Big Think

What is life? A Nobel Prize-winning scientist answers | Paul Nurse Full Interview


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"If we're related to every living thing on the planet, do we not have a special responsibility for every living thing on this planet? They are really all our relatives."

What does it truly mean to be alive? Nobel Prize-winning geneticist Paul Nurse answers biology’s most fundamental (and elusive) question in his full interview with Big Think.
Drawing from decades of research, Nurse explores how five core ideas redefine life, from the hidden power of the cell to the bizarre machinery inside us all.

Chapters:

00:00 Why title the book ‘What is Life'?
00:53 What is the current biological definition of "life"?
02:38 What is the cell, and why is it important for understanding life?
07:09 What is the connection between humans and yeast?
11:37 The genetic advantage of yeast
13:45 Genes, dna, and evolution
22:39 What exactly is cell division and how is it important for understanding life?
23:50 How important is natural selection?
26:29 What are the consequences of natural selection?
30:25 Our responsibility to steward nature
31:09 Life = Chemistry + Information
40:39 What is the basis of all life?
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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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