The DNA of Discovery

In this episode, Dr. Jurgi Camblong travels to the University of Oxford to meet Professor Nicholas Proudfoot, one of the true pioneers of molecular biology. 

For more than five decades, Nick has helped decode life itself, revealing how genes are turned on and off, how RNA carries meaning beyond proteins, and how curiosity can drive discoveries that last a lifetime. 

Together, they revisit the early days of modern biology - a time before PCR or cloning - and trace how one generation of scientists transformed trial and error into the precision science we know today. 

From the discovery of the AAUAAA “full stop” that signals where genes end, to showing how DNA loops connect beginnings and endings, this is the story of how the foundations of modern genetics were built, one question at a time. 

You’ll hear about: 
 
• The birth of molecular biology, from improvisation to innovation. 
• The hidden power of noncoding RNAs and gene regulation. 
• The beauty and necessity of curiosity-driven research. 
• Why protecting fundamental science matters more than ever. 

Recorded in Oxford, this episode is a love letter to discovery - and to the mentors who remind us that innovation starts with a simple question: why? 

“All great discoveries begin with curiosity. 
If we stop funding curiosity-driven science, 
we stop funding the foundation of tomorrow’s medicine.” 
— Professor Nicholas Proudfoot, University of Oxford