FRIDAY LECTURES : When Nature Innovates: Sean Carroll Explores the Secrets of Evolution, Friday, December 5, at 3 PM, IGBMC Auditorium

| 12/02/2025

The next edition of the Friday Lectures will welcome a major figure in contemporary evolutionary biology: Sean B. Carroll, Ph.D.
A visionary researcher, passionate educator, and exceptional storyteller, he is one of the scientists who has most profoundly renewed our understanding of evolution over the past three decades.

At the heart of his research is a crucial and long-debated question: where do evolutionary novelties come from?
For decades, it was thought that the emergence of new forms relied primarily on the evolution of new genes. Sean Carroll has helped overturn this idea. His work has shown that most morphological innovations arise not from new genes, but from modifications in the regulatory sequences that control their expression — a major discovery that has profoundly reshaped developmental and evolutionary biology.

Professor Emeritus of Molecular Biology and Genetics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, holder of a Chair of Biology at the University of Maryland, and Vice President for Science Education at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Sean Carroll holds a unique place in the international scientific landscape.

Biological innovations almost never appear suddenly. They emerge gradually through small genetic variations accumulated over long periods of time. A modified pigment, a mutation in a developmental gene, a slightly different behavior… and nature begins to experiment.

The “eye-shaped spots” of certain butterflies likely did not originally serve to scare off predators. They probably arose from random mutations in the genes responsible for color patterns. Only when they provided an advantage—making birds hesitate—did they become established within the species.
More recently, Sean Carroll’s laboratory has focused on the evolution of biochemical innovations, particularly the composition of snake venom. This research has revealed an astonishing diversity of genetic mechanisms at play, showing that evolution can act on both the quantity and the function of proteins. These findings shed new light on the complex role of gene duplication in evolution.

Sean B. Carroll is also an exceptional storyteller. Recipient of the prestigious Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Sciences and elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and EMBO, Sean Carroll has also made a mark on the general public. He is the author of several major popular-science books, including The Serengeti Rules and Remarkable Creatures, a National Book Award finalist, and has contributed to the production of more than a dozen award-winning documentaries, including an Emmy Award recipient.

The lecture will be organized and hosted by Sophie Jarriault.

Come discover how nature turns simple mutations into ingenious strategies.