Charting the Mysteries of the Mind - Unraveling Alzheimer's and Dementia

Ask A Biologist Podcast

What happens when our brain fails us? As Dr. Biology, my work has never been involved with diseases that affect the mind, but I do have a personal experience with the shadowy realm of Alzheimer's and other dementias. My mother battled against this relentless adversary and I am not alone. Many people are dealing with loved ones facing one of these diseases. For this episode, I've invited bioinformatics scientist, Kimberly Olney from the Mayo Clinic, to peek into the complexities of the brain and these diseases. This episode is a brief voyage into the brain's amazing and complex pathways and a glimpse of the work being done by dedicated scientists charting a course for a future free from dementia.
Learn more about the brain: A Nervous Journey
Class and home activity: Nerve Experiment
Dementia resources for adults:
The 36-hour Day
Parent's Guide: Helping Children and Teens Understand
Helping Children Understand Alzheimer's Disease
Dementia resources for children:
Books that help younger children understand dementia

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Chapters

1. Introduction (00:00:00)

2. Basic brain anatomy (00:02:58)

3. Types of dementia (00:04:25)

4. Can you inherit dementia? (00:06:04)

5. What causes dementia? (00:07:28)

6. New drug to help treat Alzheimer's. (00:10:33)

7. Other types of brain cells. (00:11:55)

8. Bioinformatics and the life of a bioinformatics scientist. (00:15:03)

9. How much data are we talking about? (00:17:19)

10. The importance of clinical data. (00:19:22)

11. The future for treating dementia.. (00:20:40)

12. What part of the this research excites you? (00:22:24)

13. Three questions. (00:23:56)

14. When did you know you wanted to be a scientist? (00:24:07)

15. What would you be if you were not a scientist? (00:25:59)

16. What advice do you have for future scientists? (00:26:56)

17. Sign-off - Learn more (00:29:20)