From First Principles

Hosted by Lester Nare and Krishna Choudhary, this episode tells the story of Nobel laureate Chen Ning Yang and how his ideas on symmetry and gauge theory transformed modern physics.Summary• Early Years & Mentorship: From China to Chicago — learning under Fermi and Chandrasekhar.• Parity Violation: How Yang & Lee overturned the mirror-symmetry assumption and changed physics forever.• Gauge Symmetry & Yang-Mills Fields: The foundation of the Standard Model of particle physics.• Legacy & Philosophy: Why Yang saw beauty as nature’s signature and symmetry as its language.Show Notes• Nobel Prize in Physics 1957 — Chen Ning Yang & Tsung-Dao Lee• Original Yang–Mills Paper (1954, Physical Review)• Madame Wu’s Parity Violation Experiment (1957)• Biography of Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (University of Chicago)

Aloha internet — Lester Nare and Krishna Choudhary return with three extraordinary research stories: portable muon beams, sodium-ion batteries, and the secret to long life.Summary• Lawrence Berkeley’s compact muon beam technology and its applications in archaeology, volcanology, and security.• UC San Diego + U Chicago’s solid-state sodium battery that rivals lithium in power but not in cost.• Tongji University’s naked mole rat DNA study uncovering a genetic pathway for longer, healthier life.Show NotesPortable Muon BeamNature News CoveragePhysical Review Accelerators and Beams PaperSodium Ion BatteriesScience Daily CoverageJoule Paper (2025)Naked Mole Rats & LongevityBBC CoverageScience Journal Paper

After a packed week of Nobel Prize coverage, Lester and Krishna look back on how From First Principles began and why they built it as an “ESPN for Science.” They revisit 2025’s Medicine, Physics and Chemistry winners and discuss why fundamental research and immigration policy are core to America’s scientific edge.Quick note: this week’s episode is in vertical format because of a technical hiccup during recording — back to widescreen next week!SummaryOrigin Story — Two Princeton friends from different continents unite around a shared love of science and storytelling.The Mission — Creating an “ESPN for Science” that celebrates research and the people behind it.Nobel Follow-ups — Medicine (Tregs and non-immune roles), Physics (macroscopic quantum tunneling and quantum supremacy), Chemistry (MOFs and industrial scaling).Funding + Immigration — Why public research grants and curating global talent are vital to scientific leadership.Show NotesNobel Prize Press Release (2025 Medicine)Nobel Prize Press Release (2025 Physics)Nobel Prize Press Release (2025 Chemistry)Nature Genetics (2001) — FOXP3 Mutation Causes DysregulationNature (1999) — MOF-5 Discovery (Omar Yaghi et al.)Google Quantum AI Lab — Quantum Supremacy (Nature, 2019)

Dive into groundbreaking science as the hosts explore the 2025 Nobel Prizes. Discover how the FOXP3 gene plays a critical role in immune tolerance and autoimmune disease prevention. Learn about macroscopic quantum tunneling and its significance for future quantum devices. Finally, unravel the mysteries of metal-organic frameworks, innovative structures for CO₂ capture and water harvesting. Each topic reveals exciting advancements and implications for technology and health.

Explore how AI is revolutionizing CRISPR and LIGO just in time for Nobel Prize Week. Delve into CRISPR's fascinating origin from bacterial immunity to its cutting-edge applications at Stanford. Discover how AI enhances experiment planning and safety in gene editing. Switch gears to LIGO, where machine learning is pushing the boundaries of gravitational wave detection by overcoming noise challenges. This episode reveals the intersection of biology and physics, showcasing AI as a game-changer in scientific discovery.

Dive into the intriguing world of China's AI advancements with the DeepSeek model, highlighting its implications on global tech rivalries. Explore the fascinating concept of time crystals now visible at room temperature, and discover their potential applications in cryptography. Uncover the hidden viruses within our DNA and their significance in developing therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases. Finally, learn about the brightest fast radio burst ever detected, unraveling cosmic mysteries with cutting-edge telescopes.

NASA just dropped what they’re calling the strongest evidence yet for biosignatures on Mars, so we spun up an emergency pod. We break down what the rover actually found in Jezero Crater, why geochemical “life-adjacent” reactions matter, revisit April’s hyped K2-18b claim from Cambridge, and close with brand-new JWST hints of atmospheres on Earth-sized exoplanets. Hosted by Lester Nare and Krishna Choudhary.Summary• NASA’s Mars result — Perseverance, Jezero, Bright Angel Formation, and inorganic proxies for life (iron phosphates/sulfides) plus how instruments like PIXL actually read rocks.• The April headline on K2-18b (“strongest evidence yet”) and what atmospheric retrieval really does and doesn’t prove.• Fresh JWST papers hinting at atmospheres on TRAPPIST-1 worlds — why that’s huge and how transit spectroscopy underpins it.Show Notes• NASA — Mars Biosignature Claim• Cambridge — K2-18b Atmosphere Study• Astrophysical Journal Letters — JWST TRAPPIST-1• Atmosphere Study (Paper 1)• Astrophysical Journal Letters — JWST TRAPPIST-1 Atmosphere Study (Paper 2)

Explore the fascinating trajectory of the interstellar visitor 3i/Atlas, captured by several high-tech telescopes! Uncover a significant longevity study suggesting that life expectancy might have plateaued for those born after 1939. Dive into a breakthrough nickel catalyst that could revolutionize no-sort plastic recycling. Finally, discover Microsoft's innovative analog AI computer, boasting 100x efficiency and promising applications in energy and medical fields. Science is pushing the boundaries in intriguing new ways!

Discover the unveiling of a unique 'naked' supernova, shedding light on the mysteries of dying stars. Explore an innovative therapy where viruses and bacteria unite to attack cancer cells. Learn how scientists are harnessing electron spin to revolutionize energy efficiency in technology. Finally, dive into a groundbreaking CRISPR-based superfood designed for honeybees, aiming to combat pollinator decline and enhance agricultural ecosystems. These fascinating topics showcase the forefront of scientific discovery.

Exploring the frontier of brain-computer interfaces, researchers decode inner speech and raise privacy concerns. A dive into genetics reveals how Human Accelerated Regions shape what makes us uniquely human. Meanwhile, breakthroughs in lab-grown diamonds promise stronger materials for industry. Lastly, a retrospective on a century of quantum mechanics unveils its profound impact on modern technology and the science of uncertainty. It's a captivating journey through science, ethics, and the future of innovation!