Yesterday I did a grouchy political take on the latest URGENT BREAKING NEWS PANIC EXISTENTIAL EMERGENCY: The continents are drifting!

Here’s a somewhat calmer thought on the subject, maybe trite, maybe entertaining.

This week I’m putting together an animation illustrating how the larynx develops through embryonic stages. The latest edition of the textbook will have more emphasis on development, so I’m trying to follow along.

The way organs emerge and differentiate STRONGLY resembles the way continents emerge and differentiate. First a rift, then bulges on either side of the rift, then each bulge starts to develop internal mountains and valleys, which then move apart and become separate organs like the epiglottis and the tongue.

Do planets form under the control of REALLY BIG genes?