How evolution works in 54 minutes | Sean B. Carroll: Full Interview

Become a Big Think member to unlock expert classes, premium print issues, exclusive events and more: https://bigthink.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=yt_desc Subscribe to Big Think on YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvQECJukTDE2i6aCoMnS-Vg?sub_confirmation=1 Up next, The evolution of laziness: Why humans resist the gym ► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLY0TNm67hY How does life build complexity from pure chance? Sean B. Carroll takes up the “staircase of evolution,” showing how random mutation and natural selection shape everything from the smallest cells in our bodies to entire species. If you want to understand the forces that silently govern life, this discussion reframes evolution as an active, ongoing process shaping every organism, including you. 0:00 What if life is built on chance? 1:02 How life works: the staircase of evolution 1:22 Mutation and selection 4:45 Icefish evolved antifreeze 7:03 Speciation 9:40 The fossil record and the DNA record 11:47 Common misconceptions about evolution 13:36 How our bodies work: the staircase of self-defense 14:11 Our immune systems 16:36 Hypermutation 17:22 Immunological memory 19:45 Antibody genes and DNA 20:46 How do we make 10 million antibodies? 23:27 How cancer works: the staircase of mutation 25:15 Why does cancer risk increase with age? 26:36 150 gene mutations that drive cancer 26:59 Cancer drivers and breaks 28:03 Cancers in children vs adults 29:47 3 factors that contribute to cancer growth 33:27 Life emerging from chance 35:29The untold story of Alfred Russel Wallace 37:01 Theory of special creation 42:36 Natural selection 47:02 Archaeopteryx 49:36 Wallace and Darwin’s relationship 50:35 The Darwin-Wallace Theory Read the video transcript ► https://bigthink.com/series/full-interview/science-of-evolution/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=youtube_description © Freethink Media Inc., All Rights Reserved. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Go Deeper with Big Think: ►Become a Big Think Youtube Member Get exclusive classes and early, ad-free access to new releases without leaving Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/@bigthink/membership/ ►Become a Big Think Web Member Get the entire Big Think Class library, premium print issues, live events, and more. https://bigthink.com/membership/ ►Subscribe to Big Think on Substack Get all of your favorite Big Think content delivered to your inbox. https://bigthinkmedia.substack.com/subscribe/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Sean B. Carroll: Sean B. Carroll is an award-winning scientist, author, educator, and film producer. He is Distinguished University Professor and the Andrew and Mary Balo and NIcholas and Susan Simon Chair of Biology at the University of Maryland, and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He was formerly Head of HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, and led the Department of Science Education from 2010-2023. He is also Professor Emeritus of Genetics and Molecular Biology at the University of Wisconsin. An internationally-recognized evolutionary biologist, Carroll's laboratory research has centered on the genes that control animal body patterns and play major roles in the evolution of animal diversity. In recognition of his scientific contributions, Carroll has received the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Sciences, been elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, named a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and elected an Associate Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization. His latest book is A Series of Fortunate Events.