Best Space Invaders Podcasts (2024)

Send us a text In episode 19, Alex and I discuss the history and future of developments in the CHARMM family of force fields, and whether Alex believes there is more physics that we need to include in our classical energy functions to work around our current challenges in biomolecular modeling. Throughout the conversation, he's advocated for a prag…

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Episode 18 - Erik Lindahl: Finding simple and novel ideas, starting an experimental lab, and ligand-gated ion channels 36:58

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2M ago36:58

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Send us a text In Episode 18, Erik Lindahl reminds us that despite our dependence on computational power and advanced technology, real breakthroughs are often waiting for those who have the patience to think carefully, come up with eye-opening ideas, and follow their sense of purpose. We discuss the different ways to be smart in science, highlighti…

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Episode 17 - Caroline Lynn Kamerlin: Deep interdisciplinarity, enzyme promiscuity, and science in society 40:30

2M ago40:30

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Send us a text In episode seventeen, Caroline Lynn Kamerlin talks about the art of asking bold and impactful scientific questions, as well as how to engage in truly interdisciplinary research, something she sees as a consequence of her formal background in natural philosophy. We talk about the emerging concepts around enzyme promiscuity, how this v…

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Episode 16½ - End-of-season 2 commentary 19:23

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Send us a textBy Miłosz Wieczór

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Episode 16 - Janusz Bujnicki: Structural modeling, RNA modifications, and advising policy-makers on science 28:51

4M ago28:51

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Send us a text In the sixteenth episode, Janusz Bujnicki tells me about his early switch to bioinformatics, a stroke of serendipity that defined his future career, and how he later managed to reincorporate both biophysics and experimental biology into his research agenda. We talk about the current state of the field of RNA structural prediction, an…

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Episode 15 - Paulo CT Souza: Developing a universal coarse-grained force field, and approaching the science of molecular complexity 26:41

4M ago26:41

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Send us a text In the fifteenth episode, Paulo Souza and I discuss the challenges inherent in managing a project of such a scope, and the philosophy behind the systematic way in which Martini is continuously improved and reparameterized. Paulo describes how a user-centric approach helps refine and troubleshoot the model through its widescale adopti…

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Episode 14 - Syma Khalid: New ways to fight bacteria, the bacterial envelope, and kindness & openness in academia 23:00

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Send us a text In the fourteenth episode, Syma Khalid and I talk about the challenges we're faced with when trying to understand the environment of the bacterial cell envelope, and the outer membrane in particular. We discuss how the lessons taken from the computational study of these structures can inform the design of future antibacterial agents.…

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Episode 13 - Daniel Zuckerman: Trajectory ensembles, writing books, and learning biology through physics 29:45

5M ago29:45

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Send us a text In the thirteenth episode, Daniel Zuckerman and I talk about textbooks on statistical biophysics and a physics-based vision of biology, a few of which he himself authored. Daniel reveals that his passion for clarity in writing comes from his early humanities background, and makes a case for how well-thought and physically motivated n…

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Episode 12 - Vlad Cojocaru: Simulating transcriptional regulation, returning to our home countries, and the scales of the genome 27:12

5M ago27:12

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Send us a text In the twelfth episode, Vlad Cojocaru and I discuss how the simulation field can integrate further layers of complexity in modeling transcription control and genome organization in humans. Vlad shares his insights on the computational biology of transcription factors, including DNA-mediated allostery and pioneer transcription factors…

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Episode 11 - Justin Lemkul: Providing technical help online, sharing expertise, and polarization in nucleic acids 29:38

5M ago29:38

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Send us a text In the eleventh episode, Justin Lemkul and I talk about the motivations and challenges behind providing technical help on online forums and mailing lists. Justin shares his story of becoming a prolific technical advisor for the Gromacs community, which evolves into a discussion about automatability, the role of expertise in running a…

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Episode 10 - Ariane Nunes-Alves: Kinetics in drug design, molecular crowding, and the social life of a PI 19:13

6M ago19:13

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Send us a text In the tenth episode, Ariane Nunes-Alves and I talk about a kinetics-centric view of drug design, making the case that modeling kinetics in atomistic simulation is an important frontier that, despite clear biomedical relevance, is rarely explicitly addressed either in model parameterization or with the latest AI methods. We discuss t…

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Episode 9 - Michele Vendruscolo: Preventing protein misfolding, fostering public engagement of scientists, and AI tools in drug design 31:21

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Send us a text In the ninth episode, Michele Vendruscolo and I discuss the current state of research on misfolding diseases, typically associated with excessive protein aggregation and formation of insoluble amyloids. Michele presents an optimistic perspective in which the convergence of recent clinical and software developments opens up new avenue…

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Episode 8½ - My commentary: Wrapping up the first season 20:15

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Send us a text In this episode, I'm attempting to string together the most common threads brought up by my guests in the first eight interviews on the podcast. Reflecting on these conversations, I'm suggesting some grand challenges for the field in the years to come.By Miłosz Wieczór

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Episode 8 - Rossen Apostolov: Managing scientific collaboration, the biggest project of European biophysics, and seeding schools of thought 27:13

7M ago27:13

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Send us a text In the eight episode, Rossen Apostolov and I depart from the standard format to talk about the core concepts behind BioExcel, the European Center of Excellence for computational biology. We discuss their main objectives and challenges, from working with code to organizing schools and webinars, talk about the challenges of sustaining …

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Episode 7 - Aleksei Aksimentiev: Nanobiotechnology, the importance of mentoring, and engineering serendipity 37:38

7M ago37:38

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Send us a text In the seventh episode, Aleksei Aksimentiev and I delve into the intersection of physics, biology, and nanotechnology, exploring the innovative world of nanopores and biomolecular sequencing. Aleksei shares his journey from particle physics in Ukraine to leading-edge research in the US, and underscores how on the unpredictable path o…

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Episode 6 - Giulia Palermo: Reimagining scientific creativity, the RNA revolution, and truly multiscale systems 24:24

8M ago24:24

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Send us a text In the sixth episode, Giulia Palermo and I discuss the challenges of studying truly multiscale biomolecular systems, such as the CRISPR/Cas9 complex she famously got involved with. While such problems can take us way out of our comfort zones, they also provide us with clear pathways to innovative and transformative science, something…

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Episode 5 - Paul Robustelli: The dissolving barrier between industry and academia, embracing our artistic side, and new models of funding 30:04

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Send us a text In the fifth episode, Paul Robustelli and I discuss how the once very sharp boundary between academia and industry has been becoming increasingly porous, and what implications it will have for future careers in science. Paul shares his experiences and observations about the competing models of funding scientific research, and makes a…

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Episode 4 - Modesto Orozco: Computations driving experiments, opening simulation data, and integrating knowledge across sources and scales 24:18

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Send us a text In the fourth episode, Modesto Orozco and I talk about the rough path to the predictive power modern computational science has achieved in biology, and the immense possibilities it opens to today's computational biologists working across the scales of space and time. Modesto also reflects on why sharing simulation data is crucial to …

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Episode 3 - Wojtek Kopeć: Science as a social endeavor, learning from industry, and the experience of starting a new lab 35:51

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Send us a text In the third episode, Wojtek Kopeć and I discuss the overlooked yet exciting social aspect of scientific collaboration, and what the world of academia could learn from the industry and statisticians to avoid falling behind. Wojtek also shares his personal experience of starting a lab as a new PI, and we reflect on the role of honesty…

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Episode 2 - Max Bonomi: Interoperability, AI-generated ensembles, and recognizing all contributions to science 24:24

9M ago24:24

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Send us a text In the second episode, Max Bonomi and I discuss efforts to achieve interoperability and portability in the computational community, and how the AI structural revolution will unfold to bring us realistic molecular ensembles. We then move on to ask how the entire range of contributions to science can be recognized, particularly at the …

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Episode 1 - Pilar Cossio: Modeling experimental setups, overpublishing, and maintaining code 27:00

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Send us a text In the first episode, Pilar Cossio and I discuss the radical progress in integrating simulations with experiments, and the excitement about recent progress in modeling cryo-EM tomography data. We share thoughts on the sustainability of our publishing practices, and comment on the challenges of funding the maintenance of scientific co…

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Introduction: Do we really need another podcast? 6:39

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Send us a text What is this all about? Does the computational community need a podcast? Along with the first interview, I'm sharing the idea behind PSI, and explaining why the time is ripe for a new marketplace of ideas to drive the changes in how we do science. Everyone is invited, from ambitious undergraduates to seasoned veterans!…

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What's Barbie got to do with feminist protest? 25:37

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Space Invader Mel Strauss catches up with Sarah Williamson, also known as Art Activist Barbie to talk feminist activism and gender equity in collections and displays.

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Flexible working for feminist leadership 43:29

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Sara Wajid and Zak Mensah are the first CEOs to job share in a large UK museum. They met with feminist sociologist Dr. Nirmal Puwar, to explore the implications for feminist leadership in this model.

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Feminist solidarity at the museum 34:01

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Laura Van Broekhoven and our Sharon Heal talk disrupting hierarchies and taking steps to decolonise the Pitt Rivers Museum.

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Women of colour in leadership 42:14

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Space Invader Sara Wajid talks to Nirmal Puwar about her fascinating research into women leaders in museums. They explore why her book is called Space Invaders, how it feels to enter a space that wasn't designed for you. And the challenges faced by women of colour in leadership. Presented by Sara Wajid :: Produced by Lucy Harland :: Recorded on Zoo…

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Building a feminist museum from scratch 31:38

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Space Invader Mel Strauss catches up with Eastend Women's Museum's Rachel Crossley to talk feminism, leadership and making a museum from scratch. Presented by Mel Strauss :: Produced by Lucy Harland :: Recorded on Zoom during lockdown

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Feminist Leadership in action 33:38

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Back in January when we could still roam free, Space Invader Sharon Heal caught up with the inspirational Dr Adele Patrick at Glasgow Women's Library. Listen in to find out how Adele puts feminist principles into practice at work. Presented by Sharon Heal :: Produced by Lucy Harland :: Recorded in January 2020 at Glasgow Bridgeton Station and Glasg…