Some of the Things That Molecules Do

"Some of the Things That Molecules Do" is the second episode of the American documentary television series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey.

The episode received positive reviews, with critics praising the beautiful graphics as well as the wonder-inspiring and straightforward narrative of how evolution works.

Tyson uses the Ship of the Imagination to show how DNA, genes, and mutation work, and how these led to the diversity of species as represented by the Tree of Life, including how complex organs such as the eye came about as a common element.

The episode concludes with an animation from the original Cosmos showing the evolution of life from a single cell to mankind today, with music from Vivaldi's Mandolin Concerto.

Upon airing on Fox, the episode received a 2.0/5 in the 18-49 rating/share, with 4.95 million American viewers watching it live.