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

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) (cell.com/cell-genomics/fulltext/S2666-979X(25)00225-3)
• NEJM — PRIMA (PRIMAvera) Wireless Sub-Retinal Implant Trial for Geographic Atrophy (nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2501396)
• Palomar POSS-I Plates — Multi-Point Transient Analysis (IOP PASP Paper) (iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1538-3873/a…)
• Palomar Alignment vs Earth’s Shadow Control (Nature Scientific Reports 2025) (nature.com/articles/s41598-025-21620-3)