#318 – Nick Lane: Origin of Life, Evolution, Aliens, Biology, and Consciousness

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

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This episode was published on September 7, 2022.

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