Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas 175 | William Ratcliff on Multicellularity, Physics, and Evolution
Nov 29, 2021
Join William Ratcliff, a leading mind in AI and evolution, as he unpacks the fascinating journey from unicellular to multicellular life. Ratcliff examines how certain yeast cells evolve to form complex structures and the pivotal role of oxygen in this transformation. He shares insights from long-term evolution experiments that reveal how multicellularity can spontaneously develop in the lab. Discover the fascinating interplay between physics and biology that shapes the diversity of life as we know it!
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Multicellularity's Origins
- Multicellularity evolved many times in different lineages, offering diverse opportunities for complexity.
- Eukaryotes, cells with nuclei, arose from a fusion of archaea and bacteria, enabling more complex multicellularity.
Eukaryotic Cell Structure
- Eukaryotic cells possess a mix of archaeal and bacterial components, with the larger symbiont being the archaea.
- The mitochondria, once free-living bacteria, have a reduced genome and reside within eukaryotic cells.
Benefits of Multicellularity
- Multicellularity offers various benefits, including predator avoidance, metabolic cooperation, and resource competition.
- Photosynthetic organisms like algae benefit from multicellularity by overgrowing competitors for light.