AI Cancer Vaccines, Strange Fish, Ketamine, and Ancient Life (EP. 34)

Hosted by Lester Nare and Krishna Choudhary, this episode is a fast-moving science rundown covering four remarkable stories from across AI, genetics, neuroscience, and paleontology. We dig into the story of a machine learning engineer who used AI tools to help design a personalized cancer vaccine for his dog, explore how an all-female fish species has survived far longer than evolutionary theory would predict, unpack new brain-scan evidence for how ketamine may rapidly relieve severe depression, and look at new research suggesting life rebounded shockingly fast after the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs.SummaryAI and personalized medicine — a striking case study in how AI tools may help accelerate highly customized treatments, starting with a rescue dog named Rosie.Evolution gets weird — the Amazon molly fish appears to challenge the usual assumptions about why asexual reproduction should fail over long time scales.Why ketamine works so fast — new PET imaging research points to brain-region-specific changes in AMPA receptors in treatment-resistant depression.Life after catastrophe — microscopic plankton may have evolved into new species within just a few thousand years after the Chicxulub impact.Support the showDonate: FFPod.com/donateFollow: @FFPod on X / Instagram / TikTok / FacebookShow NotesAI-designed dog cancer vaccine storyhttps://finance.yahoo.com/news/mans-dog-riddled-tumors-dying-210500037.html?guccounter=1Amazon molly / gene conversion paperhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10180-9Ketamine / AMPA receptor PET imaging paperhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-026-03510-wPost-asteroid plankton recovery paperhttps://www.yokohama-cu.ac.jp/english/news/20260306takahashi.html