Can we reimagine our material world—from the clothes we wear to the creams we use—using biology as our blueprint? What if the materials of tomorrow were hiding in the natural world—and all we needed was a way to grow them? In this episode of Ignition Sequence, host Dylan Bohbot speaks with Dr. David Breslauer, co-founder of Bolt Threads, about the science and promise of bioengineered materials—from spider silk and mycelium leather to proteins designed for personal care.

Dr. Breslauer shares how decades of obsession with spider silk turned into a company making real-world products with custom-designed biomaterials. From sustainable textiles to fungus-based leather alternatives, and even proteins that replace microplastics in face creams, Breslauer reveals how biology, evolution, and biotechnology can come together to solve some of our biggest material challenges. They also explore the role of AI in designing new proteins, the future of regenerative materials, and the deeper mystery of how human learning actually works.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. Why spider silk is one of the most powerful natural materials—and so hard to replicate

2. How microbes are engineered to produce proteins like spider silk at scale

3. What Bolt Threads is doing with mushroom-based leather and beauty products

4. Why microplastics and synthetic additives in clothing and cosmetics are a growing concern

5. How AI is helping design better proteins for next-generation biomaterials

Timestamps

00:00:27 – Meet Dr. David Breslauer: bioengineer and co-founder of Bolt Threads

00:02:11 – Discovering spider silk and launching a biomaterials company

00:04:39 – The problem with synthetic materials and microplastics in clothing

00:07:29 – Why biodegradable, bio-based materials are the future

00:10:20 – Making spider silk from microbes: how it works

00:17:20 – Spinning silk into fibers, films, and more

00:20:05 – What are B-Silk, Microsilk, and Mylo? Product breakdown

00:21:44 – Replacing toxic chemicals in skincare with bioengineered proteins

00:24:09 – How genome databases unlock new silks from bees, crickets, and more

00:26:31 – Why spider silk is so difficult to manufacture

00:32:02 – Spider silk for wound healing and medical applications

00:34:02 – The challenge of bringing bio-based apparel to market

00:38:12 – Using AI to design new proteins and biomaterials

00:41:42 – Color without pigment: the next frontier of natural dyes

00:44:01 – Milo: Bolt Threads’ fungus-based leather alternative

00:47:09 – Curiosity beyond silk: how do humans actually learn?

Helpful Links

🔹 Bolt Threads: https://boltthreads.com

🔹 Accelerator Media: https://acceleratormedia.org

Your support helps fuel our mission to ignite curiosity and empower future world changers around the world. Learn more at AcceleratorMedia.org.

What if your cells could talk—not just through molecules, but through light? In this episode of Ignition Sequence, host Dylan Bohbot sits down with Dr. Nirosha Murugan, Canada Research Chair and biophysicist at Wilfrid Laurier University, to explore how the body emits and responds to light, magnetism, and electricity—and why that may be key to detecting disease, regenerating limbs, and even decoding consciousness itself.

Dr. Murugan unpacks her pioneering work measuring ultra-weak light emissions from living cells, detecting cancer noninvasively, and using electric and magnetic fields to kickstart regeneration in non-healing species. From the physics of life to brain photonics and quantum biology, this episode dives into emerging frontiers that challenge our deepest assumptions about how biology communicates, heals, and perceives the world.

Is light just a metabolic byproduct—or could it be a fundamental language of life?

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. Why living cells and tissues emit ultra-weak light—and how to detect it

2. How magnetism, electricity, and photonics may help us regenerate limbs

3. The surprising role of mitochondria in cellular light production

4. How Dr. Murugan’s lab detects early-stage cancer using light patterns

5. What it means to think of biology not just as chemistry, but as energy

Timestamps

00:00:27 – Meet Dr. Nirosha Murugan: biophysicist studying light, magnetism, and life

00:03:17 – How cells emit light—and how her lab detects it using astrophysics tools

00:06:01 – Bio-photon emissions vs. bioluminescence: what’s the difference?

00:09:22 – Regenerating limbs using electricity, magnetic fields, and silk-based scaffolds

00:17:06 – Detecting cancer noninvasively by reading cellular light patterns

00:21:03 – Brain light emissions: are they a form of communication or consciousness?

00:27:30 – Can light in the brain travel like fiber optics? Early research insights

00:31:15 – Intelligence without neurons: what slime molds reveal about cognition

00:34:14 – Rethinking biology as an energetic—not just chemical—landscape

00:38:07 – Altered states, psychedelics, and surprising findings about brain light

00:44:16 – Scientific resistance, open inquiry, and the future of interdisciplinary biology

00:49:06 – Off-topic reflections: why aviation, nature, and creativity still matter

🔗 Helpful Links

🔹 Exploring ultraweak photon emissions as optical markers of brain activity paper: https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225002792

🔹 Accelerator Media: https://acceleratormedia.org

What is carbon—and how can this element, born in dying stars billions of years ago, be responsible for all life as we know it, while also driving the instability of Earth’s climate system? In this episode of Ignition Sequence, host Dylan Bohbot is joined by Prof. Raymond Thomas Pierrehumbert, FRS, Halley Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford, to unpack the cosmic and planetary journey of carbon—from the heart of exploding stars to its pivotal role in shaping life and climate on Earth.

A leading voice in climate physics and planetary atmospheres, Prof. Pierrehumbert shares how carbon became the backbone of biology, why Earth’s climate is uniquely stable (for now), and what alien worlds with exotic atmospheres can teach us about our own. They dive into everything from exoplanet discoveries and Mars microbes to solar-powered spacecraft, beer carbonation, and what the future might hold if we don’t change our carbon trajectory.

This is science at its most expansive—connecting astrophysics, climate change, and everyday life into one thought-provoking conversation.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. How carbon formed in stars and became the backbone of life on Earth

2. Why Earth’s carbon cycle is so stable—and how this balance is changing

3. How scientists “read” exoplanet atmospheres across light-years

4. What kinds of life might survive on Mars—and whether we should bring microbes home

5. A physicist’s take on beer, solar-powered space probes, and planetary stewardship

⸻

Timestamps

00:00:27 – Meet Prof. Raymond Pierrehumbert: climate physicist and Oxford professor

00:01:58 – His early inspiration and journey into science

00:03:41 – Exoplanets with crystal rain and alien chemistry

00:06:49 – How we detect chemical signatures in other worlds’ atmospheres

00:08:22 – The origin of carbon and the building blocks of life

00:18:42 – Could life exist without carbon? The search for chemical precursors

00:27:47 – Should we bring extraterrestrial microbes back to Earth?

00:31:41 – What life might survive on Mars today

00:35:57 – Hubble, James Webb, and the future of space observation

00:41:24 – Solar power in space: how probes run off starlight

00:44:48 – Earth as a self-regulating system—and what carbon is doing to it

00:46:10 – What makes naturally carbonated beer so different?

00:54:08 – The problem with burning ancient carbon

01:02:50 – What keeps Prof. Pierrehumbert curious outside of science

01:07:43 – Final reflections on life, the universe, and a bubbling pint

⸻

🔗 Helpful Links

🔹 Find Raymond on Bluesky: http://climatebook.bsky.social/
🔹 Raymond Pierrehumbert at Oxford: https://physics.ox.ac.uk/our-people/pierrehumbert

🔹 Principles of Planetary Climate (among his books): https://amazon.com/Principles-Planetary-Climate-Raymond-Pierrehumbert-ebook/dp/B00CF0K3D2?ref_=ast_author_dp

🔹 Accelerator Media: https://acceleratormedia.org

What can ancient DNA teach us about lost cities, living descendants, and the ethics of genetics?In this episode of Ignition Sequence, anthropologist and geneticist Dr. Meradeth Snow joins host Dylan Bohbot for a wide-ranging conversation about the deep history of North America’s Indigenous peoples, how we study ancient migrations, and the complicated relationship between genetics and Native identity.

Dr. Snow shares insights from her fieldwork at Paquimé, a vast pre-Columbian city in northern Mexico, and explains how modern genetic tools are helping to reconnect remains with present-day tribal nations—on their terms. The conversation also explores Indigenous-led genetic databases, the history of colonial abuses in genetic research, and what it means to preserve language and culture in a post-contact world.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. Why Paquimé might rewrite what we thought we knew about Native North American civilizations

2. How genetics is helping identify the descendants of ancient people

3. Why some Native communities are building their own DNA databases

4. What ethical questions scientists face when working with Indigenous ancestry

5. Why preserving Indigenous languages is vital to cultural survival

Timestamps:

00:02:16 – The ancient city of Paquimé and its global significance

00:04:43 – Cultural exchange between Mesoamerica and the American Southwest

00:06:00 – Were Paquimé’s people local, or migrants? The genetics tell a story

00:13:30 – Agriculture, water systems, and urban design in the desert

00:23:36 – Why some tribes reject DNA testing—and how that’s changing

00:26:05 – Building tribally-owned DNA databases to address MMIW and repatriation

00:31:28 – Confronting conspiracy theories and misrepresentations of Indigenous identity

00:35:18 – Culture isn’t just in your genes—it’s something you live

00:36:14 – The urgent fight to preserve Indigenous languages

⸻

🔗 Helpful Links🔹 Snow Genomics Lab: https://www.umt.edu/anthropology/research/snow-lab

⸻

Follow Accelerator Media🔹 https://x.com/xceleratormedia🔹 https://instagram.com/xcelerator.media🔹 https://linkedin.com/company/accelerator-media-org

What if aging was optional—and extinction reversible? In this mind-expanding episode of Ignition Sequence, geneticist and biotech pioneer Dr. George Church joins host Dylan Bohbot to explore the frontiers of gene therapy, de-extinction, and the future of human health. A founding scientist behind the Human Genome Project, and co-founder of Colossal Biosciences and Rejuvenate Bio, Dr. Church breaks down the science behind living longer, reviving extinct species like the woolly mammoth and dire wolf, and using synthetic biology to heal ecosystems—and ourselves.

The conversation spans decades of innovation, from the earliest genome sequencing breakthroughs to today’s radically affordable, precision therapies. Along the way, Dr. Church shares compelling stories, surprising stats, and visionary goals for how gene editing and de-extinction might actually reverse climate change and extend the healthy human lifespan well beyond 100.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. Why George Church believes there’s no biological limit to how long we can live

2. How gene therapy could “dose you for life” with a single treatment

3. What it takes to bring back an extinct species—and why it might help the planet

4. Why restoring biodiversity could be key to fighting climate change

5. What we can do right now to protect endangered species and future generations

Timestamps

00:00:35 – The origin of George Church’s legendary “mugshot” photo

00:03:15 – How the Human Genome Project really began—with the Department of Energy

00:06:21 – Crashing the cost of genome sequencing: from $3 billion to $250

00:12:49 – A pragmatic roadmap to reversing aging through gene therapy

00:17:56 – Can we live to 100 and feel like we’re 50? Church explains

00:24:35 – Why bringing back extinct species could help stop climate change

00:27:16 – How Colossal Biosciences uses ancient DNA to rewild modern ecosystems

00:33:25 – The dire wolf comeback: gene editing in action

00:35:22 – The thylacine, the mammoth, and other stretch-goal species

00:40:16 – Why the mammoth matters most to Dr. Church

00:43:47 – What we can all do now to protect biodiversity

00:47:09 – Gene drives, invasive species, and the ethics of ecological engineering

00:52:05 – George Church on curiosity, kindness, and what the future might look like

⸻

🔗 Helpful Links

🔹 Colossal Biosciences: https://colossal.com

🔹 Rejuvenate Bio: https://rejuvenatebio.com

🔹 Church Lab at Harvard: https://churchlab.hms.harvard.edu/

What happens when plastic pollution doesn’t stay in the environment—but ends up in your brain? In this eye-opening episode of Ignition Sequence, environmental toxicologist Dr. Matthew Campen joins host Dylan Bohbot to discuss his groundbreaking research on microplastics found in human organs, including the brain. Drawing from his recent Nature Medicine study, Dr. Campen explains how these invisible pollutants accumulate, what that means for human health, and why we still know so little about their long-term impact.

The conversation spans from particle detection techniques and systemic exposure pathways to larger questions about how we manage plastic waste, the health effects of wildfire smoke, and what we can do to reduce risk. It’s a sobering, science-packed dialogue with plenty of hope and pragmatic solutions woven throughout.

In this episode, you’ll learn:1. How microplastics make their way into the brain—and why it’s worse than we thought2. The most common types of plastic found in human organs3. What makes plastics different from typical chemical pollutants4. How smoke exposure from wildfires may impact long-term brain health5. What individuals and governments can do to mitigate exposure and rethink plastic use

Timestamps00:00:30 – Introduction to Dr. Campen and his environmental toxicology background00:03:16 – Microplastics found in human brains: key findings from Nature Medicine00:09:00 – The science of detection: pyrolysis-GC-MS and other techniques00:13:04 – Where microplastics come from and how they end up in us00:17:14 – Why plastics should return to the carbon cycle—and how long that takes00:21:46 – What worries scientists most: nano and molecular plastics00:24:24 – Solutions? The case for incineration and waste-to-energy systems00:30:14 – Reducing personal exposure: diet, habits, and better choices00:35:44 – Brain plastic levels and links to dementia00:38:16 – Wildfire smoke and long-term neurological effects00:50:50 – What keeps Dr. Campen up at night—and what gives him hope

🔗 Helpful Links🔹 Dr. Campen’s Nature Medicine study "Bioaccumulation of microplastics in decedent human brains": https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-03453-1🔹 UN Plastics Treaty Overview: https://www.unep.org/inc-plastic-pollution🔹 Learn more about microplastics and human health: https://www.wecf.org/the-plastic-health-coalition/🔹 Matthew Campen Laboratory at University of New Mexico Health Sciences: https://hsc.unm.edu/pharmacy/research/labs/campen/

Follow Accelerator Media:https://x.com/xceleratormediahttps://instagram.com/xcelerator.mediahttps://linkedin.com/company/accelerator-media-org

This podcast is produced by volunteers at Accelerator Media, a nonprofit educational media organization. Our work is supported by listeners and viewers like you acceleratormedia.org/donate/

Dr. Fevziye Hasan, biodiversity scientist and curator of entomology at Uppsala University’s Museum of Evolution in Sweden, joins host Dylan Bohbot on this episode of Ignition Sequence to explore the mighty world of insects—from their hidden ecological powers to their often underestimated influence on global systems.

Known as “the little things that run the world,” insects account for more biomass than all wild vertebrates combined—and ants and termites alone make up over half of that mass.In this dynamic conversation, Fez recounts how growing up in East London and a teenage internship at the Natural History Museum ignited her passion for entomology. She takes us through her groundbreaking research on insect biomass, nutrient cycling in tropical ecosystems, and her PhD work on dung beetle ecology in New Zealand—where imported beetles were introduced to solve a modern pollution crisis caused by livestock.

We dive into insect biodiversity’s critical role in maintaining ecosystem function, the risks posed by invasive species and monoculture farming, and why flies, termites, and beetles deserve far more credit than they get. Fez also shares her hopes for biodiversity data, the future of taxonomy, and the promise and risks of insects as food and feed in a circular bioeconomy.

What You’ll Learn

1. The Insect MajorityWhy ants and termites, though only 1% of insect species, dominate the planet’s insect biomass.

2. Dung Beetles vs. PollutionHow imported beetles helped restore ecological function in New Zealand’s pastures—and what makes them safe.

3. Termites & Climate ResilienceWhy termite biodiversity could be key to surviving future droughts in tropical regions.

4. The Insect ApocalypseWhat’s really behind declining insect populations, and why habitat loss may be a bigger threat than pesticides.

5. The Future of Insects in Science & SocietyFrom taxonomy to black soldier flies—how insects may shape the future of food, data, and global ecosystems.

Timestamps

00:00:44 – Introduction to Dr. Fez Hasan and the Museum of Evolution

00:01:52 – How a high school internship launched a lifelong fascination with insects

00:05:04 – Seeing beetles the size of your hand: a moment of scientific wonder

00:07:27 – The problem with how humans perceive insects

00:08:42 – Why ants and termites might be the true “kings of the jungle”

00:11:07 – Experiment shows ants remove more than half of forest nutrients

00:17:04 – From tropical rainforests to New Zealand pastures: Fez’s PhD story

00:19:44 – Introducing dung beetles to solve ecological pollution

00:27:00 – How tunneling dung beetles boost soil fertility and reduce runoff

00:33:02 – New Zealand’s ancient, flightless dung beetles and nutrient pathways

00:35:04 – Can insects be early warning systems for environmental decline?

00:43:30 – What’s causing insect decline—and what can be done?

00:48:23 – The urgent need to fund taxonomy and biodiversity science

00:50:26 – Black soldier flies and the promise (and danger) of circular bioeconomies

00:56:01 – What keeps Fez up at night: the taxonomy bottleneck and data accessibility

00:57:33 – How technology and big biodiversity data could change everything

🔗 Helpful Links

🔹 Fez Hasan: https://www.fevziyehasan.se/

🔹 Follow Fez on X: https://x.com/fezidae

🔹 Study in Science on termites and drought resilience: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aau9565

🔹Fez Hasan at Google Scholar https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=Y9W1kXztQmQC&hl=en

🔹Paul Eggleton's paper on insect decline: https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-environ-012420-050035

🔹 Learn more about the Museum of Evolution: https://www.uu.se/en/museum-of-evolution

Follow Accelerator Media:https://x.com/xceleratormedia

linkedin.com/company/accelerator-media-org

This podcast is produced by volunteers at Accelerator Media, a nonprofit educational media organization. Our work is supported by listeners and viewers like you. If you’d like to help us ignite curiosity and inspire long-term thinking about our shared future, please consider making a donation: https://acceleratormedia.org/donate/Dr. Stuart Hameroff, co-founder of the Center for Consciousness Studies and Professor Emeritus at the University of Arizona, joins Ignition Sequence to explore one of science’s deepest mysteries: how the brain produces consciousness—and how anesthetics erase it. A clinical anesthesiologist and researcher, Hameroff is best known for co-developing the Orch OR theory with Sir Roger Penrose, proposing that quantum processes within microtubules—tiny structures in neurons—are central to conscious experience.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Hameroff shares how cancer research and philosophy of mind led him to challenge mainstream neuroscience. He explains why awareness may stem from orchestrated quantum events, not neural complexity, and discusses growing evidence for quantum effects in the brain. We also explore the limits of AI, the promise of ultrasound for Alzheimer’s, and why consciousness may be fundamental to the fabric of reality.

What You’ll Learn 1. Quantum Consciousness & the Brain

Why microtubules and quantum coherence may underlie conscious experience.

2. The Limits of AI & the Misunderstood Brain

Why today’s AI models, based on neural representations, may fall short of true awareness.

3. Consciousness Before Life

A provocative theory: consciousness may have sparked life into existence.

4. Ultrasound & Alzheimer’s

How ultrasound could stimulate microtubules and reverse cognitive decline.

5. Anesthetics & Consciousness

What anesthetics reveal about the nature—and fragility—of awareness.Timestamps00:02:18 – Discovering propofol and the mystery of selective unconsciousness00:04:19 – Microtubules, mitosis, and the origin of Hameroff’s quantum theory00:06:47 – Slime molds and paramecia: single-cell cognition and what it reveals00:08:07 – Why brain complexity doesn’t explain consciousness00:09:38 – The hard problem and reading Penrose’s The Emperor’s New Mind00:13:16 – Debunking AI consciousness and the myth of emergent awareness00:14:05 – Quantum mechanics, wavefunction collapse, and Penrose’s breakthrough00:20:16 – Connecting quantum gravity and space-time to conscious experience00:24:20 – How Hameroff and Penrose met and started working together00:30:56 – The backlash from neuroscience and how photosynthesis helped change minds00:31:34 – Evidence: anesthesia dampens quantum effects in microtubules00:34:14 – How inert gases like xenon interact with aromatic rings in the brain00:37:37 – Experiments showing anesthetic impact on quantum oscillations00:45:18 – Non-local consciousness, near-death experiences, and quantum information00:48:09 – Microtubules as time crystals and the deep structure of space-time00:52:30 – Can quantum computing lead to conscious machines?00:54:17 – Why organic chemistry—not silicon—is key to consciousness00:56:02 – Consciousness in the primordial soup: a theory of life’s origin01:00:27 – The metaphysics of consciousness: noise, music, and the brain as orchestrator01:01:12 – Using ultrasound to stimulate microtubules and restore cognition01:05:32 – Why ultrasound could be a breakthrough in treating Alzheimer’s01:07:07 – Final thoughts on safe, low-cost therapies and the future of consciousness research🔗 Helpful Links:🔹 Center for Consciousness Studies: https://consciousness.arizona.edu🔹 Learn more about the Orch OR theory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchestrated_objective_reduction🔹 Stuart Hameroff’s publications: https://hameroff.arizona.edu/Follow Accelerator Media:https://x.com/xceleratormediahttps://instagram.com/xcelerator.media/https://linkedin.com/company/accelerator-media-org