Since grade school, we’ve been taught that the laws of science are hard and fast. But as technology enables scientists to delve deeper and collaborate better, they’re increasingly encountering surprising pockets of science that defy these “rules.” In a special series of the Get Science Podcast, we’ll explore some of science’s unknowns with the scientists pushing the boundaries of biology and following the data to unexpected places.  

First up: Christine Bulawa, a Senior Director in Pfizer’s Rare Disease Research Unit, and Stefan McDonough, Executive Director, Head of Human Genetics at Pfizer. As part of Pfizer’s Innovative Target Exploration Network (ITEN), they’re working with academic researchers across the globe to deepen their understanding of repeat expansion disorders, which include Huntington’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Their research is uncovering many insights – all valuable, but some strikingly unanticipated. In this episode, Bulawa and McDonough help us explore the “rule-breaking science” behind repeat expansion disorders.  

Listen to some of the insights they’ve discovered.