TED-Ed

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/where-do-genes-come-from-carl-zimmer When life emerged on Earth about 4 billion years ago, the earliest microbes had a set of basic genes that succeeded in keeping them alive. In the age of humans and other large organisms, there are a lot more genes to go around. Where did all of those new genes come from? Carl Zimmer examines the mutation and multiplication of genes. Lesson by Carl Zimmer, animation by TOGETHER.