#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