Quotessence
Home / Books / The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher

The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher

Book by Lewis Thomas · 2 quotes · Science, Astonishing, Beautiful

Filter quotes by topic

AllScienceAstonishingBeautifulBiologyChemistryCommon AncestorDiversityEvolutionGenesLifeOrigin Of LifeUniformityUniversal Common Ancestor

The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher Quotes

“The uniformity of the earth's life, more astonishing than its diversity, is accountable by the high probability that we derived, originally, from some single cell, fertilized in a bolt of lightning as the earth cooled. It is from the progeny of this parent cell that we take our looks; we still share genes around, and the resemblance of the enzymes of grasses to those of whales is a family resemblance.”

LifeScienceEvolutionDiversityBiologyChemistryGenesAstonishingUniformityOrigin Of LifeCommon AncestorUniversal Common Ancestor
Book:The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher
Create image

“It is hard to feel affection for something as totally impersonal as the atmosphere, and yet there it is, as much a part and product of life as wine and bread. Taken all in al, the sky is a miraculous achievement. It works, and for what it is designed to accomplish it is as infallible as anything in nature. I doubt whether any of us could think of a way to improve on it, beyond maybe shifting a local cloud from here to there on occasion. The word 'chance' does not serve to account well for structures of such magnificence... We should credit it for what it is: for sheer size and perfection of function, it is far and away the grandest product of collaboration in all of nature. It breathes for us, and it does another thing for our pleasure. Each day, millions of meteorites fall against the outer limits of the membrane and are burned to nothing by the friction. Without this shelter, our surface would long since have become the pounded powder of the moon. Even though our receptors are not sensitive enough to hear it, there is comfort in knowing the sound is there overhead, like the random noise of rain on the roof at night.”

BeautifulScience
Book:The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher
Create image