132 | Michael Levin on Growth, Form, Information, and the Self

132 | Michael Levin on Growth, Form, Information, and the Self

As a semi-outsider, it's fun for me to watch as a new era dawns in biology: one that adds ideas from physics, big data, computer science, and information theory to the usual biological toolkit. One of the big areas of study in this burgeoning field is the relationship between the basic bioinformatic building blocks (genes and proteins) to the macroscopic organism that eventually results. That relationship is not a simple one, as we're discovering. Standard metaphors notwithstanding, an organism is not a machine based on genetic blueprints. I talk with biologist and information scientist Michael Levin about how information and physical constraints come together to make organisms and selves.

Support Mindscape on Patreon.

Michael Levin received his Ph.D. in genetics from Harvard University. He is currently Distinguished Professor and Vannevar Bush Chair in the Biology department at Tufts University, and serves as director of the Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology. His work on left-right asymmetric body structures is on Nature's list of 100 Milestones of Developmental Biology of the Century.


Jaksot(416)

AMA | August 2022

AMA | August 2022

Welcome to the August 2022 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by Patreon supporters (who are also the ones asking the questions). We take questions asked by Patr...

1 Elo 20223h 6min

205 | John Quiggin on Interest Rates and the Information Economy

205 | John Quiggin on Interest Rates and the Information Economy

The idea of an "interest rate" might seem mundane and practical, in comparison to our usual topics around here, but there is a profound philosophical idea lurking in the background: if you lend me mon...

25 Heinä 20221h 19min

204 | John Asher Johnson on Hunting for Exoplanets

204 | John Asher Johnson on Hunting for Exoplanets

Recent years have seen a revolution in the study of exoplanets, planets that orbit stars other than the Sun (or don't orbit stars at all). After a few tentative detections in the 1990s, dedicated inst...

18 Heinä 20221h 15min

203 | N.J. Enfield on Why Language is Good for Lawyers and Not Scientists

203 | N.J. Enfield on Why Language is Good for Lawyers and Not Scientists

We describe the world using language — we can't help it. And we all know that ordinary language is an imperfect way of communicating rigorous scientific statements, but sometimes it's the best we can ...

11 Heinä 20221h 24min

AMA | July 2022

AMA | July 2022

Welcome to the July 2022 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by Patreon supporters (who are also the ones asking the questions). I take the large number of questi...

4 Heinä 20223h 26min

202 | Andrew Papachristos on the Network Theory of Gun Violence

202 | Andrew Papachristos on the Network Theory of Gun Violence

The United States is suffering from an epidemic of tragic gun violence. While a political debate rages around the topic of gun control, it remains important to understand the causes and possible remed...

27 Kesä 20221h 15min

201 | Ed Yong on How Animals Sense the World

201 | Ed Yong on How Animals Sense the World

All of us construct models of the world, and update them on the basis of evidence brought to us by our senses. Scientists try to be more rigorous about it, but we all do it. It's natural that this pro...

20 Kesä 20221h 9min

AMA | June 2022

AMA | June 2022

Welcome to the June 2022 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! We are inaugurating a slightly different publication schedule, in which these monthly AMA will take the place of one of the regular Monda...

13 Kesä 20223h 4min

Suosittua kategoriassa Tiede

rss-mita-tulisi-tietaa
rss-poliisin-mieli
utelias-mieli
tiedekulma-podcast
docemilia
rss-duodecim-lehti
rss-luontopodi-samuel-glassar-tutkii-luonnon-ihmeita
filocast-filosofian-perusteet
rss-tervetta-skeptisyytta