156. When Matter Makes Decisions: Michael Levin on the Intelligence of Form

Join us for a mind-bending conversation with Professor Michael Levin, director of the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, as he reveals how cells make decisions without brains, store memories without DNA, and navigate anatomical space like we navigate physical space. Discover how his team created two-headed immortal worms whose memory persists across regeneration cycles, how bioelectrical patterns control body shape independently of genetics, and why the future of medicine lies in communicating with the collective intelligence of our cells rather than micromanaging their molecular machinery. From xenobots made of frog cells to the anatomical compiler that will revolutionize regenerative medicine, this episode explores the frontier where developmental biology, cognition, and robotics converge to redefine what it means to be alive.

Grow Everything brings the bioeconomy to life. Hosts Karl Schmieder and Erum Azeez Khan share stories and interview the leaders and influencers changing the world by growing everything. Biology is the oldest technology. And it can be engineered. What are we growing?

Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.messaginglab.com/groweverything⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Chapters:
(00:00:00) – Welcome! Birthday Surprises and Setting the Stage
(00:03:05) - Upcoming TEDx Talk and iGEM Competition Winners
(00:05:14) - AI Book Recommendations and Octopus Intelligence
(00:06:20) - Introducing Xenobots and Professor Michael Levin
(00:09:43) - What Does Michael Levin Study? Developmental Biology Meets Cognition
(00:13:42) - Cells as Decision-Making Networks: Cognition Without Neurons
(00:19:43) - Inside the Lab: What Experiments Look Like
(00:22:03) - The Two-Headed Worm Experiment: Rewriting Bioelectric Memory
(00:38:15) - Xenobots and Mombot: Building Synthetic Living Machines
(00:47:35) - Ethics of Creating Life and Human Augmentation
(00:58:12) - The Future of Medicine: The Anatomical Compiler
(01:03:48) - Quick Fire Questions with Michael Levin
(01:09:20) - Wrap-Up and Reflections on Collective Intelligence

Links and Resources:
Michael Levin at Tufts University: https://as.tufts.edu/biology/people/f...
Wyss Institute at Harvard: https://wyss.harvard.edu/team/associa...
The Levin Lab: https://drmichaellevin.org/research/
Thoughts on Science and The Mind: https://thoughtforms.life/
Fauna Systems : https://www.faunasystems.com/
Workshop on Computationally Designed Organisms: https://cdo2025.github.io/
International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition: https://competition.igem.org/results/...
90. Flipping the Light Switch on Cells: Deniz Kent of Prolific Machines: https://tinyurl.com/md6y3z8z
94. Gaming the System: NVIDIA's Vega Shah on Accelerating Biotech Breakthroughs: https://tinyurl.com/4wju4ze9
28. Genetic Dreams to Underground Regimes: Andrew Hessel Takes on Digital and Physical Biology: https://tinyurl.com/nhfm6bcs⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Topics Covered:
developmental biology, morphology, morphospace, planarians, electroceuticals, bioelectricity, tissue regeneration, biomedical applications

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