Biomedical Engineering podcasts

Andrew Huberman joins Patrick O’Shaughnessy to discuss the frontier of neurotechnology and sustained human performance. Their conversation considers the convergence of AI and biotechnology, gene-based methods for changing neural activity and motivation, and the relationships between visual behaviour, arousal and sleep. Huberman is a neuroscientist and professor at Stanford University.

Hosted by Patrick O’Shaughnessy

Benjamin Thompson and Shamini Bundell discuss two scientific stories from the Nature Briefing. The first concerns a technique for detecting lead that may help researchers read damaged Roman scrolls from Herculaneum without unrolling the fragile, charred material. The second examines a biodegradable, paper-inspired edible battery and its potential use in medical devices inside the body. The publisher’s episode page and official podcast feed both identify this 25 September 2026 episode; the discussion lasts 11 minutes 32 seconds.

Medical physicist Nick Zacharopoulos, chief executive of Aktina Medical, talks with Tami Freeman about developing radiation-oncology technologies and combining industry with academic research. He traces a career that began building radiotherapy components with his father, discusses product development at Aktina, and explains how persistence and a conversation with a colleague led him to a doctorate at McGill University.

Hosted by Tami Freeman

Nature staff discuss geophysical evidence that could indicate hidden chambers beyond Tutankhamun's tomb and what the findings might imply for the search for Nefertiti's burial place. The episode also examines a multifunctional brain-computer interface that translates neural activity into both speech and gestures, highlighting how one implant can support several forms of communication.

Chris Smith presents a research-news episode covering a treatment for prematurely fused infant skull bones, discussion of advanced AI risks, animal-assisted observations in Greenland’s fjords, and a European commercial rocket launch. The surgery segment explains how biomedical modelling and engineered springs supported treatment planning.

Hosted by Chris Smith

Science journalists discuss why the food-borne illness cyclosporiasis is difficult to track and a new map of a major highway in the human nervous system. Leslie Chan then explains an ingestible metabolic probe that detects gut-microbiome enzyme activity from volatile signals in the breath.

Nicholas Weiler talks with Guosong Hong about overcoming the limited penetration of light into brain tissue. Inspired by transparent tissues in glass frogs and the eye, Hong describes approaches involving fluorescent nanomaterials, focused ultrasound and molecules that temporarily reduce optical scattering. The conversation examines experiments with a common food dye and a project to genetically engineer mice with transparent brains from birth. These techniques could provide new ways to observe neural circuits and study how the brain develops and functions.

Hosted by Nicholas Weiler

Steven Niederer and Richard Wilkinson discuss personalised mathematical models of patients’ hearts and their potential use in care. The conversation connects digital twins and the CVDNet project with research on representing, calibrating and using uncertainty in predictions. It also traces how this work develops ideas from the earlier Fickle Heart research programme.

Anthony Burkitt, Nada Yousif and Esra Neufeld discuss how computational research can inform neurotechnology for clinical use.

Chris Rozell discusses combining deep-brain stimulation, neural recordings and machine learning to study treatment-resistant depression. The conversation examines biomarkers of recovery, open- and closed-loop interventions, prediction of treatment responses and explainable models, while addressing the obstacles and interdisciplinary work involved in precision neuroengineering.

Hosted by Paul Middlebrooks

Gaute Einevoll reflects on his academic career and explains his research in mathematical neuroscience, brain physics and neurotechnology. Anniversary solo episode in Norwegian.