WEBVTT

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Hi, I'm Dr. Erin, astrophysicist
and science advisor

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for the Star Trek franchise.

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And this is The Science of Star Trek.

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As a creature gets older,

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they sometimes transform into
looking really different.

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This is what we call metamorphosis.

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We see Murf go through
metamorphosis, or "metamurfosis,"

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into a different looking and
still lovable space creature.

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Are you okay in there, Murf?

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But what is metamorphosis?

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And what are some examples of it?

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Metamorphosis is something
that happens in biology

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where an animal goes
through a really obvious

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and pretty quick change in structure.

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In other words, it looks different

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and it seems to happen pretty quickly.

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Metamorphosis is sometimes
confused with evolution

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since they both refer to
changes in animal appearances.

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But it's important to
remember that metamorphosis

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is a change that happens to that animal

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over the course of its own lifetime.

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Evolution is a change to a species

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over the course of lots
and lots of generations.

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We mostly see metamorphosis happen in

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insects, fish, and amphibians.

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Humans like you and me don't
go through metamorphosis

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in our lifetime.

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We get bigger, slowly, over many years,

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but we don't change our overall appearance

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like the number of arms
and legs we might have.

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One example of a species

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that experiences metamorphosis is frogs.

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When frogs are born, they
start out as tadpoles,

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which look like tiny wiggling fish.

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They eventually grow legs
and change into what we think

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of when we think of a
frog with jumping legs

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and the ability to move around on land.

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Another example of
metamorphosis is a butterfly.

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When a butterfly is first
born it's a caterpillar,

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like a worm.

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Caterpillar eats a lot of
leaves and eventually gets big

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and full enough it builds
a shell around itself,

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also called a chrysalis,
like Murf with their shell.

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By the way, when a moth does this,

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its shell is called a cocoon.

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So moths, cocoon, butterflies,
chrysalis, Murf, shell.

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-Guys?
-What?

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Murf's about to hatch!

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After some time, usually
a few days or weeks,

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the butterfly then emerges with
all of its wings and glory.

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What is so cool about metamorphosis

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is that with some creatures out there,

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you can see what they look
like in their youth and

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have no idea what they will end
up looking like as grownups.

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I can't wait to see a new Murf.

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Could you imagine seeing a
caterpillar for the first time

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and thinking it would end
up looking like a butterfly?

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Or Murf looking like a big lovable blob

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and then realizing they
would transform into this?

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Look at him! What a cutie.

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There's so much diversity in our world

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and maybe even other parts
of the universe, too.

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That's why it's important to
understand how different types

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of creatures look and grow.

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[Computer] Torpedo, launched.

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Murf!

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I'm Dr. Erin McDonald, bringing
you all the science facts

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behind the science fiction in Star Trek.