Dr. Michael Levin is a developmental and synthetic biologist best known for two things - the creation of xenobots - biological robots created from frog cells - and his ability to fine-tune the bodyplan of regenerating organisms with morphogenic bioelectric fields. He's speaks with us about the philosophical foundations of his work in regenerative medicine, which include intricate theories of cognition that assert the goal-seeking behavior associated with the "self" is apparent at all scales of life. His work serves as a proof-of-concept for this view of the world, as he has demonstrated it is much more effective to change how organisms grow and regenerate through the careful direction of this goal-seeking behavior, rather than through traditional biochemical methods. His rigorous attention to the philosophy of biology - which includes his forward-thinking definitions of terms like "self," "intelligence," and "cognition" - allows his ideas to jump from the page and into a reality filled with two-headed immortal worms and frog-skin xenobots. See the papers discussed in the podcast down below. Support the podcast by becoming a Patron @DemystifySci ªº¬˚∆≤≥≤≥ https://www.patreon.com/demystifysci ≤≥≤≥∆˚¬ºª 00:00 Go! 00:01:42 What are bioelectric networks 00:03:52 How bioelectricity builds organisms 00:08:59 Cognition vs consciousness at the organismal level 00:24:07 Gaining functional control of internal organs 00:29:38 Recursive organization: from cell, to organ, to body, to self 00:34:18 Individual cells: micro and macro level goals 00:42:40 Planarians: An interesting regeneration example, but can it go wrong? 00:53:20 The unanswered questions of biobots 00:57:10 Are human biobots next? 01:02:50 What can we learn from xenobots ? 01:06:32 Xenobots: Machines or Organisms? 01:20:01 The continuum of persuadability 01:25:44 Who driving biology, design or evolution? 01:33:00 Closing thoughts ªº¬˚∆≤≥≤≥ Join the mailing list https://bit.ly/3v3kz2S​ ≤≥≤≥∆˚¬ºª Check our main channel, @DemystifyingScience for in depth-investigations: https://youtu.be/1OCL5Lq8m6s PODCAST INFO: Anastasia completed her PhD studying microbial communication at Columbia University. When not talking to brilliant people or making movies, she spends her time painting and exploring the woods. Michael Shilo also did his PhD at Columbia studying the elastic properties of molecular water. When he's not in the film studio, he's exploring sound in music. They are both freelance professors at various universities. Blog: http://demystifyingscience.com/blog Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3uhn7J1 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/39IDJBD RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/2be66934/podcast/rss Donate: https://bit.ly/3wkPqaD Swag: https://bit.ly/2PXdC2y SOCIAL: - Twitter: https://twitter.com/demystifysci - Discord: https://discord.gg/HXQNjTvZCb - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/demystifyingscience - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/demystifysci/ MORE READING: Cognition in Biological Systems: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00902/full The Computational Boundary of the Self: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6923654/ Living Things Are NOT Machines: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.650726/full Life, Death & Self: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006291X20320064 Limb and Organ Regeneration: https://academic.oup.com/ib/article/7/12/1487/5199172 MUSIC: Journey to Consciousness, Daniel Willett