You see, proteins, as I probably needn't tell you, are immensely complicated groupings of amino acids and certain other specialized compounds, arranged in intricate three-dimensional patterns that are as unstable as sunbeams on a cloudy day. It is this instability that is life, since it is forever changing its position in an effort to maintain its identity--in the manner of a long rod balanced on an acrobat's nose.
Interpretation
Proteins are complex structures constantly changing, which is essential to life.
In this quote, Isaac Asimov emphasizes the complexity and dynamic nature of proteins, comparing their intricate arrangements to fleeting sunbeams. He highlights that the instability of these biological structures is akin to life itself, which is marked by constant change and adaptation, much like a delicate balance maintained by an acrobat.
In practice
In a science lecture about biology, one might use this quote to illustrate the complexity of cellular structures.
Democracy cannot survive overpopulation. Human dignity cannot survive it. Convenience and decency cannot survive it. As you put more and more people into the world, the value of life not only declines, but it disappears. It doesn't matter if someone dies.
Science does not promise absolute truth, nor does it consider that such a thing necessarily exists. Science does not even promise that everything in the Universe is amenable to the scientific process.
Democracy cannot survive overpopulation.
Although the time of death is approaching me, I am not afraid of dying and going to Hell or (what would be considerably worse) going to the popularized version of Heaven. I expect death to be nothingness and, for removing me from all possible fears of death, I am thankful to atheism.
A subtle thought that is in error may yet give rise to fruitful inquiry that can establish truths of great value.
During the century after Newton, it was still possible for a man of unusual attainments to master all fields of scientific knowledge. But by 1800, this had become entirely impracticable.
An alleged scientific discovery has no merit unless it can be explained to a barmaid.
Receiving the National Medal of Science is the thrill of a lifetime, but good science does not happen in isolation.
Venus has a runaway greenhouse effect. I kind of want to know what happened there because we're twirling knobs here on Earth without knowing the consequences of it. Mars once had running water. It's bone dry today. Something bad happened there as well.
Freedom is absolutely necessary for the progress in science and the liberal arts.
The history of the universe is, in effect, a huge and ongoing quantum computation. The universe is a quantum computer.
The scientific observer of Nature is a kind of mystic seeker in the act of prayer.
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