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Francis Crick

Francis Crick Quotes

Scientist

Francis Crick was a renowned scientist known for his significant contributions to the field of molecular biology. He, along with James Watson, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962 for their discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA. Crick's research had a profound impact on understanding the transmission of genetic information and the genetic basis of organisms.

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All Science Ifs Acid Amino Acids Biology Triplet Code Protein Seems Thinking

Famous Francis Crick Quotes

“Unfortunately it makes the unambiguous determination of triplets by these methods much more difficult than would be the case if there were only one triplet for each amino acid.”

Ifs Would Be Difficult Cases Determination Method Acid Amino Acids Triplet

Author:Francis Crick

“If poly A is added to poly U, to form a double or triple helix, the combination is inactive.”

Ifs Form Combination Double Standard

Author:Francis Crick

“Again the message to experimentalists is: Be sensible but don't be impressed too much by negative arguments. If at all possible, try it and see what turns up. Theorists almost always dislike this sort of approach.”

Ifs Trying Turns Too Much Approach Messages Negative Argument Dislike Sensible Impressed Theorists

Author:Francis Crick

“A theory should not attempt to explain all the facts, because some of the facts are wrong”

Should Facts Theory

Author:Francis Crick

“If, for example, all the codons are triplets, then in addition to the correct reading of the message, there are two incorrect readings which we shall obtain if we do not start the grouping into sets of three at the right place.”

Ifs Two Three Reading Example Messages Right Place Triplet

Author:Francis Crick

“Finally one should add that in spite of the great complexity of protein synthesis and in spite of the considerable technical difficulties in synthesizing polynucleotides with defined sequences it is not unreasonable to hope that all these points will be clarified in the near future, and that the genetic code will be completely established on a sound experimental basis within a few years.”

Should Years Sound Bases Difficulty Add Defined Code Complexity Spite Dna Sequence Unreasonable Protein Synthesis

Author:Francis Crick

“One can say, looking at the papers in this symposium, that the elucidation of the genetic code is indeed a great achievement. It is, in a sense, the key to molecular biology because it shows how the great polymer languages, the nucleic acid language and the protein language, are linked together.”

Shows Together Language Keys Achievement Paper Code Biology Linked Papers Dna Acid Protein Great Achievement Molecular Biology Symposium Polymers

Author:Francis Crick

“Trying to determine the structure of a protein by UV spectroscopy was like trying to determine the structure of a piano by listening to the sound it made while being dropped down a flight of stairs.”

Trying Made Science Sound Listening Structure Determine Flight Piano Engineering Stairs Protein Spectroscopy

Author:Francis Crick

“Our ... advantage was that we had evolved unstated but fruitful methods of collaboration ... If either of us suggested a new idea, the other, while taking it seriously, would attempt to demolish it in a candid but non-hostile manner.”

Ifs Ideas Advantage Method Collaboration New Ideas Hostile Candid Demolish Cooperative Learning

Author:Francis Crick

“In my experience most mathematicians are intellectually lazy.”

Logic Math Reasoning Lazy Mathematician

Author:Francis Crick

“God is a hacker, not an engineer”

Inspirational Engineers Hackers

Author:Francis Crick

“We are sometimes asked what the result would be if we put four +'s in one gene. To answer this my colleagues have recently put together not merely four but six +'s.”

Ifs Sometimes Would Be Together Answers Results Four Six Genes Colleagues

Author:Francis Crick

“This seems highly likely, especially as it has been shown that in several systems mutations affecting the same amino acid are extremely near together on the genetic map.”

Has Beens Seems Together Maps Acid Mutation Amino Acids Genetic Mutation

Author:Francis Crick

“Moreover the incorporation requires the same components needed for protein synthesis, and is inhibited by the same inhibitors. Thus the system is most unlikely to be a complete artefact and is very probably closely related to genuine protein synthesis.”

Needed Genuine Related Components Unlikely Protein Synthesis Incorporation Artefacts

Author:Francis Crick

“It would appear that the number of nonsense triplets is rather low, since we only occasionally come across them. However this conclusion is less secure than our other deductions about the general nature of the genetic code.”

Numbers Lows Conclusion Secure Code Nonsense Deductions Triplet

Author:Francis Crick

“It seems likely that most if not all the genetic information in any organism is carried by nucleic acid - usually by DNA, although certain small viruses use RNA as their genetic material.”

Ifs Use Seems Certain Information Materials Organisms Dna Acid Viruses Rna

Author:Francis Crick

“It now seems very likely that many of the 64 triplets, possibly most of them, may code one amino acid or another, and that in general several distinct triplets may code one amino acid.”

May Seems Code Acid Amino Acids Triplet

Author:Francis Crick

“It now seems certain that the amino acid sequence of any protein is determined by the sequence of bases in some region of a particular nucleic acid molecule.”

Seems Certain Particular Bases Determined Regions Sequence Acid Molecules Protein Amino Acids

Author:Francis Crick

“It has yet to be shown by direct biochemical methods, as opposed to the indirect genetic evidence mentioned earlier, that the code is indeed a triplet code.”

Evidence Direct Method Code Indirect Triplet

Author:Francis Crick

“If the code does indeed have some logical foundation then it is legitimate to consider all the evidence, both good and bad, in any attempt to deduce it.”

Ifs Doe Evidence Foundation Code Logical Good And Bad

Author:Francis Crick

“The meaning of this observation is unclear, but it raises the unfortunate possibility of ambiguous triplets; that is, triplets which may code more than one amino acid. However one would certainly expect such triplets to be in a minority.”

May Possibility Raises Observation Code Minorities Unfortunate Acid Ambiguous Unclear Amino Acids Triplet

Author:Francis Crick

“The balance of evidence both from the cell-free system and from the study of mutation, suggests that this does not occur at random, and that triplets coding the same amino acid may well be rather similar.”

Wells May Doe Study Balance Evidence Cells Acid Mutation Amino Acids Triplet

Author:Francis Crick

“How is the base sequence, divided into codons? There is nothing in the backbone of the nucleic acid, which is perfectly regular, to show us how to group the bases into codons.”

Shows Groups Bases Divided Sequence Acid Backbone

Author:Francis Crick

“For simplicity one can think of the + class as having one extra base at some point or other in the genetic message and the - class as having one too few.”

Thinking Class Messages Simplicity Extras

Author:Francis Crick

“Do codons overlap? In other words, as we read along the genetic message do we find a base which is a member of two or more codons? It now seems fairly certain that codons do not overlap.”

Two Seems Certain Members Messages

Author:Francis Crick

“A final proof of our ideas can only be obtained by detailed studies on the alterations produced in the amino acid sequence of a protein by mutations of the type discussed here.”

Ideas Study Type Finals Proof Sequence Acid Protein Alterations Mutation Amino Acids Genetic Mutation

Author:Francis Crick

“There is no form of prose more difficult to understand and more tedious to read than the average scientific paper.”

Form Science Difficult Paper Average Prose Publication Tedious

Book:Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for the Soul

Source: Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for the Soul

About the Author

Born: June 8, 1916
Died: July 28, 2004
Known for: Scientist
Quotes: 77

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