Royal Institution Christmas Lectures - Life Fantastic (2013) Part 2 Am I a Mutant?

Dr Alison Woollard explores the frontiers of developmental biology.

Part 2: Am I a Mutant?

Dr Alison Woollard unravels the mystery of why evolution by natural selection has given such stunning diversity on our planet. Charles Darwin understood that species adapt and change, but how they did so remained a puzzle to him. Alison reveals that diversity has come about by genetic mutation, with life revolving around the survival of the fittest mutant. Darwin himself appears - for the very first time in the 188-year history of the lectures - in the form of a ghostly apparition. After explaining Darwin's theory, Alison reveals to both him and to the audience what Darwin never knew. Alison's guest on this lecture is fellow Oxford biologist, Professor Peter Holland. Together they explore the crucial genes responsible for mapping out an animal's body-plan. We find out what happened when a developing lizard's body eventually ended up as an entirely different animal altogether - a snake.

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