Episode 5: Nathan Price on scientific wellness and a Mojito

The Translational Mixer

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Nathan Price, currently on leave from the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle and Chief Scientific Officer at Thorne HealthTech, talks to JC and Andy about his data-driven approach to understanding health and predicting personal trajectories into disease as we age.
03:24 What is scientific wellness?
06:53 Correlates of scientific wellness
15:45. Generating hypotheses
18:40 Multimodal over unimodal data
22:04. Biomarkers and individual disease trajectories
28:00 How to intervene to maintain wellness?
30:01 A new era for supplements?
32:26 Single interventions versus combinations
37:59 Racial background and lifestyle
41:00 Digital twins, trial design and recruitment
43:30 Mocktails and mojitos
The Mojito
10–12 mint leaves and mint sprig
1 Oz simple syrup (50% sugar solution)
2 Oz white rum
0.75 Oz freshly squeezed lime juice.
~1–2 Oz club soda
DIRECTIONS: Place the mint leaves in a shaker tin, add the syrup and gently muddle the leaves 10–12 times. Add the rum and freshly squeezed lime juice. Shake over ice for 15 seconds and double strain over fresh ice into a Collins glass. Top up with the club soda and mix gently. Slap a mint sprig to release the aromatic oils and add it as garnish.

Sources mentioned in the podcast
The supposed Native American 'diabetes gene'. Newman, AS. Peace Rev. 12, 517-524 (2010)

Todd Rose. The End of Average (HarperCollins, 2016).

Can a biologist fix a radio? Lazebnik, Y. Cancer Cell 2, 172-182 (2002) https://www.cell.com/cancer-cell/pdf/S1535-6108(02)00133-2.pdf

Lancet Commission on risk factors for dementia: Livingston, G et al. Lancet 396, 413-446 (2020) https://www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(20)30367-6/fulltext

Precision Medicine Approaches for Developing Combination Therapies for the Treatment and Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and AD-Related Dementia, National Institute of Aging, December 4-5, 2023.
Khullar, D How to die in good health. New Yorker (April 15, 2024)

The Mixer music “Pour Me Another” courtesy of Smooth Moves!

Chapters

1. Episode 5: Nathan Price on scientific wellness and a Mojito (00:00:00)

2. What is scientific wellness? (00:03:24)

3. Correlates of scientific wellness (00:06:53)

4. Generating hypotheses (00:15:45)

5. Multimodal over unimodal data (00:18:40)

6. Biomarkers and individual disease trajectories (00:22:04)

7. How to intervene to maintain wellness? (00:28:00)

8. A new era for supplements? (00:30:00)

9. Single interventions versus combinations (00:32:26)

10. Racial background and lifestyle (00:37:59)

11. Digital twins, trial design and recruitment (00:41:00)

12. Mocktails and mojitos (00:43:30)