“The idea of evolution by natural selection is, for me, probably the most beautiful idea in biology.”

Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection did more than explain evolution, it revealed how complexity can emerge without a designer. Nobel laureate Paul Nurse unpacks Darwin’s insights, from the logic of tiny differences to the profound impacts these variations have on our understanding of life.

Nurse explores the deep genetic connections linking all organisms, from humans to gorillas to yeast. This shared ancestry, he argues, reframes how we think about responsibility: If all life is related, what do we owe to the living world?

0:00 The most beautiful idea in biology
0:15 Evolution and the mechanism
0:48 Darwin’s 5-year voyage
2:45 Red coat vs yellow coat
4:22 The consequences of evolution
6:15 The similarity of living things

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About Paul Nurse:
Paul Nurse, Ph.D, is a British biochemist. He was awarded the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Leland H. Hartwell and R. Timothy Hunt for their discoveries regarding cell cycle regulation by cyclin and cyclin dependent kinases. He became Rockefeller University's ninth president in 2003.

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