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