More fantastic molecular machine videos from Wehi

Casey Luskin
Evolution News
Thu, 02 Sep 2021 06:41 UTC

Recently I posted a short piece about a spectacular video from Veritasium animating various molecular machines. Soon thereafter an EN reader wrote to let me know that the producers of that video are an Australian group called Wehi, or the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, which has a YouTube channel with many additional fantastic videos animating cellular and biochemical processes. I've linked to some of them below for your convenience:

apoptosis (programmed cell death)
clonal selection in the immune system
the electron transport chain
the citric acid cycle
ATP synthesis
epigenetic mechanisms for inactivating an X chromosome
causes of diabetes
the p53 tumor suppression mechanism
a two part series on the malarial life cycle,
a montage of DNA animations,
a fun montage called "Body Code," which shows "a selection of biomedical animations that explore the human body at the microscopic and molecular scale"

One of Wehi's video creators, Drew Barry, has a nice TED lecture explaining his motivations for creating these videos (which also contains some great animations of DNA replication).

Affirmation for Darwn's Ideas

I'm not claiming that these video creators support intelligent design. Frankly, I have no idea where they stand, although I note that Drew Barry in his TED video calls Darwin, "a scientist with very big ideas ... the superstar of biology," and he seems to affirm Darwin's ideas.

That's fine. From my vantage, these videos speak for themselves, just as the data explicated in innumerable scientific papers investigating the complexity of biology cannot help but speak to life's design — even if those design implications aren't explicitly affirmed in the papers. Thus, Barry's talk elicits applause when he shows DNA polymerase and explains that

you have billions of this machine right now, whirring away inside of you copying your DNA with exquisite fidelity. It's an accurate presentation and it's pretty much at the correct speed for what's occurring inside of you, though I left out error correction and a bunch of other things.

The Design of Life

The audience is undoubtedly marveling at the complexity and, dare I say it, the design of life (as well as Barry's admirable animation skills!).

In any case, for all of our readers who love molecular machine videos, the links above should keep you off the streets for a little while. Grab your favorite beverage (or two), watch Barry's TED talk below, and then watch the molecular machine animations above. Enjoy!