Last Watched

"Urey"  Sort by

One Voice in the Cosmic Fugue

   1980    Science
Sagan discusses the story of the Heike crab and artificial selection of crabs resembling samurai warriors, as an opening into a larger discussion of evolution through natural selection (and the pitfalls of intelligent design). Among the topics are the development of life on the Cosmic Calendar and the Cambrian explosion; the function of DNA in growth; genetic replication, repairs, and mutation; the common biochemistry of terrestrial organisms; the creation of the molecules of life in the Miller-Urey experiment; and speculation on alien life (such as life in Jupiter's clouds). In the Cosmos Update ten years later, Sagan remarks on RNA also controlling chemical reactions and reproducing itself and the different roles of comets (potentially carrying organic molecules or causing the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event).
Series: Cosmos
Frozen Planet

Frozen Planet

2011  Nature
Life

Life

2009  Nature
Life of a Universe

Life of a Universe

2017  Science
The Crime of the Century

The Crime of the Century

2021  Medicine
The Last Narc

The Last Narc

2020  Culture
Atom

Atom

2007  Science
Living Universe

Living Universe

2018  Technology