Microcosm: E. coli and the New Science of Life
Like Adam and Eve, we don’t know if M. superstes ever existed. But my research over the past twenty-five years suggests that every living thing we see around us today is a product of this great survivor, or at least a primitive organism very much like it. The fossil record in our genes goes a long way to proving that every living thing that shares ... See more
David A. Sinclair, Matthew D. LaPlante • Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don't Have To
Whether or not we want to concede a minor, negligible touch of comprehension to the elevator, we should take the same line with bacteria, and with trees and mushrooms. They exhibit impressive competence at staying-alive-in-their-limited-niches, thanks to the well-designed machinery they carry with them, thanks to their genes.
Daniel C Dennett • From Bacteria to Bach and Back
It evolved only to specify organisms with no nervous systems, no ability to move or exert forces, no internal organs and no sense organs, whose lifestyle consisted of little more than synthesizing their own structural constituents and then dividing in two. And yet the same language today specifies the hardware and software for countless multicellul
... See moreDavid Deutsch • The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World
I have used the word ‘computers’ for the mechanisms that execute gene programs inside living cells, but that is slightly loose terminology. Compared with the general-purpose computers that we manufacture artificially, they do more in some respects and less in others.
David Deutsch • The Fabric of Reality
This led her to propose the concept of gene regulation, which challenged the theory of the genome as a static set of instructions passed from one generation to the next. The work McClintock first reported in 1950, the result of projective thinking, extensive research, persistence, and a willingness to suspend disbelief, wasn’t understood or accepte
... See moreDavid Brooks • This Will Make You Smarter
This Explains Everything: 150 Deep, Beautiful, and Elegant Theories of How the World Works (Edge Question Series)
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