Nick Lane: Origin of Life, Evolution, Aliens, Biology, and Consciousness | Lex Fridman Podcast #318

Nick Lane is a biochemist at UCL and author of Transformer, The Vital Question, and many other amazing books on biology, chemistry, and life. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep318-sb See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. *Transcript:* https://lexfridman.com/nick-lane-transcript *CONTACT LEX:* *Feedback* - give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey *AMA* - submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama *Hiring* - join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring *Other* - other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact *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 *SPONSORS:* To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: *Notion:* Note-taking and team collaboration. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/notion-ep318-sb *BetterHelp:* Online therapy and counseling. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/betterhelp-ep318-sb *OUTLINE:* 0:00 - Introduction 1:09 - Origin of life 14:56 - Panspermia 20:30 - What is life? 33:44 - Photosynthesis 37:19 - Prokaryotic vs eukaryotic cells 47:20 - Sex 55:03 - DNA 1:02:15 - Violence 1:12:50 - Human evolution 1:18:45 - Neanderthals 1:22:18 - Sensory inputs 1:33:08 - Consciousness 2:04:41 - AI and biology 2:34:00 - Evolution 2:54:32 - Fermi paradox 3:07:52 - Cities 3:15:39 - Depression 3:18:14 - Writing 3:26:13 - Advice for young people 3:33:22 - Earth *PODCAST LINKS:* - Podcast Website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast - Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr - Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 - RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ - Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 - Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/lexclips *SOCIAL LINKS:* - X: https://x.com/lexfridman - Instagram: https://instagram.com/lexfridman - TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@lexfridman - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/lexfridman - Facebook: https://facebook.com/lexfridman - Patreon: https://patreon.com/lexfridman - Telegram: https://t.me/lexfridman - Reddit: https://reddit.com/r/lexfridman