“In a perfectly designed world —one with no history— we would not have to suffer everything from hemorrhoids to cancer.” — Neil Shubin Copy Share Image
When the finely tuned balance among the different parts of bodies breaks down, the individual creature can die. A cancerous tumor, for example, is born when one batch of cells no longer cooperates with others. By dividing endlessly, or by… — Neil Shubin Copy Share Image
“... two little patches of tissue essentially control the development of the pattern of bones inside limbs. A strip of tissue at the extreme end of the limb bud is essential for all limb development. Remove it, and development stops. Remove it early, and we are left with only an upper arm, or a piece of an arm. Remove it… — Neil Shubin Copy Share
“In areas close to the ZPA, where there is a high concentration of this molecule, cells would respond by making a pinky. In the opposite side of the developing hand, farther from the ZPA so that the molecule was more diffused, the cells would respond by making a thumb. Cells in the middle would each respond according to the concentration… — Neil Shubin Copy Share
“All the genetic switches that make fingers, arm bones, and toes do their thing during the third to eighth week after conception.” — Neil Shubin Copy Share Image
“My building was constructed in 1896, and the utilities reflect an odd design that has been jerry-rigged further with each renovation. If you want… — Neil Shubin Copy Share Image
“So here is the trick to designing a new fossil expedition: find rocks that are of the right age, of the right type (sedimentary),… — Neil Shubin Copy Share Image
“Our hundreds of useless olfactory genes are left over from mammal ancestors who relied more heavily on the sense of smell to survive ...… — Neil Shubin Copy Share Image
“The retina absorbs the light via sensitive light-gathering cells ... In humans these cells make up about 70 percent of all the sensory cells… — Neil Shubin Copy Share Image
“Some fish, for example the lungfish, have the one bone at the base. Other fish, for example Eusthenopteron, have the one bone–two bones arrangement.… — Neil Shubin Copy Share Image
“The key to tooth development is that an interaction between these two layers of tissue, an outer sheet of cells and an inner loose layer of cells, causes the tissue to fold and makes both layers secrete the molecules that build the organ. It turns out that exactly the same process underlies the development of all the structures that develop… — Neil Shubin Copy Share
“The molecules that allow microbes to catch their prey and hold on to them are likely candidates for the molecules that form the rivet… — Neil Shubin Copy Share Image
“In a perfectly designed world —one with no history— we would not have to suffer everything from hemorrhoids to cancer.” — Neil Shubin Copy Share Image
“Whole batteries of genes are turned on and off during fly development, and this pattern of gene activity serves to demarcate the different regions… — Neil Shubin Copy Share Image
