{"podcast":{"title":"Galaxy Balance","slug":"galaxy-balance-7619530","podcast_index_feed_id":7619530,"rss_url":"https://api.riverside.fm/hosting/TsNBRv3G.rss","website_url":"https://riverside.com","image_url":"https://hosting-media.riverside.com/media/podcasts/c0a4b47b-b2c9-4c68-88b5-1baa3a352c83/logos/0081482a-5241-4cdc-aa4f-c89d3aca95e7.png","author":"Cory Smith","episode_count":20,"summary":"Galaxy Balance explores the frontier where biology, technology and consciousness meet. Each episode brings together pioneers shaping our collective future, from genome engineers and AI builders to longevity researchers, space explorers, and mindfulness practitioners. Hosted by Cory Smith, the conversations dive deep into how these seemingly distant fields form an interconnected ecosystem, one that balance innovation with introspection, science with spirit, and ambition with awareness. At its core, Galaxy Balance is about integration; the idea that our greatest leaps forward happen when disciplines collide. The same algorithms that decode galaxies can help us understand genomes; the same principles that govern consciousness can illuminate AI. Through long-form, unscripted dialogue, the show invites listeners to zoom out from the silos of specialization and see the larger pattern: a living system of intelligence evolving across scales – molecular, planetary, and cosmic.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/galaxy-balance-7619530"},"episode":{"title":"Merrick Smela: From Stem Cells to Eggs, Rewriting Fertility","slug":"merrick-smela-from-stem-cells-to-eggs-rewriting-fertility","published_at":"2026-02-09T22:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/galaxy-balance-7619530/merrick-smela-from-stem-cells-to-eggs-rewriting-fertility","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/galaxy-balance-7619530","url":"https://api.riverside.com/hosting-analytics/media/d92a0edcda7b011a4fbe0086485243b23ed31b6f061bc0022b9bff821d6f8a5f/eyJlcGlzb2RlSWQiOiI2NzM2NTk5OC05NjA1LTQ3M2YtOGRlZi0xZjFmNzU0OWMzYzAiLCJwb2RjYXN0SWQiOiJjMGE0YjQ3Yi1iMmM5LTRjNjgtODhiNS0xYmFhM2EzNTJjODMiLCJhY2NvdW50SWQiOiI2OTBiYjRiMzM2NjY3MWFlZGQwZTZhMTEiLCJwYXRoIjoibWVkaWEvY2xpcHMvNjk4NGVhNjNmNTQ5NjA2M2Q0OGNlZWJhL2Nvcnktc21pdGhzLXN0dWRpby1sTktuWC1jb21wb3Nlci0yMDI2LTItNV9fMjAtNy0xNS5tcDMifQ==.mp3","audio_url":"https://api.riverside.com/hosting-analytics/media/d92a0edcda7b011a4fbe0086485243b23ed31b6f061bc0022b9bff821d6f8a5f/eyJlcGlzb2RlSWQiOiI2NzM2NTk5OC05NjA1LTQ3M2YtOGRlZi0xZjFmNzU0OWMzYzAiLCJwb2RjYXN0SWQiOiJjMGE0YjQ3Yi1iMmM5LTRjNjgtODhiNS0xYmFhM2EzNTJjODMiLCJhY2NvdW50SWQiOiI2OTBiYjRiMzM2NjY3MWFlZGQwZTZhMTEiLCJwYXRoIjoibWVkaWEvY2xpcHMvNjk4NGVhNjNmNTQ5NjA2M2Q0OGNlZWJhL2Nvcnktc21pdGhzLXN0dWRpby1sTktuWC1jb21wb3Nlci0yMDI2LTItNV9fMjAtNy0xNS5tcDMifQ==.mp3","summary":"What if human eggs could be made outside the body, safely, reliably, and at scale? 00:00 - Introduction to Merrick Smela and IVG technology 01:28 - Merrick’s scientific background and career path 03:07 - Inspiration from early stem cell research and career milestones 09:00 - How transcription factors and meiosis are driven in vitro 15:00 - Screening strategies for high-fidelity egg development 20:00 - Diversity and variability in high-throughput cell screening 27:32 - Commercialization and scaling of stem cell reprogramming 33:34 - Ensuring egg functionality and safety ahead of clinical trials 36:03 - Timeline for in vitro conception and embryo development 41:14 - Safety protocols including non-human primate studies 47:15 - Societal causes for declining fertility and OVEL’s potential impact 48:46 - Supporting older donors and age-related reproductive technology 50:52 - Opportunities for gay men and reproductive diversity 53:53 - Ethical and regulatory landscape for germline modifications 1:02:24 - How AI and machine learning accelerate research 1:05:22 - Science fiction’s influence on ethical biotech development 1:08:48 - Maintaining work-life balance amid groundbreaking research 1:12:25 - Advice for young scientists tackling high-impact problems In this episode of Galaxy Balance, Cory Smith is joined by Merrick Smela, a scientist and entrepreneur working at the frontier of human reproduction. Merrick’s work focuses on in vitro gametogenesis (IVG): generating functional human eggs from stem cells as a potential next step beyond IVF. The conversation explores how eggs develop, why faithfully reproducing meiosis and epigenetic programming is one of the hardest challenges in biology, and how large-scale screening, single-cell genomics, and microscopy are being used to eng…","meta_description":"What if human eggs could be made outside the body, safely, reliably, and at scale? 00:00 - Introduction to Merrick Smela and IVG technology 01:28 - Merric…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4481,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/galaxy-balance-7619530/episodes/merrick-smela-from-stem-cells-to-eggs-rewriting-fertility/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/galaxy-balance-7619530/merrick-smela-from-stem-cells-to-eggs-rewriting-fertility.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}