FFP EP. 15 | AI-Generated Genomes, Retinal Implants, and Palomar’s Mystery Lights Explained

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From First Principles

Lester Nare and Krishna Choudhary

16 episodes

5 days ago

We break down the week’s biggest science headlines from first principles—because understanding the world shouldn’t require a PhD.

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We break down the week’s biggest science headlines from first principles—because understanding the world shouldn’t require a PhD.

Science

https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/staging/podcast_uploaded_nologo/44168556/44168556-1754000849416-6a0fc8e79d211.jpg

FFP EP. 15 | AI-Generated Genomes, Retinal Implants, and Palomar’s Mystery Lights Explained

From First Principles

2 hours 3 minutes 33 seconds

1 week ago

FFP EP. 15 | AI-Generated Genomes, Retinal Implants, and Palomar’s Mystery Lights Explained

AI, Eyes, and the Sky — From Synthetic Genomes to Restored Vision and Cosmic Mysteries

Hosted by Lester Nare and Krishna Choudhary, this episode of From First Principles explores three cutting-edge breakthroughs connecting medicine, technology, and astronomy.

Summary

• AI for Oncology, Minus the Privacy Risk: University of Toronto researchers develop OncoGAN—a generative model that creates realistic synthetic cancer genomes to accelerate precision oncology while protecting patient data.

• Restoring Sight: The PRIMA (PRIMAvera) trial in NEJM demonstrates how a wireless sub-retinal photovoltaic implant can restore central vision in people with advanced macular degeneration.

• Revisiting Cosmic Transients: New analyses of Palomar’s POSS-I plates re-examine the “multi-point transients” with fresh alignment statistics and an innovative Earth’s-shadow control test.

Show Notes

• University of Toronto — OncoGAN / Synthetic Cancer Genomes (Cell Genomics)

• NEJM — PRIMA (PRIMAvera) Wireless Sub-Retinal Implant Trial for Geographic Atrophy

• Palomar POSS-I Plates — Multi-Point Transient Analysis (IOP PASP Paper)

• Palomar Alignment vs Earth’s Shadow Control (Nature Scientific Reports 2025)