53 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
53 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
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---
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title: "The Machinery of Life"
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date: 2023-12-13T23:25:43+01:00
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image: /images/the_machinery_of_life.png
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---
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For my 18th birthday, I asked my relatives for some books that I haven't gotten to yet in my read list.
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One particularly stood out.. titled The Machinery of Life from David S. Goodsell.
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I remember noting this title after watching a live stream from one of my most respected YouTubers, [@TheThoughtEmporium](https://www.youtube.com/@thethoughtemporium).
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The live was about starting out in genetic engineering. How difficult it is, how expensive can it get, all the caveats that come along the way, etc.
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I don't know why I watched that live. Maybe just because the title seemed cool and interesting. But after finishing the live stream and noting a couple of
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interesting resources Justin offered (books, websites, ...), I closed my text editor and never looked at that notes file again.
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Re-seeing this title in my notes file right before my birthday made me want to explore it. And so this is what I got.
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I must say that I have been really enjoying this book, even though I haven't devoted many hours of my life to biology - and my main focus is still in computer science.
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I particularly like the illustrations, most of which were (apparently) either hand drawn with watercolors (see the thumbnail) or rendered by a computer.
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As this is my first book that delves deep into biology, reading it is a real perspective shifter an a half!
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I never considered the level of complexity one has to fight when dealing with biology at such a minuscule level.
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---
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Here's my favorite quote, taken directly from the book:
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```
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..................................Cells in our retina are filled with
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arrays of opsin proteins for sensing light, light that is focused by
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layers of eye lens cells packed full of clear crystalling proteins. Cells in
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our skin spin enormously long strands of keratin proteins into hairs,
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and other cells sense their slightest movement. These and other
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sensory data are transmitted and processed by nerve cells that carry
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electrical currents propagated by proteins and insulated by con-
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centric layers of lipid. Fine control of movement is accomplished by
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an enormous skeleton of mineralized bone cells, moved by muscle
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cells filled with proteins that do nothing but contract, all glued
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together by connective tissue cells that built tough layers of sugar
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and protein...........................................................
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```
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It's so beautiful how, with some imagination, you can picture the author
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taking you to every part of your body. Imagine just how complex that system
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has to be to work so well for such a long time and be able to sustain itself
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while running. It's also an amazing analogy I remember from the book..
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```
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...............................................Think about this
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feat for a moment-it is remarkable. You can't take your cells to a
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shop for repairs, like you would with a broken clock. Cells must make
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their repairs in place, without ever disturbing the ongoing processes of
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living. Imagine replacing a worn fan belt on your car, but doing it while
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driving down the road.................................................
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