Coming and Previous Lectures
Time Travel in Experimental Evolution
Wednesday March 19, 2025, 1:30 pm, MSUFCU Mt. Hope Branch
Like cuneiform on clay tablets, the history of life itself is written in minerals and in code. The minerals are fossils of long-dead organisms, and the code is the language of DNA that reveals the family tree of life. However, evolution is not only about what happened in the past—it is a process that continues to this day, and it can be observed in organisms, like bacteria, with short generations. Moreover, bacteria can be frozen and revived, allowing one to compare cells that existed at different times—in effect, time travel. In this talk, I will present some highlights from the long-term evolution experiment that I started in 1988, and which has now run for over 35 years and 80,000 generations of E. coli bacteria. The experiment illuminates both the gradual improvement of performance and the sudden emergence of new abilities. Before launching into the experiment, I will present some vignettes from the life of Charles Darwin and what he understood—and didn’t understand—about evolution.
Start socializing at 1:30pm and the lecture starts at 2:00pm.
Faculty Emeriti Association Lectures are open to all those interested.
Time Travel in Experimental Evolution
Wednesday March 19, 2025, 1:30 pm, MSUFCU Mt. Hope Branch
Like cuneiform on clay tablets, the history of life itself is written in minerals and in code. The minerals are fossils of long-dead organisms, and the code is the language of DNA that reveals the family tree of life. However, evolution is not only about what happened in the past—it is a process that continues to this day, and it can be observed in organisms, like bacteria, with short generations. Moreover, bacteria can be frozen and revived, allowing one to compare cells that existed at different times—in effect, time travel. In this talk, I will present some highlights from the long-term evolution experiment that I started in 1988, and which has now run for over 35 years and 80,000 generations of E. coli bacteria. The experiment illuminates both the gradual improvement of performance and the sudden emergence of new abilities. Before launching into the experiment, I will present some vignettes from the life of Charles Darwin and what he understood—and didn’t understand—about evolution.
Faculty Emeriti Association Lectures are open to all those interested.
Videos of Past Lectures
Select the name of a video below for a description of the lecture and a link to the video.
January 15, 2025 Dean of Libraries Neil Romanosky -- Research Libraries in the Digital Age
April 18, 2024 David Firestein Implications of the January 2024 Taiwan election
April 26 2023 David Firestein “‘Nothing to See Here, Folks’: The U.S.-China Relationship in 2023.”
March 21 2023 William Chopik A Tail of Influence: How Humans and Pets Shape Each Other's Happiness
October 27 2022 David Firestein Taiwan and the U.S.-China Relationship: Hard Realities and Inconvenient Truths
April 28 2022 William Chopik, Department of Psychology How an Optimistic Outlook Can Lead to a Happier and Healthier Life
January 27 2022 David Firestein Update on US-China Relations January 27, 2022
Firestein 2022 Postscript Question and Answer Session January 27, 2022 part 2
Roger Baldwin, Professor Emeritus, Department of Educational Administration: “Navigating a New Frontier: Renewing the Meaning of Academic Retirement” November 17, 2021
Professor Thomas Holt, Director of the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University, on Computer Hacking and Malware September 24, 2021
MSU President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., MD Michigan State University's Covid Experience April 29, 2021
David Firestein on U.S.-China Relations, 2021: Issues, Challenges and Prospects January 27, 2021
College of Veterinary Medicine Townhall with A. Oveta Fuller January 19, 2021 An event hosted by the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine and joined by the FEA. This presentation gave an overview of topics related to vaccines.