The urge to merge: hives, colonies and multicellular life

When does cooperation become identity? How and why did single celled life, which was doing just fine, end up forming plants and animals made up of trillions of cells? By taking a look at birds, army ants, coral reefs and giant jellyfish, we try to understand multicellular life.

Here’s an overview of the questions surrounding the phenomenon of multicellular life.

How Did Multicellular Life Evolve?

Here are articles about the giant ameba that’s brought early evidence for multicellularity into question.

Single-celled giant upends early evolution

Rolling 'Sea Grape' Rocks The Fossil Record

Discovery of Giant Roaming Deep Sea Protist Provides New Perspective on Animal Evolution

Here’s a short video about the man of war.

Portuguese Man-of-War

Here’s a long documentary on jellyfish, including a section on the man of war.

The Secret World Of The Jellyfish

Here’s some video of army ants, including a look inside the nest they build out of their own bodies.

Chasing Millions of Army Ants!

And here’s another video about them army ants.

Army Ants Rampage Through The Forest