Neuroscience and Beyond

Episodes

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  What Happens to Your Brain as You Age? | Prof. Bogdan Draganski 26.10.2026 1h 21m

  What if brain aging is not as inevitable as we think? Can we protect our brains from dementia? And could simple changes in midlife give us more years of healthy cognitive function? In this episode we speak with Prof. Bogdan Draganski, a neurologist and neuroscientist based in Switzerland, about the fascinating science of brain aging, neurodegeneration, and brain plasticity. We explore what actually happens to our brains as we get older, why Alzheimer's pathology can begin decades before the f...
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  How the Brain Turns Memories Into Actions | Dr. Oliver Barnstedt 28.09.2026 1h 23m

  What is a memory, and how does the brain transform our past experiences into actions? In this episode of Neuroscience and Beyond, I speak with Dr. Oliver Barnstedt, neuroscientist and group leader at the European Neuroscience Institute Göttingen, whose research explores the neural circuits underlying memory and behavior. We discuss what memories actually are, how they are represented across neural circuits, and why remembering is not simply a matter of retrieving a fixed record of the past. D...
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  The Next Chapter of Neuroscience and Beyond Podcast | A Channel Update 07.09.2026 8m

  After three years, around 40 long-form conversations, and listeners and viewers from more than 130 countries, Neuroscience and Beyond is entering a new chapter. In this video, we wanted to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who has supported the podcast, share a personal update after recently defending my PhD, and explain where we want to take Neuroscience and Beyond next. Over the coming months, we will be simplifying what we do and putting more of our time and energy into what we ...
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  How Our Brains Process Numbers | Prof. Andreas Nieder 27.07.2026 1h 6m

  Walk into a room and you instantly know, roughly, how many people are there, without counting. So does a monkey. So does a crow. So, strangely enough, does a bee! In this episode, Andreas Nieder - Professor of Animal Physiology at the University of Tübingen and one of the world's leading voices in cognitive #neuroscience - takes us inside the brain circuits that let humans and animals alike sense "how many." Nieder has spent his career recording single neurons in crows, macaques, and hu...
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  Cancer and the Brain: How Neurons Help Tumors Grow | Prof. Frank Winkler 29.06.2026 46m

  Could the nervous system be helping cancer grow? Research in #cancer #neuroscience is revealing a surprising two-way communication between neurons and cancer cells that is changing how we understand tumor growth and opening new possibilities for treatment. In this episode of Neuroscience and Beyond, we speak with Prof. Frank Winkler about how cancer cells hijack the brain's communication networks, why #glioblastoma is one of the most challenging brain tumors to treat, and how discoveries at t...
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  Sleep, Psyche, and the Buddhist Mind | Dr. Tony Fernando 25.05.2026 2h 12m

  What is sleep really? Why do we overthink? And why do so many people struggle to find peace in modern life? In this episode of Neuroscience and Beyond, I speak with Dr. Tony Fernando - psychiatrist, sleep physician, and author of Life Hacks from the Buddha. We explore the neuroscience of sleep, including REM and non-REM sleep, circadian rhythms, insomnia, sleep anxiety, shift work, jet lag, and how stress affects sleep quality. But this conversation goes far beyond sleep science. Drawing from...
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  Building a Better Future for Science | Challenges in Academia with Prof. Tiago F. Outeiro 18.05.2026 14m

  Are we evaluating scientists in the wrong way? In this episode of Neuroscience and Beyond, Prof. Dr. Tiago Outeiro discusses some of the biggest challenges facing science: 🔬 Too many researchers competing for too few positions 📉 Pressure to publish and overreliance on impact factors 🤝 The urgent need for more staff scientists and stable research careers ⚖️ Burnout, work-life balance, and changing academic culture 🚀 How AI and new technologies may reshape scientific research “We need to work t...
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  From Pixels to Perception: Vision, Memory, Mood and Brain Disease Cures | Prof. Nicole Rust 28.04.2026 1h 26m

  Your eyes don't see the world; your brain constructs it. But how, and what does it miss along the way? In this episode of Neuroscience and Beyond, we speak with Prof. Nicole Rust, Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, whose research combines behavioral experiments, #neural recordings, and #computational models to understand how we see, remember, and experience the world. Recently, she decided to embark on a new journey and apply her expertise to study the neurosci...
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  Is Academia Truly Diverse? | Challenges in Academia with Dr. Sven Truckenbrodt 13.04.2026 17m

  Does international representation automatically mean #diversity in academia? In this episode, Dr. Sven Truckenbrodt reflects on what diversity in science truly means, going beyond background to include different ways of thinking, working, and collaborating. We talked about: Why diversity is more than international representationThe importance of different thinking styles in scienceWhy interdisciplinary research is still difficult to achieveThe role of trust and open collaboration in successfu...
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  Parkinson’s Disease: Early Diagnostics and the Future of Treatment | Prof. Tiago Outeiro 30.03.2026 1h 19m

  Can Parkinson’s be detected years before symptoms appear, and can we slow it down early? In this episode of Neuroscience and Beyond, we speak with Prof. Tiago Outeiro about the future of Parkinson’s research, from early diagnosis to prevention and emerging treatments. We explore how misfolded proteins like alpha-synuclein spread silently through the nervous system, and how early signals - such as REM sleep disturbances - may reveal the disease long before clinical symptoms. The conversation a...
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  Why Scientific Publishing Is a $Billion Rip-Off | Challenges in Academia with Prof. Randy Schekman 16.03.2026 20m

  Why do journal names still shape scientific careers, and who pays the price? Prof. Randy Schekman, a nobel prize laureate, discusses structural problems in #AcademicPublishing, including the pressure to publish in high-impact journals, rising #OpenAccess fees charged by commercial publishers, and long peer-review processes that can slow down scientific progress. He argues that the system can reward journal prestige over scientific contribution and may create inequalities when some researchers...
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  Brain Wiring at Molecular Scale and The Connectomics Revolution | Dr. Sven Truckenbrodt 23.02.2026 1h

  How can we map the brain’s wiring at molecular resolution, and what are the realistic promises and limits of connectomics? In this episode of Neuroscience and Beyond, we speak with Dr. Sven Truckenbrodt, group leader at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge, UK), where his lab investigates #brain wiring at the molecular level. With previous research experience at ISTA Austria and E11 Bio, he works at the intersection of #ExpansionMicroscopy, molecular labeling, and scalab...
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  Structural Barriers in Research | Challenges in Academia with | Prof. Markus Sauer 16.02.2026 13m

  Why is it becoming harder to build a stable career in science? Prof. Sauer reflects on structural pressures in academia: competitive #ResearchFunding, short-term contracts, and increasing administrative burdens. He discusses how evaluation metrics and grant systems shape career paths and may discourage long-term, high-risk research. He highlights the need for sustainable funding structures and realistic career prospects for early-career scientists. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for exclusi...
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  How Super-Resolution Microscopy Changed Brain & Cancer Research | Prof. Markus Sauer 26.01.2026 1h 1m

  How do you see structures inside cells that are smaller than the wavelength of light? Why was the diffraction limit considered an unbreakable barrier for decades, and how did super-resolution microscopy change everything? In this episode of Neuroscience and Beyond, we explore the frontiers of biological imaging with Prof. Markus Sauer, a pioneer of modern super-resolution microscopy. Prof. Sauer developed direct STORM (dSTORM), a technique that enables visualization of molecular organization ...
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  How a Nobel Prize Discovery Changed Cell Biology | Vesicles, Insulin & Parkinson’s | Randy Schekman 29.12.2025 1h 13m

  How do cells move cargo with such precision? What controls vesicle trafficking, and why does this process shape everything from cellular communication to disease? And what can extracellular vesicles really reveal about health, aging, and neurodegeneration? In this episode of Neuroscience and Beyond, Professor Randy Schekman, Nobel Prize Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, helps unpack these questions. He explains the molecular machinery behind vesicle trafficking, how these pathways were di...
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  Neuroinflammation & Alzheimer’s Disease | Prof. Michael Heneka on Immune Signaling and Neurodegeneration 24.11.2025 42m

  Why is Alzheimer’s disease so difficult to treat and how is the brain’s immune system involved? Professor Michael Heneka, Director of the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, joins us to discuss key topics in #neuroinflammation and Alzheimer’s disease. We explore how inflammation shapes the progression of #neurodegeneration, why detecting Alzheimer’s early remains a challenge, and the surprising biological world of tunneling nanotubes-tiny bridges that let cells exchange materials and s...
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  The Neuroscience of Revenge & Forgiveness | James Kimmel Jr. on Addiction, Justice, and Healing 27.10.2025 1h 32m

  What happens in our brain when we crave revenge - and how can forgiveness set us free? In this powerful conversation, we speak with James Kimmel Jr., a former lawyer, and currently an assistant clinical professor at the Yale School of Medicine, and author of The Science of Revenge, about the psychology and neuroscience behind revenge, addiction, and forgiveness. Drawing from his own story of childhood bullying and near-violence, Kimmel explains how these experiences led him from a 20-year l...
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  The Biggest Problem in Science: For-Profit Corporations Controlling Knowledge | Prof. Niko Kukushkin 20.10.2025 19m

  Prof. Kukushkin emphasises that the hardest part for scientists is figuring out what motivates them. He explains that the current system rewards high-profile publications controlled by a few for-profit corporations, steering research toward profit. Top-down structural change- from universities, governments, and leaders-is needed to restore creativity, integrity, and meaningful progress. What’s your biggest challenge in academia? Share your thoughts in the comments! 💬 Subscribe to our Yo...
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  How Noise Impacts our Brain, Health and Nature | Chris Berdik 22.09.2025 1h 19m

  Noise is more than just an irritation; it’s a global health and environmental issue. In this episode, we welcome Chris Berdik, science journalist and author of Clamor: How Noise Took Over the World and How We Can Take It Back. We explore how noise affects the body and brain, from sleep disruption and stress responses to hearing loss, dementia risk, and learning difficulties. We also talk about why designing better soundscapes (in schools, workplaces, hospitals, and cities) ...
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  What If Every Cell Has a Memory? From Cells to Consciousness | Prof. Nikolay Kukushkin 25.08.2025 1h 17m

  Memory is more than just a function of neurons; non-neuronal cells can “remember” too. In this episode, we welcome Prof. Nikolay Kukushkin, Clinical Associate Professor of Life Science and research fellow at the Center for Neural Science, NYU, to discuss the fascinating science of memory. We explore how neurons and other cells store information and abstract ideas, why scientists study sea slugs to uncover the mechanisms of learning and memory, and the potential implications of cellular memory...