Gene-edited pig liver transplant, JWST early galaxies, and infant memory insights | Naked Scientists

Episode snapshot

The Naked Scientists explore five science breakthroughs across medicine, astronomy, neuroscience and environmental biotechnology. A brain-dead patient receives a liver graft from a gene-edited pig, showing the organ can function for 10 days. The James Webb Space Telescope reveals a galaxy just 330 million years after the Big Bang, with hydrogen emission hinting at either massive stars or a feeding black hole. Yale researchers detect hippocampal activity in 12 month old infants when encountering remembered images, supporting early memory encoding. At Portsmouth, engineered enzymes are advancing plastic recycling and enabling monomer recovery. And a Dublin expert explains trampolining can aid balance but carries injury risks. The podcast features Cambridge surgeons, the Cosmic Dawn Centre and more.

• Gene edited pig liver transplantation demonstrates short term organ function in a human recipient
• JWST images a very young galaxy with hydrogen emission, informing early galaxy formation theories
• Infant hippocampus encodes memories around 12 months, shedding light on infantile amnesia
• Enzymatic recycling of PET plastics moves toward circular economy applications
• Trampolining offers fitness and vestibular benefits but requires safety precautions

Gene editing and xenotransplantation

The podcast opens with a discussion of a first known transplant of a gene edited pig liver into a brain dead human. The guest, a transplant surgeon from Cambridge, explains that the work did not replace a full organ but used part of a pig liver. The aim is to test whether pig organs can maintain blood flow and perform key liver functions for a limited period, in a controlled, ethically justified scenario. He notes the broad context of organ shortages and the current lack of durable liver replacement methods, unlike dialysis for kidneys. The editing removes molecules that trigger rapid rejection, bringing xenotransplantation closer to a practical option, at least in the near term. The surgeon emphasizes that this represents a step in a larger program that also includes other organs such as kidneys and hearts, and it may form part of a broader transplantation toolkit that could reduce wait times in the future.

Early galaxies and the James Webb Space Telescope

The next segment features Joris Ritsock from the Cosmic Dawn Centre discussing observations by the James Webb Space Telescope. Webb’s infrared observations reveal a galaxy seen as it was roughly 330 million years after the Big Bang, extremely small in apparent size, yet forming stars at a rate comparable to the entire Milky Way. A single spectral color associated with hydrogen emission dominates the image, suggesting the power source inside this galaxy is either unusually massive young stars or a central black hole actively accreting gas. The discussion highlights how gravitational lensing and cosmic expansion stretch light over billions of years, allowing us to infer conditions in the earliest epochs of galaxy formation, and how such tiny early galaxies may be the seeds of the large galaxies we see today.

Infant memory encoding and the hippocampus

The podcast then moves to neuroscience with Nick Turk Brown from Yale. Using infant-friendly, non-invasive imaging, researchers test whether babies encode memories from an early age. The approach relies on looking-time behavior in response to pairs of photographs, coupled with functional MRI to measure encoding activity. The key finding is that around 12 months the infant hippocampus shows greater activity during the initial viewing of items that are later remembered. This implies that infant memory storage is possible, challenging the idea that infantile amnesia is solely due to an immature hippocampus. The researchers propose that memories may be stored but become inaccessible due to other developmental factors, such as cues required for retrieval or maturation of other brain networks. The study aligns with animal work suggesting memories may persist but require specific cues to retrieve later in life.

Plastic recycling with biology and bioprocessing

The episode turns to environmental biotechnology with Will Tingle and Andy Pickford at the University of Portsmouth. The P3EB mission hub is exploring enzymatic breakdown of plastics to monomers as a route to a circular plastics economy. The researchers discuss how PET’s ester bonds are susceptible to enzymatic attack, enabling breakdown to terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol. The team demonstrates a bioreactor setup where enzymes break PET into monomers, while a base is used to neutralize the pH to keep enzymes functioning. The recovered monomers can be purified and repolymerized into virgin PET or diverted into other useful products such as fragrances. An industrial partner is building a plant capable of processing tens of thousands of tonnes per year, signaling steps toward scale-up. The discussion emphasizes economic viability and the need to expand the approach to other plastics beyond PET.

Trampolining, balance and safety for older adults

The final segment features John Travers from Trinity College Dublin addressing a listener question about trampolining for a 73-year-old. The expert advocates resistance-type exercises and sufficient protein intake to improve muscle and bone health, while also stimulating the vestibular system to enhance balance and spatial awareness. He cautions about injury risks to the spine and knees and recommends safety measures such as low-to-ground equipment and proper holding bars, particularly for individuals with back pain or osteoporosis. The discussion emphasizes a balanced approach to physical activity with attention to technique and safety. The program closes with thanks to contributors and a call for questions.