Show Notes
This release contains only the music track from Base by Base Episode 382.
Song title: Old Codes, New Blood
Original Base by Base episode: 382: How animal blood cells evolved from unicellular ancestors
Article metadata:
Article title: Animals have expanded the evolutionary legacy of unicellular ancestors in blood cells
Journal: PNAS
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2528110123
Reference: Nagahata Y, Ishidae T, Satou Y, Nishimura Y, Kaitani R, Leong JCK, Oda-Ishiie I, Carmona-Rivas M, Najle SR, Ruiz-Trillo I, Kohtsuka H, Abeg S, Ikuta K, Miura T, Kawamoto H, Casacuberta E, Ogasawara M, Irieda N. Animals have expanded the evolutionary legacy of unicellular ancestors in blood cells. PNAS. 2026;123(23):e2528110123. doi:10.1073/pnas.2528110123
Lyrics:
Verse 1
Before the bodies learned to breathe and run,
A single cell kept watch beneath one sun,
A borrowed spark, a Fos-lit, ancient tune,
That taught the dark to swallow danger whole.
Pre-Chorus
Same old signal, new disguise,
Through open gates and changing skies,
From quiet hunger to a shield—
One simple script the world could wield.
Chorus
Old codes, new blood—turn the pages, feel the flood,
From first-time phagocytes to guardians in the mud,
Split into fire, split into bite, drawing borders in the night,
We didn’t start from nothing—
We learned to fight with light.
Verse 2
Then came the granules, sharp with protease rain,
A mast-born lightning for the parasite’s chain,
And later branches carved the lines we know:
Killer songs, red rivers, clot and flow.
Bridge
At the edge of gills, a first small training ground,
Where future hunters learned a quieter sound,
And even now, inside the marrow’s glow,
Those old potentials rise and rearrange the show.
Final Chorus
Old codes, new blood—turn the pages, feel the flood,
From first-time phagocytes to guardians in the mud,
From ancient Fos to modern wars, the map keeps opening doors,
We carry deep instructions—
And we can be more.
