How Cells Hack Entropy to Live

One of the most fundamental ideas in physics is that the disorder of the universe, also known as entropy, is constantly increasing. But, life’s inherent chemical makeup has been hacking the disorder of the universe for billions of years!

Hosted by: Hank Green

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Sources:
Levinthal's paradox
molten globule, proposed here:
molten globule, hydrophobic core shown here:

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[kalaash]

your toddler analogy is a lot funnier when it isn't happening in my house.

[Aeleas]

The toddler with a bag of glitter example seems suspiciously specific.

[LMacNeill]

0:32 -- "imagine you have given a bag of glitter to a toddler."
Me, 20 years later: "I'm still finding glitter *EVERYWHERE!"*

I'm guessing that Hank's toddler got hold of a bag of glitter at some point in the recent past... That analogy was *way* too specific to be just some random analogy. LOL!

[cwaldrip]

I think someone on the scishow staff has a very sparkly living room, which led to this video. ;-)

[DuelingBongos]

I had always considered the concept of entropy patently absurd since living organisms are so obviously defying entropy. Turns out, living organisms were using entropy to defy itself!

[fufubunnyiz]

I would argue that there's no force "hacking" entropy, but that every component of reaction in the universe, has an opposing purpose, to maintain balance.

[jesipohl]

2:38' "fleshy sacks of mostly water" is totally a paraphrase from Picard's encounter in TNG (episode: "home soil") with a species of mineral sentient life occuping a thin mm-thick band around a small planet.
"Ugly bags of mostly water" - the indigenous sentient mineral-based-life.

[boulderbash]

Q: How to reverse entropy?
A: Insufficient data for meaningful answer.

[BTheBlindRef]

I wish I had the link to share, but I recall watching a presentation about why life formed in the universe at all, given the thermodynamic entropy law. What it discussed was that, on a micro-scale (i.e. our level) it appears we are violating the entropy law, at least for a time. However, when they studied the overall radiant heat (i.e. entropy) output of a planet with life (like earth) with a comparable planet but without life, they calculated that a planet with life is actually more efficient at turning the Sun's light energy into radiant heat, meaning that if you take the Earth system as a whole, the life on it has INCREASED entropy from a universal perspective. This means that not only does life not violate the entropy law, it is practically inevitable that life would form given that it seems to optimize the overall increase in entropy of the system over time.

[NoahSpurrier]

I can attest to the fact that the moment you introduce glitter to a child you will never know the world without glitter. Glitter will remain a part of your life forever.

[tippib]

“Fleshy bags of mostly water” reminds me of one of my favorite ST:TNG lines where an alien calls humans “ugly bags of mostly water”

[christopherg]

5:23 As I understand Entropy:
"You can try to run from it. But you will only die warm."

[momoj]

"I am entropy i am death, im also being hacked by a cell"

[jamesmnguyen]

Probability joins the battle.
Entropy temporarily reduced.
Boltzmann Brain has spawned.

[seansullivan]

Of all the amazing content you guys have put out over the years, I think this may be the most fascinatingly elegant topic yet. If I understand it correctly our bodies build the structures of membranes and proteins like a model ship. The build all the pieces fold them up and tie them to strings (bonding to water) then entropy pulls the strings and they pop into shape? That is absolutely mind blowingly elegant. I think I'm going to go hydrate.

[Kevin_Street]

The relationship between life and entropy is one the deepest aspects of, well... Everything. If you're looking for a philosophical first assumption to build all your beliefs on, that's the the most fundamental one there is.

Entropy creates disorder, and life creates order.

[christelheadington]

Right off the bat, I'm now wondering if people who work in glitter factories, are ever glitter free.

[caseydorn]

My first and gut reaction to this is that a 6 minute video may have just explained the way in which life can originate scientifically. Not sure that was the point. But basically if the creation of cellular life is in fact a state of HIGHER entropy, its development would occur naturally and predictably.

[bxlawless]

This is a really really important point!

The paradox. We exist because the levels of freedom a atom has. It prefers the state we exist in.

[apoc]

This video raises more questions than it answers. It seems that when theyre about to tell us a scientific answer, they just plot twist us saying "no one knows really", or " it just works idk"