Can light restore aspects of sight? Can recalling a cold experience change an animal's metabolism? And what can ghost particles and mirror-image molecules tell us about the universe?

Lester Nare and Krishna Choudhary follow up on our 2026 Nobel Prize episodes with research building on optogenetics, IceCube and molecular handedness. We unpack an early human vision-restoration trial, cold-memory experiments in mice, cosmic neutrino flavors, and a tiny electrical sensor for distinguishing left- and right-handed amino acids.

Plus: how the Nobels work, our follow-up on the Nobel chemistry illustration, a brief look at neutrino Earth tomography, and why fundamental research matters. Which discovery would you like us to explore next?

CHAPTERS
00:00 Cold open: memory, neutrinos and mirror molecules
00:28 Hello Internet and how the Nobels work
04:32 Optogenetics recap
10:23 Restoring aspects of vision
25:43 Controlling movement in worms
29:31 Cold memories and metabolism
41:07 Memory, trauma and ethical questions
45:44 FFP housekeeping
48:17 IceCube recap
56:23 Measuring cosmic neutrino flavors
1:10:30 A brief look at neutrino Earth tomography
1:12:20 Why fundamental physics matters
1:26:58 Chemistry and molecular handedness
1:29:08 Correcting the Nobel illustration
1:39:30 Measuring chirality in tiny samples
1:46:42 Testing the sensor on meteorite and desert samples
1:51:22 Why these questions matter
1:57:20 Closing thoughts and signoff

RESEARCH & FURTHER READING
Optogenetic therapy for visual function (NEJM, 2026):
https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2602215

Cold memories and thermoregulation (Nature, 2025):
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08902-6

Three-flavor composition of cosmic neutrinos (PRL, 2026):
https://doi.org/10.1103/vntd-m133

Chiral discrimination in meteorite and desert soil extracts (Nature Communications, 2026):
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-77947-6

Further reading, briefly mentioned: neutrino Earth tomography (preprint):
https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.02644

EDITORIAL NOTES
The vision trial was small and exploratory. The cold-memory findings discussed are from mice.

On-screen clarifications:
16:53 Both eyes were profoundly visually impaired; the worse-seeing eye was treated.
19:57 The untreated eye was patched during testing, not a normal-vision control.
54:41 Neutrino event rates depend on energy and selection, not just detector volume.
1:05:47 Flavor identification efficiency is distinct from interaction probability; both depend on energy.
1:13:35 Other astronomy-related Nobels include 2017 (LIGO) and 2019 (cosmology/exoplanets).
1:18:00 The LHC at CERN enabled the Higgs discovery; CERN itself was founded in 1954.
1:44:25 Both enantiomers produce current signals; waveform features distinguish them.
1:46:42 Murchison is a meteorite. Diego de Almagro and North of Antofagasta are soil sites.
1:47:40 The sensor study reports mixed agreement and limitations, not uniformly negative results.
1:49:00 Phobos is a Martian moon; a captured-asteroid origin is a hypothesis.

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Full video: https://youtu.be/C9K6onZxyN4
Episode notes: https://ffppod.com/episodes/ep64
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Breaking down science news so it makes sense to curious people everywhere.

Why does life favor one molecular mirror image? The 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry honors Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai for nonlinear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis.

Lester Nare and Krishna Choudhary unpack the science from first principles: chirality, Pasteur's crystals, enantiomeric excess, and how a tiny imbalance can grow into an overwhelming preference for one molecular hand.

We connect Kagan's catalyst discoveries and the Soai reaction to medicines, the origins of biological handedness, and the serious concerns around hypothetical mirror life. Plus: symmetry in physics, Frances Oldham Kelsey and thalidomide, and our interpretation of a Nobel illustration.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Why life has a molecular handedness
01:33 Hello Internet
02:49 The 2026 Chemistry laureates
06:24 Chirality and mirror-image molecules
12:10 Pasteur and the history of handedness
19:36 Why is life's chemistry one-handed?
24:35 Frank and the origin-of-life puzzle
29:14 Enantiomeric excess explained
30:30 Kagan and nonlinear effects
38:58 FFP and symmetry in physics
42:20 Soai and asymmetric autocatalysis
51:28 Why chirality matters for medicine
58:21 What this does and does not explain about life
1:00:25 Mirror life and biological risk
1:10:37 Examining the Nobel illustration
1:14:10 Recap and Nobel week reflections

RESEARCH & FURTHER READING
Original papers and supporting context:
Frank's model (1953): https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-3002(53)90082-1
Puchot, Kagan et al. (1986): https://doi.org/10.1021/ja00269a036
Soai et al. (1995): https://doi.org/10.1038/378767a0
Sato et al., amplification (2003): https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.200390105
Mirror-life risks (2024): https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ads9158
Nobel announcement: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2026/press-release/

EDITORIAL NOTES
Intro: the 50:50 example describes an unbiased synthesis, not all chemistry. The Soai reaction is a clue to amplification, not proof of how life began.

On-screen clarifications:
04:38 B-DNA is right-handed; Z-DNA can form a left-handed helix.
13:56 Pasteur separated sodium ammonium tartrate crystals.
18:48 L/D configuration does not specify optical rotation.
19:10 Proteins mainly use L-amino acids; DNA/RNA use D-sugars.
22:55 Mentos mainly triggers CO2 bubble nucleation.
27:18 Asymmetric catalysis and autocatalysis are distinct.
34:07 0.25 × 0.25 = 0.0625 = 6.25%.
36:31 Inactive mixed catalyst pairs are a simplified model.
37:55 The normalized product-ratio curve need not be parabolic.
42:04 Wu: preferential emission opposite spin; antineutrinos also emitted.
45:30 5-pyrimidyl alkanol; an alkanol is an alcohol.
47:10 The tiny-imbalance result is Sato et al. (2003), cited above.
47:40 A demonstration of symmetry breaking by asymmetric autocatalysis.
49:09 Above 99.5% ee means above 99.75% majority form, not exactly 100%.
49:57 0.00005% excess is 1 part in 2,000,000.
52:44 Thalidomide enantiomers interconvert in the body.
53:36 Merrell applied in the U.S.; Kelsey withheld approval. Trial exposure occurred.
1:02:09 Mirror-life catastrophe is a serious risk, not an observed outcome.
1:03:28 Antibodies are adaptive immunity, not innate immunity.
1:03:53 Impaired recognition does not mean proven total immune invisibility.
1:04:27 Some treatments might work; ecosystem protection is very difficult.
1:04:56 No reproducing mirror organism has been reported.
1:09:19 Chimeras and genetic modification are not interchangeable.
1:10:37 The Nobel-diagram critique is our interpretation, not an official correction.
1:11:51 Solid wedge: toward; hashed wedge: away; ordinary line: neither.

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Full video: https://youtu.be/Wdapv1hFT4w
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Breaking down science news so it makes sense to curious people everywhere.

How do you prove what a brain cell actually does? The 2026 Nobel Prize in Medicine celebrates a remarkable answer: give cells a light-sensitive protein, then switch their activity on or off with light.

In Episode 61 of From First Principles, Lester Nare and Krishna Choudhary explain optogenetics from the ground up and trace the discoveries of Peter Hegemann, Georg Nagel and Karl Deisseroth. We follow the story from algae swimming toward light to channelrhodopsins, precisely controlled neurons, and experiments probing memory, reward and behavior. Then we explore heart-brain connections, early attempts to restore vision, and what these experiments can and cannot tell us.

CHAPTERS

00:00 The discovery that put brain cells under light control

02:34 Hello Internet

03:28 2026 Medicine Nobel and optogenetics

05:38 Understanding the brain

08:42 From correlation to causation

18:13 Controlling neurons with light

21:25 Early optogenetics and the chARGe system

24:17 Light-sensitive microbial proteins

26:26 Algae and phototaxis

31:42 Discovering channelrhodopsins

34:42 Nagel and light-gated ion channels

40:55 Controlling mammalian neurons

50:19 Expanding the optogenetic toolkit

56:10 Neural circuits and behavior

59:02 Memory, reward and reinforcement

1:02:53 Heart rhythm and emotion

1:04:02 Beyond the brain and toward medical treatments

1:06:56 Implications and limits

1:09:10 Closing and Nobel week

RESEARCH & FURTHER READING

Full paper list: https://ffppod.com/episodes/ep61

Nobel Prize announcement and background:

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2026/summary/

Optical control of neurons: https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1525

Memory recall in mice: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11028

Partial visual recovery: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-021-01351-4

EDITORIAL NOTES

On-screen clarifications are included at these timestamps:

13:46 The Jennifer Aniston neuron was recorded in human patients. Selective firing alone did not establish that it causes recognition.

30:34 Vertebrate rhodopsin is a GPCR. In rods and cones, light closes cGMP-gated channels and causes hyperpolarization.

35:12 Xenopus oocytes are immature frog egg cells, not embryos.

39:52 Calcium entry triggers neurotransmitter release; neurotransmitters carry the signal across the synapse. ChR2 conducts several positive ions, not just calcium.

52:17 Halorhodopsin is a light-driven chloride pump, not a channel.

1:03:18 The heart-pacing study expressed ChRmine in mouse heart muscle cells, not neurons.

Animal studies and early clinical results are distinguished from established treatments.

WATCH & LISTEN

Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/PKAYqhy8xf8

Our Nobel predictions: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4xuoH7WhM5svq8vEJPL3Ce

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Breaking down science news so it makes sense to curious people everywhere.

Who could win the 2026 Nobel Prizes? From the science behind Ozempic to quantum interference and droplets inside living cells, Lester Nare and Krishna Choudhary make their picks for Medicine, Physics and Chemistry, and explain the discoveries behind them.

In Episode 60 of From First Principles, we explore seven research areas with a case for Nobel recognition: GLP-1, optogenetics, optical coherence tomography, the Aharonov–Bohm effect, atomic force microscopy, biomolecular condensates and Buchwald–Hartwig coupling. We also discuss Michael Berry’s geometric phase and the awkward question of how a prize limited to three people recognizes discoveries built by larger teams.

These are our predictions, recorded before the 2026 announcements. Medicine, Physics and Chemistry will be announced October 5–7. Which discovery, and which researchers, would you pick? Tell us in the comments, then join us for our Nobel week breakdowns.

CHAPTERS

00:00 The science that could win a Nobel Prize

00:57 Hello Internet: our 2026 predictions

02:03 Medicine: GLP-1 and the science behind Ozempic

07:41 Medicine: optogenetics and controlling neurons with light

13:16 Medicine: optical coherence tomography

16:28 Golden Goose Awards and FFP updates

18:39 Physics: the Aharonov–Bohm effect and geometric phase

27:37 Physics: atomic force microscopy

32:04 Chemistry: biomolecular condensates

36:36 Chemistry: Buchwald–Hartwig coupling

38:42 Your predictions and our Nobel week plans

RESEARCH & FURTHER READING

Foundational papers and background for the discoveries discussed:

GLP-1: Mojsov, Weir & Habener (1987)

https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI112855

Optogenetics: Boyden et al. (2005)

https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1525

Optical coherence tomography: Huang et al. (1991)

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1957169

Aharonov–Bohm effect (1959)

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRev.115.485

Berry’s geometric phase (1984)

https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.1984.0023

Atomic force microscopy: Binnig, Quate & Gerber (1986)

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.56.930

Biomolecular condensates: Brangwynne et al. (2009); Li et al. (2012)

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1172046

https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10879

Buchwald–Hartwig coupling: Paul et al. (1994); Guram et al. (1995)

https://doi.org/10.1021/ja00092a058

https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.199513481

Official Nobel announcement schedule:

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/about/prize-announcement-dates/

EDITORIAL NOTES

19:30 David Bohm later held a professorship at Birkbeck, University of London (1961–1987); he did not spend the rest of his career in Brazil.

33:23 The ribosome-producing compartment discussed is the nucleolus, not the nucleosome. These corrections also appear on screen.

WATCH & EXPLORE

YouTube: https://youtu.be/MgOpbh5VUGE

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Breaking down science news so it makes sense to curious people everywhere.

What connects a noise complaint, holiday lights seen from space, and the physics of a coffee stain? Three unexpected paths from basic research to discoveries with real-world impact.

Krishna Choudhary and Lester Nare explore the science behind the 2026 Golden Goose Awards: Zhen Xu's work on histotripsy, NASA's Black Marble nighttime satellite data, and Sidney Nagel's discoveries in soft matter physics.

We start with focused ultrasound and the tiny bubbles that can break apart targeted tissue, tracing the journey from early laboratory experiments to clinical research on liver tumors. Then we look at how Earth's nighttime lights reveal power outages, disaster recovery, and changing human activity. Finally, falling drops, coffee stains, and jammed grains open up a world of robotic grippers and materials that can be trained and retrained.

The thread connecting all three stories is the unexpected value of federally funded basic research. Part 2 will feature conversations with the award-winning researchers and AAAS CEO Sudip Parikh.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Golden Goose Awards trailer

01:19 Introducing our Golden Goose special

02:42 Zhen Xu: From a noise complaint to histotripsy

05:57 The early ultrasound experiments

13:42 Controlling cavitation with microtripsy

20:29 Tumor destruction and the immune response

28:33 Histotripsy through the skull

37:23 The HOPE4LIVER clinical trial

43:55 Why basic research needs time

47:17 FFP updates and supporting the show

49:20 NASA Black Marble: Holiday lights from space

55:29 Turning night lights into reliable data

1:01:36 Hurricane Maria and unequal recovery

1:08:12 COVID-19 and changing nighttime activity

1:10:16 Mapping access to electricity

1:15:20 Where Earth is brightening and dimming

1:32:57 Sidney Nagel and the physics of everyday life

1:37:07 The science of a falling drop

1:46:02 Why coffee leaves a ring

1:51:04 Jamming: When grains become rigid

1:53:35 A robotic gripper filled with grains

1:55:39 Why air pressure changes a splash

1:58:55 Materials that can be trained and retrained

2:03:26 The payoff from curiosity

2:05:29 Coming in Part 2

2:07:06 Outro

FEATURED RESEARCH

Histotripsy: The #HOPE4LIVER single-arm pivotal trial (Radiology, 2024)

https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.233051

NASA's Black Marble nighttime lights product suite (Remote Sensing of Environment, 2018)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2018.03.017

Training and retraining liquid crystal elastomer metamaterials for pluripotent functionality (PNAS, 2025)

https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2504304122

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What does it mean to solve an equation that describes almost every fluid around us, from the air over a wing to the water swirling down a drain?

In Episode 58 of From First Principles, Lester Nare and Krishna Choudhary build the Navier-Stokes equations from the ground up before digging into OpenAI’s claimed breakthrough and the debate surrounding it.

Summary

• How Newton’s laws become equations for a moving fluid
• Velocity fields, incompressibility, pressure and the nonlinear convective term
• Why viscosity smooths a fluid while nonlinear motion can create finer structure
• What finite-time blowup means, and why simulation is different from proof
• How forced and unforced equations differ, and why those assumptions matter
• Earlier work on Euler, Boussinesq and related fluid equations
• OpenAI’s claimed result, Lean verification and the scope of the theorem
• The dispute over scientific credit and the human research behind AI-assisted work
• The METR investigation of the Hugging Face incident
• Emergence World and long-running multi-agent experiments
• AI-assisted biological discovery, oversight and recursive self-improvement
• Separating demonstrated capabilities from claims and future scenarios

Chapters

00:00 Can AI solve Navier-Stokes?
00:34 Episode introduction
02:20 Navier-Stokes: Mathematics Meets AI
10:20 Building the Equations of Fluid Motion
21:34 Velocity fields, divergence and incompressibility
34:33 Acceleration and the convective term
52:18 Why Fluid Motion Is Nonlinear
1:02:08 Pressure, Euler and the Missing Physics
1:14:50 How Viscosity Changes Everything
1:33:36 Solving Equations vs. Simulating Fluids
1:44:59 Can a Smooth Fluid Blow Up?
2:13:52 The Road to the Claimed Breakthrough
2:31:13 Inside the Claimed Navier-Stokes Proof
2:48:26 The Dispute Over Scientific Credit
3:07:23 From Chatbots to Agents
3:08:57 The METR report and Hugging Face incident
3:23:23 AI Risk, Oversight and the Race Ahead
3:38:51 AI Discovery Beyond Mathematics
3:52:47 Why “just turn it off” gets complicated
4:06:47 Closing thoughts and what comes next
4:08:46 Outro

Featured Research

OpenAI’s Navier-Stokes announcement
Tristan Buckmaster’s statement
METR investigation
Emergence World
AI-assisted enzyme discovery

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What science should you be watching this fall? From Nobel Prize season to NASA’s Roman Space Telescope, Mars’ moons and Mercury, Lester Nare and Krishna Choudhary take a relaxed tour of the discoveries and missions on their radar.

In Episode 57 of From First Principles, we explore why curiosity-driven research matters, what the Golden Goose Awards celebrate, and how questions that once sounded impractical can lead to unexpected breakthroughs. Then we turn to space: Roman’s search for dark energy and exoplanets, JAXA’s Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission, and the mysteries ESA and JAXA’s BepiColombo mission will investigate at Mercury.

Along the way, we tour the updated FFP website, revisit some favorite episodes, and ask which stories you want us to cover in depth next.

A note before we begin: the main conversation was recorded before Labor Day weekend. The opening announcement addresses your requests for a separate episode on OpenAI, Navier–Stokes and the wider AI conversation. This episode is our fall science rundown; that deep dive is still to come.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Update on our upcoming Navier–Stokes and AI coverage
03:43 Episode intro and football banter
05:47 FFP intro
06:01 Nobel Prize season and our coverage plans
10:45 Golden Goose Awards: why basic research matters
21:02 FFP website tour and favorite episodes
42:24 Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
46:20 Microlensing, exoplanets and dark matter
51:25 MMX: where did Mars’ moons come from?
54:40 BepiColombo and the mysteries of Mercury
1:02:17 Your questions, future deep dives and sign-off
1:05:40 Outro

SHOW NOTES
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/roman-space-telescope/

JAXA’s Martian Moons eXploration (MMX):
https://www.mmx.jaxa.jp/en/mission/

ESA / JAXA BepiColombo:
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/BepiColombo

Explore the research and episodes we cover:
https://ffppod.com

Science R&D Funding Tracker:
https://ffppod.com/funding

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America 250:
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Support the show:
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Breaking down science news so it makes sense to curious people everywhere.

Which mission or research story deserves a full FFP deep dive? Tell us in the comments.