@drcsearl.bsky.social
Science communicator and writer interested in the nature of life from a molecular biology and philosophy perspective. https://linktr.ee/mol_bio Find me on SubStack: https://substack.com/@drchrisearl?utm_source=user-menu
“We are in a world of living creatures that construct themselves. Yet we lack the concepts to say it...We see it and do not yet know what to say.” Stuart Kaufmann A World Beyond Physics
My article attempts to provide the language for describing life as a self-constructor
medium.com/science-spec...
The work combines constructor theory (a contemporary idea) with the concept of autopoiesis which was an exciting idea which came from Chilean biologists Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela in the 1970s.
#autopoiesis #systemsbiology #chile #chilean
🧪The Constructor Theory of Life- Why Intelligent Design is wrong and how life builds itself.
Constructor theory, developed by physicists, offers an exciting new way to look at life.
Full article, free to access using link:
medium.com/science-spec...
#science #philsky #biology #chemistry #physics
I argue in the article that proponents of intelligent design have mischaracterised the origin of life as a game of random chance; however, there are constructive forces at play which can make improbable or even seemingly impossible things happen.
01.03.2026 16:34 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
🧪 Please check out my new article titled- The Constructor Theory of Life- Why Intelligent Design is wrong and how life builds itself.
It's on Medium, access using the link below:
medium.com/science-spec...
#science #philsky #philosophy #biology
Thanks, Alan, I'm looking forward to exploring this much more and hopefully bringing it to the fore of the public understanding of what life is.
24.02.2026 19:02 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0I was also inspired by Dawkins' writing (I wrote a bit more detail here: drchrisearl.substack.com/p/is-richard...). It is humbling for sure. It gave me a deeper appreciation for the natural world too. But over time I've come to abandon the selfish gene framework for a number of reasons.
20.02.2026 03:13 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Richard Dawkins' Selfish Gene had an unexpected impact on nihilistic/pessimistic/anti-natalist philosophy in the 21st century. For this and more check out the full-length video on YouTube (we're up to 41 views now!): www.youtube.com/watch?v=p12e...
#philsky #philosophy #science #existentialism
Is Richard Dawkins' The Selfish Gene unnecessarily nihilistic? I discuss some of the existential crises readers experience in the video below. Please check out the full-length video on YouTube (we're up to 23 views now!): youtu.be/p12eWPBxCL4?...
#philsky #philosophy #science #existentialism
I have started a YouTube channel, and my latest video has 10 views! It is about how Richard Dawkins Selfish Gene influenced pessimistic philosophy in the 21st century. If you are interested, then please check it out/subscribe to the channel:
youtu.be/p12eWPBxCL4?...
#philsky #philosophy #science
I'd love to hear about some other #womeninscience from the Bluesky community!
11.02.2026 10:11 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0Dorothy Hodgkin was a chemist and a pioneer in X-ray crystallography. This technique uses X-rays to examine the smallest stuff at the atomic/molecular level. This allowed her to determine the structure of penicillin, vitamin B12, and Insulin! Huge scientific and societal contributions
11.02.2026 10:09 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Similarly Lynn Margulis had to swim upstream to publish the theory that the mitochondrion (the power house of cell) is the descendant of a once free-living bacterial ancestor. One of the most incredible scientific discoveries ever
Note Margulis did express some weird/damaging views later in life
🧪 Today is #InternationalDayofWomenandGirlsinScience 👩🔬🔬
Barbara McClintock was first to demonstrate that gene expression (that genes are switched ON or OFF) is a controlled process. She was met with scepticism/rejection. But in 1983 was vindicated with a Nobel Prize.
#womeninstem #womeninscience
#Women&GirlsinScienceDay
11.02.2026 09:29 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
🧪The scientific discovery of radioactivity in 1896 was a complete accident which altered the course of human history. It led to nuclear medicine (important for cancer), radiotherapy, nuclear power, and, of course, the atomic bomb. It's all in the video.
#science #physics #medicine #philsky #history
Anyone in the Dundee area? I highly recommend this event at Waterstones, Dundee. Marc Mierowsky will give a talk about his new book. He's an entertaining speaker (and stand-up comedian!).
6 pm tomorrow night, Wed 11th Feb.
#history #politics #scotland #dundee
www.waterstones.com/book/a-spy-a...
Thanks for watching!
10.02.2026 08:09 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0It is well done. It seems a few of you guys must've had better schooling than me! I hadn't realised about the whole family.
10.02.2026 08:08 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0Hi Heather. I did see that apparently it has been 35 years since domestic U.S. berries have been linked to a hepatitis outbreak so the regulations have been really effective. But I did not know that they are planning to remove the regulations.
09.02.2026 22:41 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
🧪Is this the most disgusting medical mystery of all time?
It takes us back to 1977 and a dodgy batch of berries traced to Dundee, Scotland.
#Dundee #Scotland #microbiology #science #medicine
🧪Histones are the PDB Molecule of the Month for Feb. These beautiful schematics show how an incredible 2 meters of DNA inside our cells can fit into a nucleus just 6 micrometres across (a micrometre is 1 million times smaller than a meter!)
#science #biology #genetics
pdb101.rcsb.org/motm/314
well done! when did you get it or did you already know?
29.01.2026 19:42 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
🧪Can you name the Most Successful Family in Nobel History? (T&Cs: All Nobel prizes are non-transferable)
4 Nobel prizes in the fields of chemistry, physics, and peace. I give clues throughout the video. Let me know in the comments if you got it
#science #NobelPeacePrize #Nobel #Norway #Sweden
I loved this quote from author Haruki Murakami so much, I had to write a Substack article about it, called “Impermanence”. It examines the transience of life from both scientific and Buddhist perspectives.
drchrisearl.substack.com/p/impermanence
#science #buddhism #cosmology #booksky #writing
Here is the full review, it is a book from a unique perspective and filled with wisdom which I tried to distil into some key take home messages it has changed the way I describe some of life's processes.
Note: I was gifted copy of the book from the publisher
drchrisearl.substack.com/p/book-revie...
Substack quote form the article stating that: You and I are dynamical patterns of matter characterized by input of energy and mass, and the creation of entropy in the outside world. We are not our atoms, since those change on various time scales; we are really dynamical patterns written in atoms that persist, at least for a while.”
🧪“Living Matter” a new #Biophysics book by Alex J. Levine. Sadly, Prof. Levine passed away before the book was ready.
This quote of his, beautifully captures the way a physicist views living systems. It is particularly poignant in how it captures the transience of human life. For us all.
#science
I now have the term "Active Matter" in my vocabulary which is the type of matter associated with living things which consumes energy and matter to display incredible properties beyond our own current technological capabilities.
#condensedmatter #physics
🧪I've reviewed Living Matter: Seeking New Physics in the Biological World by Alex J. Levine. Sadly, Prof. Levine passed away in 2022 before the book was finished, but it is now complete and out from @princetonupress.bsky.social
#science #biophysics
drchrisearl.substack.com/p/book-revie...
The 1951 Defence of Greenland agreement means that the U.S. has widespread military access to the island including the Pituffik military base. What the current U.S. regime is looking to obtain is access to Greenland's oil and gas reserves.
#climate #environment #geopolitics #imperialism
