The Next 50 Years: A Model of Life on the Atomic Scale

The Next 50 Years: A Model of Life on the Atomic Scale

Author: University of Texas at Austin, College of Natural Sciences, Marc Airhart April 28, 2020 Duration: 10:42
Can we simulate life — in all its messy complexity and at the scale of each individual atom — in a computer? Even the most powerful supercomputers today can only simulate a tiny portion of a single living cell for a few nanoseconds. Carlos Baiz is a biochemist at the University of Texas at Austin who says it might someday be possible to simulate an entire living cell for hours or longer. But he says there are two big catches. Baiz shares his vision for the future in this latest episode of our miniseries, The Next 50 Years. Check out more podcasts and essays in this series: https://cns.utexas.edu/news/tags/the-next-50-years Music for today’s show was produced by: Podington Bear - https://www.podingtonbear.com/ Chuzausen - https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Chuzausen About Point of Discovery Point of Discovery is a production of the University of Texas at Austin's College of Natural Sciences. You can listen to all our episodes at @point-of-discovery . Questions or comments about this episode, or our series in general? Email Marc Airhart at mairhart[AT]austin.utexas.edu

Curiosity is the engine of science, but the path from a question to an answer is rarely a straight line. Point of Discovery, from the University of Texas at Austin's College of Natural Sciences and hosted by Marc Airhart, pulls back the curtain on that process. This podcast is less about headlines and more about the human endeavor-the late nights, the failed experiments, the unexpected twists, and the collaborative moments that lead to new understanding. Each episode is a journey alongside researchers, giving you a front-row seat to the methods, debates, and sheer persistence that define real scientific work. You'll hear directly from the people behind the data, individuals whose unique perspectives and dedicated curiosity help map everything from microscopic cells to distant galaxies. The stories are intimate and specific, revealing how knowledge is built piece by piece. With original music by Podington Bear setting the tone, the podcast creates an immersive experience that celebrates the nuance and humanity at the heart of discovery. It’s an invitation to appreciate not just the destination, but the fascinating, often meandering trail that gets us there. Point of Discovery is produced as part of the Texas Podcast Network.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 62

Point of Discovery
Podcast Episodes
The Next 50 Years: A Global Census of Life [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 9:41
We know absolutely nothing about roughly 80 percent of the different types of life on Earth. Biologist David Hillis aims to discover all those missing species—by some estimates 5 to 10 million—possibly in the next few de…
Coming Soon: A New Podcast Miniseries [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:53
If you've been listening to our podcast for a while, you probably have noticed that we haven't had a new episode for a few months. We’ve taken that time to step back and reflect on our show, both what has changed over th…
You Belong Here: What It Takes for Success in College [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:44
Why do so many first-year students struggle in college? Who is most likely to fail? And what can professors and staff do to help them get over the hump? “I didn't know what was going on. And I just felt out of place as a…
Confronting RSV, a Shape-Shifting Killer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:42
Virtually everyone contracts RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) as a child, but few people have even heard of it. It’s actually one of the leading causes of infectious disease deaths in infants. Now a team of researchers,…
Better AI Vision to Help Save Lives [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:25
Kristen Grauman, professor of computer science at the University of Texas at Austin, and her team have taught an artificial intelligence agent how to do something that usually only humans can do—take a few quick glimpses…
A Machine That Understands Language Like a Human [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:42
One thing that sets humans apart from even the smartest of artificially intelligent machines is the ability to understand, not just the definitions of words and phrases, but the deepest meanings in human speech. Alex Hut…
A Love Letter from Texas Scientists to the Periodic Table [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:07
We’re celebrating the 150th anniversary of the periodic table. Join us as we tour the cosmos, from the microscopic to the telescopic, with four scientists studying the role of four elements—zinc, oxygen, palladium and go…
All in the (Scientific) Family [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:36
Scientists often talk about the people who mentored them, and the students and postdocs they supervise, in ways that sound like a family. Today, in the second of a two-part conversation, we listen in on two members of a…
Bringing Real Science to the Big Screen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 9:24
What’s it like for a scientist to work as an advisor on a major Hollywood film? In this first of a two-part conversation, Kip Thorne talks with his former graduate student Bill Press about the impact that a film like Int…
Recap: A Big Week in Science [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:51
The first week of October is like a science-lover’s World Series: Each year, the spotlight falls on high-impact science, when day after day, a series of Nobel Prizes and other prestigious awards are announced all in one…