Alien Biosphere Evolution #6: Size and the Modularity of Life

When it comes to the evolution of life on Earth or other planets the general rule is that: Probabilities decrease with increasing specificity. The more specific a life form, the less likely it is that it will evolve naturally. A humanoid being, for instance, though often the staple of science fiction, may actually be relatively unlikely, because of the long chain of contingent events needed to arrive at it. That doesn’t mean anything more specific is implausible, but just that we can expect it to be less common in the universe. No matter what, we can be certain about one thing: Life will start out tiny. From mere molecules to minute microbes, life on any exoplanet far, far away, will probably be stuck at microscopic scales at first and remain so for aeons. That is because, starting from such humble beginnings, evolving creatures need to achieve key innovations in order to break through into the macroscopic world. So what are some of the strategies employed by living systems during evolution to attain ever greater sizes and is there a single universal trend? Let's find out! 0:00 Introduction 1:07 Life's microscopic Origins 4:00 Complex Cells 7:12 Multicellularity 9:35 Tissue specialization 11:53 Closing thoughts 12:34 Next video: Deep Body Patterning SOCIAL MEDIA: Website: https://www.phrenotopia.com/ Twitter:   / phrenotopian   REFERENCES (Under Construction!) ... Mángano MG & Buatois LA (2014) "Decoupling of body-plan diversification and ecological structuring during the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition: evolutionary and geobiological feedbacks" Proc. R. Soc. B 281 | http://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.0038 ... CREDITS (Under Construction!) Images: ... A plethora of images of extinct animals were created by paleo-artist Nobu Tamura and available here: http://spinops.blogspot.com/ & https://www.deviantart.com/ntamura "Kepler-186f" by NASA Ames/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle | https://www.nasa.gov/ames/kepler/kepl... "Earth-like Exoplanet" by Scott Richard https://www.pexels.com/ https://pixabay.com Footage: ... "Lipid Bilayer (Cell Membrane)" by @Ragdoll Studio LLC |    • Lipid Bilayer (Cell Membrane) Modelin...   "Gold Farm" courtesy of @Sylle7 https://bit.ly/Sylle7YT https://pixabay.com/videos/ Music: "Backyard Safari" by TechSmith "What Does Anybody Know About Anything" by Chris Zabriskie | http://chriszabriskie.com/ | CC BY 4.0 "Digital Memories" by @Unicorn Heads "Sprite Star" by @Saibysed |   / saidbysed   "Progressive Chords Lead" by Frankum |   / frankumjay   "Kick and Progressive Leads" by Frankum