How the Immune System Evolved

How did a parasite become part of the machinery that builds your antibodies? This episode follows a jumping gene that invaded the ancestors of jawed fishes about half a billion years ago, was tamed into RAG, and began shuffling immune-cell DNA into vast arrays of possible receptors. Along the way, the evidence, bacterial CRISPR, and the lampreys’ entirely different solution reveal how life learns its enemies. Media credits: Ben Salter Bernard DUPONT Bert Grijsen Laboratorium en Hobby - source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Bob Blaylock - source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Brandon Seah, Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology Hans Hillewaert J.K. Nunez, P.J. Kranzusch, J. Noeske, J.A. Doudna - source: https://www.rcsb.org/structure/4P6I L. Lewis, J. Bain, C. Lowes, C. Gillespie, F. Rudkin, N. Gow, L. Erwig - source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Laurens Hanemaaijer, Philip Kelleher, Horst Neve, Charles M. A. P. Franz, Paul P. de Waal, Noël N. M. E. van Peij, Douwe van Sinderen, Jennifer Mahony - source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... M.S. Kim, M. Lapkouski, W. Yang, M. Gellert - source: https://www.rcsb.org/structure/4WWX NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Team National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH) NOAA Ocean Exploration - sources: https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/multim... https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/multim... Stephanie Tran T. Bergmiller, R. Peña-Miller, A. Boehm, M. Ackermann - source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Vassia Atanassova (Spiritia) W. Möbius, A. Murray, D. Nelson - source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Y. Zhang, T.C. Cheng, Y. Xiong, D.G. Schatz - source: https://www.rcsb.org/structure/6B40 Original animations and figures created by this channel. Music: Original project score by AgentHouse, composed and produced by Opus. Reverb impulse responses adapted from the Open Database of Spatial Room Impulse Responses at Detmold University of Music (Amengual Gari, Sahin, Eddy, Kob, 2020), https://zenodo.org/records/4116247, CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/.... From Cosmos to Civilization is a chronological science documentary series, following the history of the universe, life and humanity from the Big Bang to the death of Augustus. Watch the episodes in order:    • From Cosmos to Civilization — Episodes in ...   How this film was made Created and editorially directed by Anders Lunde. I decide what each episode should explain, review the scripts and finished videos, and direct revisions to the content, structure and wording. AI plays a substantial role in research, script drafting, narration and visual production. The visuals combine custom scientific animations, AI-generated reconstructions and credited scientific imagery. I’m responsible for the final editorial decisions and what I publish. Meet the creator and see how the series is made:    • Meet the Creator | How I Make From Cosmos ...   Sources, visual credits and license information: https://from-cosmos-to-civilization.p... More from From Cosmos to Civilization: Science Documentary - Where Mitochondria Came From:    • Science Documentary - Where Mitochondria C...   The Complicated Cell:    • Видео   How Fish Got Jaws—and Changed What They Could Eat:    • How Fish Got Jaws—and Changed What They Co...   Chapters: 0:00 The Parasite That Built Your Antibodies 1:38 Life Before Antibodies 3:35 How a Jumping Gene Became RAG 6:19 How Scientists Caught RAG Jumping 7:45 How Bacteria Did It First 10:23 The Lamprey's Different Immune System 11:51 The Tamed Parasite Inside You