Navigate Select ESC Close

Shocking Discovery That Single Cells and Even Molecules Can Learn and Exhibit Memory

2026-03-23 Science & Technology
23.1k
3.0k
350
Anton Petrov
Anton Petrov
1.6m subscribers

Unlock all features

FREE: Get instant access to 10 AI summaries, chats, or transcripts per day.

Description

Support this channel on Patreon to help me make this a full time job: https://www.patreon.com/whatdamath (Unreleased videos, extra footage, DMs, no ads) Alternatively, PayPal donations can be sent here: http://paypal.me/whatdamath Get a Wonderful Person Tee: https://teespring.com/stores/whatdamath More cool designs are on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3QFIrFX Hello and welcome! My name is Anton and in this video, we will talk about incredible discoveries about learning Links: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.25.708045v1.full.pdf https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0960-9822%2824%2901523-9 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.10.675114v1.full.pdf https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-025-08411-2 Other videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spZwZLkMsYw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcVQ_eH7M50 #learning #memory #biology 0:00 The idea of learning is very surprising 1:20 Associative and non-associative learning 2:35 Single cells learn without a brain 5:50 Molecular learning? Genetic Networks 7:30 Implications for the medical field 9:10 Conclusions Enjoy and please subscribe Bitcoin/Ethereum to spare? Donate them here to help this channel grow! bc1qnkl3nk0zt7w0xzrgur9pnkcduj7a3xxllcn7d4 or ETH: 0x60f088B10b03115405d313f964BeA93eF0Bd3DbF The hardware used to record these videos: New Camera: https://amzn.to/4pCVINS CPU: https://amzn.to/4qXIaxC Video Card: https://amzn.to/2M1W26C Motherboard: https://amzn.to/2JYGiQQ RAM: https://amzn.to/2Mwy2t4 PSU: https://amzn.to/2LZcrIH Case: https://amzn.to/2MwJZz4 Microphone: https://amzn.to/2t5jTv0 Mixer: https://amzn.to/2JOL0oF Recording and Editing: https://amzn.to/2LX6uvU Some of the above are affiliate links, meaning I would get a (very small) percentage of the price paid. Thank you to all Patreon supporters of this channel Special thanks also goes to all the wonderful supporters of the channel through YouTube Memberships Credit: Mark Garlick www.markgarlick.com Tim Tim CC BY SA 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slime_mold#/media/File:Physarum_polycephalum_strain_LU352_-_4.jpg Flupke59 CC BY SA 3.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stentor_coeruleus#/media/File:Stentor_coeruleus_extended.jpg Licenses used: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ and relevant Creative Commons licenses

Top Comments (10)

@ArnoNymus 2026-03-23

I can confirm. I can sometimes learn, too.

389 18 replies
@Zora72954 2026-03-24

if you think about it, life would have never lasted as long as it has if single celled organisms couldnt learn

309 55 replies
@Moyano__ 2026-03-23

We are going on an adventure

260 37 replies
@Nex_Addo 2026-03-25

Anton is low-key one of if not the most prolific and high-quality science communicator around. Very very few channels where so many of the videos are genuinely extremely interesting and recent discoveries, while also being incredibly varied in topic, and absurdly consistent in the upload schedule.

94 5 replies
@WadeODonoghue 2026-03-24

Maybe we should call it "Dark learning" 😬

48 2 replies
@icuranme2018 2026-03-23

Learning using calcium channels in very small organisms was discussed in detail in Determined by Sapolski. Not single cell or molecules, but not complex organisms and no brain.

21
@soroosh82 2026-03-23

Hi Anton, Since you mentioned opioids and how we don't understand the tolerance reversal part. Look up Ibogaine. If your heart is healthy, Ibogaine can reset your brain's receptors and in a 36 hour period it can completely remove all withdrawal symptoms and tolerance. Something to do with the NMDA system (I think). Love to see a video on that!

16
@garret1930 2026-03-24

From the moment I saw the title I thought this would be related to Michael Levin's work and lo and behold it is

12
@Samiaint 2026-03-24

Maybe this is key to finding cures. If cells can roll up to avoid damage but eventually forget to, maybe we can teach cells to not forget somehow chemically?

12
@carrot01010 2026-03-24

If simple molecules have memory, then viruses have memory too...

4

Unlock the Data Inside
Turn Videos into Knowledge

  • Get FREE 10/day: transcripts, summaries, chats
  • Chat with videos, export text & PDF
  • $1 free API credit for RAG, chatbots & research

Free forever plan • All features unlocked

App screenshot