Reason with Science

This episode is with Robert Aumann (94 years old now).

He is widely regarded as one of the most influential thinkers in game theory and decision theory. His exceptional work has not only reshaped the way we understand strategic decision-making and cooperation but has also garnered him numerous accolades. In 2005, Aumann was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his pioneering work in game theory and its applications. His groundbreaking insights have not only advanced our theoretical understanding of strategic decision-making but also have practical implications in various fields, such as negotiations, conflict resolution, and the design of market mechanisms.

In this conversation we talk about the topics related to his scientific journey including game theory to study the conflict and cooperation, Nash equilibrium, Aumann Agreement Theorem, Knot theory, rationality, and future directions of game theory.

Guest info:

Website: https://mathematics.huji.ac.il/people/robert-j-aumann

Episode links:

Follow Reason with Science:

Website: https://www.reasonwithscience.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/reasonwithscience

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5qFLGsPWjL4GAGidmF2nKh

Apple podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reason-with-science/id1641776894

Google podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9iMjMyNDZlOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:07 Interest in mathematics and economics

00:12:34 What is game theory?

00:16:35 War is an example of a game

00:17:30 Zero sum game

00:18:33 Politics is also a game

00:19:05 Contributions of John Nash to game theory

00:28:35 Examples of game theory regarding economics

00:47:00 Concept of common knowledge

00:58:30 Agreement theorem

01:04:25 Bayesianism and agreement theorem

01:05:42 Importance of education

01:13:48 Rationality

01:22:55 Kahneman and Tversky's work

01:25:30 Wars are rational

01:43:40 Life at the age of 93!

01:44:30 Thank you

This episode is with Denis Noble.

He is a renowned biologist, physiologist, and systems theorist, known for his pioneering research in the fields of cardiac physiology and systems biology.

Noble's early work on the electrical activity of the heart was centered on this topic, and he was the first to put forth the notion of the cardiac action potential, which is now generally recognized in the field. He has also contributed significantly to our understanding of cardiac arrhythmias, irregular heart rhythms that can cause serious health concerns.

In addition to his work in cardiac physiology, Noble has been a critical player in the development of systems biology, which aims to comprehend complex biological systems by integrating data from different sources. He has also been a vocal proponent of using mathematical and computational approaches in biology, and his work has contributed to developing a new paradigm for biological research.

In this conversation we talk about the topics related to evolution, including Neo-Darwinism, the role of DNA as information, the use of genes as templates for evolution, the emerging field of epigenetics, the significance of bioelectricity, and potential future directions for evolutionary research.

Guest info:

Episode links:

Follow Reason with Science:

Website: https://www.reasonwithscience.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/reasonwithscience

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5qFLGsPWjL4GAGidmF2nKh

Apple podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reason-with-science/id1641776894

Google podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9iMjMyNDZlOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:00:58 DNA as the information in biological systems

00:20:30 What drives evolution?

01:00:49 Horizontal gene transfer

01:05:03 What is an organism?

01:23:08 Importance of metaphors

01:31:00 What is a gene?

01:31:57 Evolution of species

01:39:03 Artificial life

01:41:04 Thank you!

This episode is with Michael Levin and Nick Lane. Mike is a Professor in the Biology department at Tufts University. He studies the role of bioelectric signals in regulating development and regeneration in animals. Nick is a professor of Evolutionary Biochemistry at University College London. His work is focused on the fundamental processes that underlie the origin and evolution of life. In this conversation, we talk about major transitions and key innovations in biology, information in biological systems, bioelectricity, emergence of eukaryotes and importance of bioelectric signals to create artificial life.

Guests info:

Nick Lane-

Website: https://nick-lane.net/

Michael Levin-

Website: https://ase.tufts.edu/biology/labs/levin/

Episode links:

Follow Reason with Science:

Website: https://www.reasonwithscience.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/reasonwithscience

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5qFLGsPWjL4GAGidmF2nKh

Apple podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reason-with-science/id1641776894

Google podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9iMjMyNDZlOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:00:58 Transition from chemistry to biology

00:06:53 Emergence of complexity

00:09:53 Key innovation of biology (Resting potential over genome)

00:13:53 Hardware-software in biology

00:15:35 Evolutionary biology and software of extinct species

00:18:48 Bioelectricity and biology

00:21:45 Biolectricity at molecular level

00:29:05 Metabolism is central to bioelectric signals

00:32:21 How bioelectric systems evolve?

00:43:33 Emergence of eukaryotes

00:47:05 Multicellularity

01:19:55 Plasticity at the genome level

01:30:02 How the memories are stored?

01:44:00 Ploidy (genome copies) and biology

01:49:00 Anaesthesia

01:53:37 Importance of bioelectricity to create synthetic life

01:58:38 Thank you

Support ALFA Mars:

This episode is with Chris Stringer. Chris is a renowned paleoanthropologist and a leading expert in the study of human

This episode is with Kate Adamala.

She is an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota. Kate is a renowned synthetic biologist and biochemist who has made significant contributions to the field of artificial life. Her research focuses on building synthetic cells, designing artificial genetic circuits, and exploring the origins of life on Earth. In this discussion, we will cover topics related to the first artificial life created in the lab, the creation of synthetic cells, various techniques for constructing artificial life, the origins of life, and the significant applications of synthetic cells.

Guest info:

Website: http://www.protobiology.org/indexd.php

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KateAdamala

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@build-a-cell2765

Episode links:

Website: https://www.reasonwithscience.com/home/building-life-in-the-lab-with-kate-adamala

Follow Reason with Science:

Website: https://www.reasonwithscience.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/reasonwithscience

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5qFLGsPWjL4GAGidmF2nKh

Apple podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reason-with-science/id1641776894

Google podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9iMjMyNDZlOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:01 First synthetic life at Craig Venter institute

00:03:46 What is a synthetic cell?

00:05:27 Definition of life

00:07:54 Replication of synthetic cells

00:10:00 Meaning of building life in the lab

00:11:22 Properties of biochemistry

00:12:55 Top-down or bottom-up approaches to build synthetic cells

00:14:28 Major components to build a cell

00:15:53 Importance of compartmentalization for synthetic cells

00:17:23 Liquid-liquid phase separation compartments

00:18:36 Requirements for the assembly of synthetic cells

00:20:04 Life from scratch

00:22:05 Information system in the synthetic cells

00:26:25 Genes to replication of the synthetic cells

00:30:11 Life of the synthetic cells

00:30:31 Limiting factors for the growth of synthetic cells

00:31:57 How the compartments are maintained?

00:32:58 Can synthetic cells grow forever?

00:33:51 Size of synthetic cells

00:35:20 Shape of the cells

00:35:49 Transporters in the synthetic cells

00:37:55 Applications of synthetic cells

00:42:20 Synthetic cells to study origin of life

00:43:36 Evolution of protocells

00:46:45 What is missing in building life in the lab?

00:48:12 How the work on synthetic cells can help in astrobiology?

00:49:52 Understanding multicellularity

00:51:07 Work on snowflake yeasts

00:52:17 Studying eukaryogenesis

00:53:01 How can we study evolution (by natural selection) using synthetic cells?

00:54:20 Synthetic cells for the environment

00:56:27 Limits to the biochemistry of synthetic cells

00:58:42 Engineering prosthetic

01:01:07 Viruses and the synthetic cells

01:02:27 Replication competent viruses

01:03:40 Alternatives of metabolism and biochemistry of synthetic cells

01:07:13 Yields from synthetic cells

01:09:22 Build-a-cell initiative

01:12:55 Major questions in the build-a-cell community

01:15:21 Further reading

01:16:54 Thank you!

This episode is with Eugene Koonin.

He is a highly respected computational biologist who has made significant contributions to the fields of evolutionary biology, genomics, and bioinformatics. Eugene is a distinguished investigator at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). His research interests include the evolution of viruses and the development of new computational methods for analyzing large-scale genomic data. Here we talk about origins and evolution of viruses, major transitions in evolution, diversity of viruses, and tools to study viruses.

Guest info:

Website: ⁠https://irp.nih.gov/pi/eugene-koonin

Episode links:  

Website: https://www.reasonwithscience.com/home/evolutionary-origins-of-viruses-cellular-life-with-eugene-koonin⁠

Youtube: https://youtu.be/lJ-fw4nszDU

Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/episode/0itkqCyuTwqIs83mHHrH07?si=7e8c71dd68984fa8&nd=1

Apple podcast:  https://podcastsconnect.apple.com/my-podcasts/show/reason-with-science/407cd478-4271-4319-8318-fc378d4e7ccb/episode/evolutionary-origins-of-viruses-and-cellular-life-with-eugene-koonin-%7C-reason-with-science-%7C-genomics/f81f10bb-82e5-4dcb-b96e-8687ca1b0e86

Google podcast:  https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9iMjMyNDZlOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw/episode/ZWNhY2YyZTYtNjJjOC00OThiLWJhZGYtNWM4ODQ1ODI3ZGRk?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwjouLLfiuf9AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQLA

Follow Reason with Science: 

Website: https://www.reasonwithscience.com/ 

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/reasonwithscience 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5qFLGsPWjL4GAGidmF2nKh 

Apple podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reason-with-science/id1641776894 

Google podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9iMjMyNDZlOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:03 How do we define viruses?

00:04:12 Major transitions in evolution and viruses

00:10:15 Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) and its virome

00:15:50 Diversity of viruses

00:26:40 Multiple origins of viruses

00:28:56 Origin of viruses

00:35:21 Viruses and replicators

00:38:11 Selfish elements as information carriers

00:40:01 Nature of selfish elements

00:42:45 Why selfish elements emerge?

00:47:46 Membranes of viruses

00:53:00 Connection between information and compartments

00:56:10 Replication strategies of selfish elements

00:58:33 Strategies of viruses to organize and replicate their genomes

01:00:18 Genomes of giant viruses

01:02:56 Small or Giant viruses: which came first?

01:03:34 Tools to study phylogenetics of viruses

01:06:40 Can we identify the host of a virus from the genome and vice versa?

01:08:39 Minimum number of genes required for the survival

01:12:55 Understanding the complexity of alien life forms

01:14:31 Last Bacterial Common Ancestor (LBCA) and Last Archaeal Common Ancestor (LACA)

01:18:56 Evolution of Last Eukaryotic Common Ancestor (LECA) from bacterial and archaea

01:23:02 Endosymbiosis in nature

01:26:15 Bacterial and Archaea emdosymbiosis effects on compartments

01:28:27 Size differences in bacteria and archaea

01:29:33 Future of phylogeny of viruses

01:31:20 Thank you!

This episode is with William (Bill) Martin. 

He is the head of the institute of molecular evolution at the University of Düsseldorf.  With a career spanning over decades, he has made significant contributions to the field of molecular biology, particularly in the areas of evolution and symbiosis. Here we talk about the question of origin of life, importance of metabolism, prebiotic chemistry at hydrothermal vents, emergence of information, compartmentalization, and early evolution of cells.

Guest info:

Website: https://www.molevol.hhu.de/en/prof-dr-william-f-martin

Google scholar: https://scholar.google.de/citations?user=ms16utkAAAAJ&hl=en

Episode links:  

Website: https://www.reasonwithscience.com/home/orgin-and-early-evolution-of-life-with-william-martin 

Youtube: https://youtu.be/yHM7ajYoE00 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2RUyROkiSeXqXq1lQVSdTW?si=QHleURybSiyncB04p5NAaw 

Apple podcast:  https://podcastsconnect.apple.com/my-podcasts/show/reason-with-science/407cd478-4271-4319-8318-fc378d4e7ccb/episode/origin-and-early-evolution-of-life-with-william-martin-|-reason-with-science-|-hydrothermal-vents/eece8a5c-62fe-456a-99dd-4ccbe96f633f 

Google podcast:  https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9iMjMyNDZlOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw/episode/NWFlYzFiOTAtNTM3My00MGRlLThjZGEtMzNiZjA4N2JmODk5?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwjox6bOhNT9AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQLA

Follow Reason with Science: 

Website: https://www.reasonwithscience.com/ 

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/reasonwithscience 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5qFLGsPWjL4GAGidmF2nKh 

Apple podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reason-with-science/id1641776894 

Google podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9iMjMyNDZlOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:00:51 Charles Darwin's idea of warm little pond 

00:04:19 Progress in the field of origin of life

00:13:46 Importance of energy for origin of life

00:20:40 Origin of life at the hydrothermal vents

00:30:45 Reaction of hydrogen and Carbon-DI-oxide at the hydrothermal vents 

00:36:40 Crucial transitions for origin of cellular life 

00:55:06 Emergence of information at hydrothermal vents

01:01:56 Importance of enzymes   

01:06:25 Link between information and compartmentalization 

01:08:24 Last Bacterial Common Ancestor (LBCA) and Last Archaeal Common Ancestor (LACA)

01:11:14 Importance of phase separation  

01:16:10 Origin of life as an engineering problem 

01:21:40 Life on exoplanets 

01:23:57 Thank you!

This episode is with Chris Fields. He is an independent scientist with a  PhD in Philosophy from the University of Colorado. Here we talk about  what is a self?, nature of consciousness, physical reality, quantum  field theory, panpsychism, boundaries of cognition, complex systems and a  theory of consciousness.

Guest info: 

Website: https://chrisfieldsresearch.com/

Episode links:  

Website: https://www.reasonwithscience.com/home/physical-reality-and-mind-with-chris-fields 

Youtube: https://youtu.be/Mu_kW11ap8M 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0ULSen1QoFeFLE2bOVi29P 

Apple podcast:  https://podcastsconnect.apple.com/my-podcasts/show/reason-with-science/407cd478-4271-4319-8318-fc378d4e7ccb/episode/physical-reality-and-mind-with-chris-fields-%7C-reason-with-science-%7C-quantum-theory-%7C-consciousness/d4828162-f8b0-4b97-8203-d7cb01c2e059 

Google podcast:  https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9iMjMyNDZlOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw/episode/MzBjMDI4ODUtNWUwZS00MzJhLTllZDEtMWRhNzgzODMyZDQ2?ep=14

Follow Reason with Science:  

Website: https://www.reasonwithscience.com/  

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/reasonwithscience  

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5qFLGsPWjL4GAGidmF2nKh  

Apple podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reason-with-science/id1641776894  

Google podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9iMjMyNDZlOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw

Timestamps: 

00:00:00 Introduction 

00:00:53 What is a self?  

00:06:13 Difference between a self of a bacteria and human? 

00:11:20 Self and a mind 

00:14:22 Consciousness and a self 

00:20:13 Panpsychism

00:22:25 Boundaries of cognition  

00:26:40 Properties of LUCA (Last Universal Common Ancestor) 

00:34:22 Memory and information in a system 

00:39:24 How far we can stretch the understanding of boundaries?  

00:45:14 Where is a self in the transitions of matter? 

00:51:31 Language trap in exploring consciousness  

00:56:20 Scale of consciousness

01:05:20 Attributing consciousness to chemistry 

01:07:20 Consciousness during the development of a human 

01:11:11 What would it mean to have a theory of consciousness?

01:16:17 Experience of larger and complex systems  

01:20:03 Understanding complexity  

01:27:48 Building complex systems like AI  

01:32:32 What makes internet so complex?  

01:35:34 Mike Levin's work to create Xenobots  

01:41:00 Creating artificial bacteria    

01:45:26 Origin of life

01:54:08 Thank you!

Music by: Ahmed Hassan (https://www.youtube.com/@2ays577/featured)