#biology

Quick dinner with ... Ang [Lee] and his wife Jane who's visiting with the children for a while. We talked about her work as a microbiologist and the behaviour of the epithingalingie under the influence of cholesterol. She's fascinated by cholesterol. Says it's very beautiful: bright yellow. She says Ang is wholly uninterested. He has no idea what she does. I check this out for myself. 'What does Jane do?' I ask. 'Science,' he says vaguely. ↗

— Emma Thompson

#cholesterol #disparate-interests #husbands #lack-of-interest #married-couples

That natural selection can produce changes within a type is disputed by no one, not even the staunchest creationist. But that it can transform one species into another — that, in fact, has never been observed. ↗

— Robert J. Sawyer

#darwin #darwinism #evolution #natural-selection #neo-darwinism

We are biology. We are reminded of this at the beginning and the end, at birth and at death. In between we do what we can to forget. ↗

— Mary Roach

#death #life #mary-roach #science #death

The controversy between Darwinism and intelligent design has the characteristics of major scientific revolutions in the past. Darwinists are losing power because they treat with contempt the very people on whom they depend the most: American taxpayers. The outcome of this scientific revolution will be decided by young people who have the courage to question dogmatism and follow the evidence wherever it leads. ↗

— Jonathan Wells

#darwinism #evolution #id #intelligent-design #macro-evolution

Many investigators feel uneasy stating in public that the origin of life is a mystery, even though behind closed doors they admit they are baffled. ↗

— Paul Davies

#biology #chemical-evolution #darwinism #evolution #id

Dream is not that which you see while sleeping it is something that does not let you sleep. ↗

— A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

#science #dreams

Fleshers used to spin fantasies about aliens arriving to ‘conquer’ Earth, to steal their ‘precious’ physical resources, to wipe them out for fear of ‘competition’…as if a species capable of making the journey wouldn’t have had the power, or the wit, or the imagination, to rid itself of obsolete biological imperatives. Conquering the Galaxy is what bacteria with spaceships would do – knowing no better, having no choice. ↗

— Greg Egan

#sci-fi #science #science-fiction #space-exploration #imagination

If this book has a lesson, it is that we are awfully lucky to be here-and by 'we' I mean every living thing. To attain any kind of life in this universe of ours appears to be quite an achievement. As humans we are doubly lucky, of course: We enjoy not only the privilege of existence but also the singular ability to appreciate it and even, in a multitude of ways, to make it better. It is a talent we have only barely begun to grasp. ↗

— Bill Bryson

#biology #humans #life #science #universe

Consciousness is the chronic pain of life, and all higher organisms suffer it every waking moment. ↗

— David Marusek

#biology #consciousness #sentience #life

Silicon-based life may be impossible for one other reason: silicon bonds readily dissolve in water. ↗

— Steven Johnson

#nature