Shrink | Radiolab Podcast

From the Radiolab podcast: The definition of life is in flux, complexity is overrated, and humans are shrinking. Viruses are supposed to be sleek, pared-down, dead-eyed machines. But when one microbiologist stumbled upon a GIANT virus, hundreds of times bigger than any seen before, all that went out the window. The discovery opened the door not only to a new cast of microscopic characters with names like Mimivirus, Mamavirus and Megavirus, but also to basic questions: How did we miss these until now? Have they been around since the beginning? What if evolution could go backwards? In this episode from 2015, join former co-hosts Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich as they grill Radiolab regular Carl Zimmer on these paradoxical viruses — they’re so big that they can get their own viruses! — and what they can tell us about the nature of life. 🎧 Subscribe to Radiolab wherever you listen to podcasts: https://bit.ly/3trXDLe 🔎 Subscribe to Radiolab on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3I9KI53 🖋 Subscribe to Radiolab’s Newsletter: https://radiolab.org/newsletter 🌱 Check out Radiolab's Starter Kit Playlist: https://bit.ly/3sX8f4P 👍 Like this video ✏️ and leave us a comment! Follow Radiolab: Instagram —   / radiolab   Twitter —   / radiolab   Facebook —   / radiolab   Our newsletter comes out every Wednesday. It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up here: https://radiolab.org/newsletter Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab today: https://radiolab.org/the-lab Illustration Jared Bartman Video by W. Harry Fortuna