From First Principles

Dream Engineering, the Proton Radius Puzzle, and an ALS Breakthrough (EP. 27)

Feb 26, 2026
Two-way lucid dreaming experiments show researchers can cue and even receive signals from dreamers to bias dream content. A precision hydrogen measurement appears to settle the decade-long proton radius discrepancy in favor of the smaller value. A new ALS-in-a-dish motor neuron model predicts patient survival and reveals a promising multi-drug rescue that could improve drug translation.
Ask episode
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
INSIGHT

Pulsar Near Galactic Center Could Test Einstein Strongly

  • A candidate pulsar near the Milky Way's central black hole would act as an ultra-precise clock, letting physicists test general relativity in extreme gravity.
  • The Breakthrough Listen Galactic Center survey produced the tentative millisecond pulsar detection (~8 ms spin).
INSIGHT

AI Reconstructed A Lost Roman Board Game From Wear Patterns

  • Researchers used AI to simulate thousands of possible rule-sets for a 2,000-year-old Roman game and matched simulated wear patterns to the limestone board.
  • The solution identified an asymmetric blockade game Ludus Coriovali playable online.
INSIGHT

Prenatal Hormones Linked To Brain Size And Skeletal Changes

  • Prenatal hormone exposure (2D:4D finger ratio) correlates with later brain size and skeletal 'feminization' signals in human evolution.
  • Higher prenatal estrogen in males associated with larger brains but linked to later health risks like poor sperm counts.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app