#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

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