Exact knowledge is the enemy of vitalism.
Francis CrickRead
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The genetic code is a fundamental achievement in molecular biology that connects DNA and proteins.
Francis Crick highlights the significance of deciphering the genetic code as a monumental milestone in the field of molecular biology. He emphasizes that understanding this code not only sheds light on how genetic information is stored in nucleic acids but also illustrates the intricate relationship between nucleic acids and proteins, the two essential components of life. This discovery serves as a foundational element for advancing our knowledge of biology and genetics.
Themes
Genetic CodeMolecular BiologyNucleic AcidsProteinsAchievement
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about the advances in genetic research, one could use this quote to emphasize the importance of the genetic code.
More from Francis Crick
All quotes →A theory should not attempt to explain all the facts, because some of the facts are wrong
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It is essential to understand our brains in some detail if we are to assess correctly our place in this vast and complicated universe we see all around us.
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To produce a really good biological theory one must try to see through the clutter produced by evolution to the basic mechanisms lying beneath them, realizing that they are likely to be overlaid by other, secondary mechanisms. What seems to physicists to be a hopelessly complicated process may have been what nature found simplest, because nature could only build on what was already there.
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It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material.
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In the fullness of time, educated people will believe there is no soul independent of the body, and hence no life after death.
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