child Health talks to Dr Beichen Gao, Data Scientist at EngImmune Therapeutics, and Lester Fry, PhD Student at ETH Zurich. They discuss the basics of protein engineering, its applications to COVID-19 and beyond, and the emerging role of machine learning in this field. Download the full episode transcript here [https://brc.ch/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Keeping-Pace-with-Virus-Evolution-Full-Transcript.pdf]. Learn more about the BRCCH-funded project “Identification, Characterisation, and Optimisation of High-Affinity Antibodies Against SARS-CoV2” here [https://brc.ch/covid-research/identification-characterisation-and-optimisation-of-high-affinity-antibodies-against-sars-cov2/]. The Basel Research Centre for Child Health (BRCCH) [https://brc.ch/] aims to drive outstanding and innovative paediatric research that can be translated into a clinical or user setting to improve the health and well-being of children and adolescents worldwide. The BRCCH is generously funded by Fondation Botnar [https://www.fondationbotnar.org/] and operates in collaboration with its partner institutions ­–the University of Basel [https://www.unibas.ch/en.html], ETH Zurich [https://ethz.ch/en.html], the University Children’s Hospital Basel [https://www.ukbb.ch/en/] and the Swiss Public and Tropical Health Institute [https://www.swisstph.ch/en/]. To learn more and sign up for our newsletter, visit the BRCCH website [https://brc.ch/]. Follow us on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/brcch/] or X [https://twitter.com/BRC_CH] for more updates. Podcast editing by Sebastian Schell at the University of Basel New Media Centre [https://nmc.unibas.ch/en/] Theme music by Aleksey Chistilin (Lexin_Music [https://pixabay.com/users/lexin_music-28841948/])

What is Pathology?

There are numerous examples of pathologists in books, films and television shows, but how accurate are these portrayals? In the first episode of Science Speaks: Conversations on Health, Vicky Edkins from the Basel Research Centre for Child Health talks to Professor Alexandar Tzankov, a surgical pathologist at the University Hospital Basel. Learn more about the fascinating work of pathologists – from unravelling the impact of COVID-19 on the body to uncovering the cause of death of a mummified lady found in a Swiss church. Download the full episode transcript here [https://brc.ch/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/What-is-Pathology-Full-Transcript.pdf]. Learn more about the BRCCH-funded project “Lessons from the Deceased to the Living and Back” here [https://brc.ch/covid-research/pcr-making-dna-analyses-faster-and-more-accessible/]. The Basel Research Centre for Child Health (BRCCH) [https://brc.ch/] aims to drive outstanding and innovative paediatric research that can be translated into a clinical or user setting to improve the health and well-being of children and adolescents worldwide. The BRCCH is generously funded by Fondation Botnar [https://www.fondationbotnar.org/] and operates in collaboration with its partner institutions ­–the University of Basel [https://www.unibas.ch/en.html], ETH Zurich [https://ethz.ch/en.html], the University Children’s Hospital Basel [https://www.ukbb.ch/en/] and the Swiss Public and Tropical Health Institute [https://www.swisstph.ch/en/]. To learn more and sign up for our newsletter, visit the BRCCH website [https://brc.ch/]. Follow us on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/brcch/] or X [https://twitter.com/BRC_CH] for more updates. Podcast editing by Sebastian Schell at the University of Basel New Media Centre [https://nmc.unibas.ch/en/] Theme music by Aleksey Chistilin (Lexin_Music [https://pixabay.com/users/lexin_music-28841948/])