The Universe: Gaps and Planetary Factors

1min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

The universe is very big, but the trajectory from simple cellular life to humans has gaps, such as the eukaryotic cell and photosynthesis. There was a long delay from the origin of the eukaryotic cell to the first animals due to planetary and geological factors. It took about two billion years for enough oxygen to accumulate for animals to respire. The reasons for this delay are still unknown.

Nick Lane is a biochemist at UCL and author of Transformer, The Vital Question, and many other amazing books on biology, chemistry, and life. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
– Backbone: https://playbackbone.com/lex to get perks with order
– Notion: https://notion.com
– BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/lex to get 10% off
– Blinkist: https://blinkist.com/lex to get 25% off premium

EPISODE LINKS:
Nick’s Website: https://nick-lane.net
Nick’s Books:
Transformer: https://amzn.to/3cy7lpO
The Vital Question: https://amzn.to/3q0vN6q
Oxygen: https://amzn.to/3edy3V5
Power, Sex, Suicide: https://amzn.to/3B3OInk
Life Ascending: https://amzn.to/3wKIsOE
Books mentioned:
21 Lessons for the 21st Century: https://amzn.to/3AZQaqy
The Black Cloud: https://amzn.to/3wJhDKC

PODCAST INFO:
Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8
RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/
YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/lexfridman
YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/lexclips

SUPPORT & CONNECT:
– Check out the sponsors above, it’s the best way to support this podcast
– Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman
– Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman
– Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman
– Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman
– Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman

OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(05:45) – Origin of life
(19:31) – Panspermia
(25:05) – What is life?
(38:20) – Photosynthesis
(41:55) – Prokaryotic vs eukaryotic cells
(51:56) – Sex
(59:39) – DNA
(1:06:51) – Violence
(1:17:25) – Human evolution
(1:23:21) – Neanderthals
(1:26:53) – Sensory inputs
(1:37:43) – Consciousness
(2:09:17) – AI and biology
(2:38:36) – Evolution
(2:59:07) – Fermi paradox
(3:12:27) – Cities
(3:20:14) – Depression
(3:22:50) – Writing
(3:30:49) – Advice for young people
(3:37:57) – Earth