Sublime

But perhaps the sociobiological account undermines, not the truth of our moral beliefs, but our justification for holding such beliefs.

only just over 1 percent of our DNA codes for proteins,[*8] and cells only use those specific ones that are relevant to their particular function, meaning that the chance of any one mutation falling in a protein-coding region important to a given cell is low; some mutations, known as “synonymous” mutations, won’t make a difference to the protein

In the century and a half since Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species, we still are stymied by the complexity of the biosphere, and, just as with our financial systems, our efforts to intervene have often led to confounding results.

A single protein may be able to trigger a cascade of genes, switching on genes for making more switches, allowing E. coli to make hundreds of new kinds of proteins.