What Are The Weirdest Types Of Life? - Carl Zimmer - #394

**Chris Williamson** (0:00)
Hello, friends, welcome back to the show. My guest today is Carl Zimmer. He's a science writer, journalist and an author who specialises in evolution, parasites and heredity. Life is the thing which illuminates our corner of the universe. It gives colour to an otherwise cold, brutal void. But what is life? How is it defined? Despite seeming obvious at first glance, this question is one of the most contested in science. Expect to learn what are the most extreme forms of life which can live in the vacuum of space. How life might have begun in rock pools rather than at the bottom of the ocean. Why aliens might be so different to us that we don't even recognise them. How a slime mould that looks like dog vomit can learn its way through a maze. And much more. Don't forget to join the Modern Wisdom Community on Locals if you want to connect with me and everyone else who listened to the show. 1,500 members and counting so far. So you'll be in good company. Lots of people that like interesting things. In other news, this episode is brought to you by Pure Sport CBD. You might be anxious, stressed, struggling to focus or just needing to unwind a little bit more easily. Pure Sport's ultra high quality CBD can help relax your mind and soothe your body. I've been messing around with a bunch of different stuff from them for the last year and a half and it is the best quality CBD that I've ever found. Each batch is double third party tested by two separate companies to ensure that it is only the highest caliber. They've got unwind and boost and clarity, which are their nootropics infused CBD oils. They've got pure CBDs from 1500 milligrams all the way up to 3000 They've even got their brand new Mushroom Mind and Body Blend, which is a powerful invigorating and stimulating blend of six mushrooms to enhance your focus and aid in relieving stress and anxiety. If you're struggling to switch off, if you're finding yourself just feeling a little bit more stressed than you'd like, I highly recommend trying out one of the pure CBD oils or their unwind blend to help you sleep on a nighttime or their Mushroom Mind and Body Blend if you want to be a bit more focused during the day. Head to puresportcbd.com/modernwisdom and use the code MW20 to get 20% of all full priced items. They ship internationally. So no matter where you are, you can get this discount and join in with the highest quality CBD on the planet. puresportcbd.com/modernwisdom and MW20. In other other news, this episode is brought to you by DW Aligners. You can get the perfect straight smile that you've always dreamed of 70% cheaper than other invisible align methods. And it can happen in as little as three to six months. They even have nighttime aligners now that you put in so you get straight teeth while you sleep. Not only that, but you get free diamond white whitening kit with every plan. So not only do you now have straight teeth, you also have white teeth. Each custom made invisible aligner is unobtrusive. You change them regularly and they incrementally adjust your teeth creating a straighter smile. You can wear them during the day and no one will notice. And if you want to just wear them on a nighttime because you have a job that doesn't allow you to wear it during the day, then they've got that sorted as well. You track your progress using their self scan unit, which uses artificial intelligence and a team of registered dentists to ensure that you're moving forward correctly. And they are half a billion scans deep and counting. If you've been thinking, I want to get my teeth sorted, I'd really like to have a straight smile because it makes me feel more confident. This is the way to do it. It doesn't look like braces. It's 70% cheaper than all other invisible align methods. And you get a treatment coordinator to help you every single step of the way. Head to dwaligners.co.uk/modernwisdom.
That's dwaligners.co.uk/modernwisdom. You can see all of the different options and you can get your smile sorted out. But now please welcome Carl Zimmer.
Carl Zimmer, welcome to the show.

**Carl Zimmer** (4:17)
Thanks for having me.

**Chris Williamson** (4:18)
It's an interesting thing talking about life and what it constitutes, right? Because I think a lot of people have heard about discussions to do with euthanasia and assisted suicide, and is this person really alive? What does it mean? Philosophical arguments to do with, is somebody in a coma? Discussions around abortion, what constitutes life during childbirth and beforehand? And yet, it's an interesting area. It seems like it sort of coalesces a lot of big questions that people have.