--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: George Gey paid his way through a biology…" description: "\"“George Gey paid his way through a biology degree at the University of Pittsburgh by working as a carpenter and mason, and he could make nearly anythin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/111/skloot-rebecca-154327_biology_george-gey-paid-his-way-through-a-biolog_1653104.jpg" --- # George Gey paid his way through a biology degree at the… ![“George Gey paid his way through a biology degree at the University of Pittsburgh by working as a carpenter and mason, and he could make nearly anything for cheap or free. During his second year in medical school, he rigged a microscope with a time-lapse motion picture camera to capture live cells…” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/111/skloot-rebecca-154327_biology_george-gey-paid-his-way-through-a-biolog_1653104.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/111/skloot-rebecca-154327_biology_george-gey-paid-his-way-through-a-biolog_1653104.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/111/skloot-rebecca-154327_biology_george-gey-paid-his-way-through-a-biolog_1653104.jpg) > ““George Gey paid his way through a biology degree at the University of Pittsburgh by working as a carpenter and mason, and he could make nearly anything for cheap or free. During his second year in medical school, he rigged a microscope with a time-lapse motion picture camera to capture live cells on film. It was a Frankensteinish mishmash of microscope parts, glass, and 16-millimeter camera equipment from who knows where, plus metal scraps, and an old motor from Shapiro’s junkyard. He built it in a hole he’d blasted in the foundation of Hopkins, right below the morgue, its base entirely underground and surrounded by a thick wall of cork to keep it from jiggling when streetcars passed. At night, a Lithuanian lab assistant slept next to the camera on a cot, listening to its constant tick, making sure it stayed stable through the night, waking every hour to refocus it. With that camera, Gey and his mentor, Warren Lewis, filmed the growth of cells, a process so slow - like the growth of a flower - the naked eye couldn’t see it. They played the film at high speed so they could watch cell division on the screen in one smooth motion, like a story unfolding in a flip book.”” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Gey built a makeshift time‑lapse microscope in a basement lab, using scavenged parts to film slow cell growth, turning invisible processes into visual stories. **In simple terms:** He improvised equipment to capture cell division on film. Key Takeaway Innovate with limited resources. Themes science innovation resourcefulness cell biology filmmaking Mood inspirational historical Type educational scientific When to use this quote - laboratory research - education - science communication - historical documentaries Key Concepts experimental science DIY engineering visual storytelling Questions to Reflect On - What modern tools could replace Gey’s improvisation? - How does visualizing cells change scientific perception? A Different Perspective Reliance on makeshift gear can affect data reliability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Creative people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative-people/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Henrietta-lacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/henrietta-lacks/) [High speed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-speed/) [Medical school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medical-school/) [Motion picture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motion-picture/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [Jane: Focus is important. V: Only if you're a microscope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/jane-focus-is-important-v-only-if-you-re-a-microscope/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The task of the right eye is to peer into the telescope, while the left eye peers into the microscope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-task-of-the-right-eye-is-to-peer-into-the-telescope-while-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“They also knew that there was a string of DNA at the end of each chromosome called a telomere, which shortened a tiny bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/they-also-knew-that-there-was-a-string-of-dna-at-the-end-of-each/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) > [“Since the Common Rule says that research subjects must be allowed to withdraw from research at any time, these experts have told me that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/since-the-common-rule-says-that-research-subjects-must-be-allowed-to/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) > [“Day wouldn’t have understood the concept of immortal cells or HLA markers coming from anyone, accent or not—he’d only gone to school for four…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/day-wouldn-t-have-understood-the-concept-of-immortal-cells-or-hla/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) > [“Henrietta’s were different: they reproduced an entire generation every twenty-four hours, and they never stopped. They became the first immortal human cells ever grown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/henrietta-s-were-different-they-reproduced-an-entire-generation-every/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) > [“Everyone in the audience knew what that meant. On top of saying they’d possibly wasted more than a decade and millions of research dollars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/everyone-in-the-audience-knew-what-that-meant-on-top-of-saying-they-d/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) > [“Soon after Harris’s HeLa-chicken study, a pair of researchers at New York University discovered that human-mouse hybrids lost their human chromosomes over time, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/soon-after-harris-s-hela-chicken-study-a-pair-of-researchers-at-new/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) > [“I’ve tried to imagine how she’d feel knowing that her cells went up in the first space missions to see what would happen to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/i-ve-tried-to-imagine-how-she-d-feel-knowing-that-her-cells-went-up/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) > [“Ultimately the judge threw Moore’s suit out of court, saying he had no case. Ironically, in his decision, the judge cited the HeLa cell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/ultimately-the-judge-threw-moore-s-suit-out-of-court-saying-he-had-no/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) > [“Nelson-Rees had since been hired by the National Cancer Institute to help stop the contamination problem. He would become known as a vigilante who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/nelson-rees-had-since-been-hired-by-the-national-cancer-institute-to/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) > [“The American Type Culture Collection—a nonprofit whose funds go mainly toward maintaining and providing pure cultures for science—has been selling HeLa since the sixties.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/the-american-type-culture-collection-a-nonprofit-whose-funds-go/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) > [The human mind prefers something which it can recognize to something for which it has no name, and, whereas thousands of persons carry field…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fairchild/the-human-mind-prefers-something-which-it-can-recognize-to-something/) [David Fairchild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fairchild/) > [Perhaps, if science is clever enough to see, it will realize that religion may not be too far off with its concrete imagery; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lanza/perhaps-if-science-is-clever-enough-to-see-it-will-realize-that/) [Robert Lanza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lanza/) > [We should picture the instrument that carries our mental functioning as resembling a compound microscope or photographic apparatus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/we-should-picture-the-instrument-that-carries-our-mental-functioning/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Biology quotes > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [“Genetics is a science full of gods, Mr. Sanchez.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/genetics-is-a-science-full-of-gods-mr-sanchez/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) > [We became Homo sapiens not that long ago, from the scientific perspective, and we've retained a lot of our beast nature. We've done all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangechi-mutu/we-became-homo-sapiens-not-that-long-ago-from-the-scientific/) [Wangechi Mutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangechi-mutu/) > [Evolution happens in jumps, very rapidly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-ferguson/evolution-happens-in-jumps-very-rapidly/) [Marilyn Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-ferguson/) > [“Toshiaki learned that all living organisms were governed by their DNA. He was impressed by perfection of this system.Why did existence have the ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hideaki-sena/toshiaki-learned-that-all-living-organisms-were-governed-by-their-dna/) Hideaki Sena > [I'm all about evolution. I'm the first person to judge myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-weeknd/i-m-all-about-evolution-i-m-the-first-person-to-judge-myself/) [The Weeknd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-weeknd/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I think the ethics and morals of genetic engineering are very complicated. It intrigues me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-spottiswoode/i-think-the-ethics-and-morals-of-genetic-engineering-are-very/) [Roger Spottiswoode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-spottiswoode/) > [Biochemists and biologists who adhere blindly to the Darwinism theory search for results that will be in agreement with their theories and consequently orient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-paul-grasse/biochemists-and-biologists-who-adhere-blindly-to-the-darwinism-theory/) [Pierre-Paul Grasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-paul-grasse/) > [“A note of caution: epigenetics is also on the verge of transforming into a dangerous idea. Epigenetic modifications of genes can potentially superpose historical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddhartha-mukherjee/a-note-of-caution-epigenetics-is-also-on-the-verge-of-transforming/) [Siddhartha Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddhartha-mukherjee/) > [Natural history is not taught in seminary. This is curious, as most people in pastoral ministry are about 567 times more likely to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-maitland/natural-history-is-not-taught-in-seminary-this-is-curious-as-most/) [Sara Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-maitland/) > [We are coming to a place where the road ends. From here on out, we will be making the road as we walk it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-atlee/we-are-coming-to-a-place-where-the-road-ends-from-here-on-out-we-will/) Tom Atlee > [I've always been interested in medicine and was pleased when my brother became a doctor. But after thinking seriously about that field, I realized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-medicine-and-was-pleased-when-my/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [Evolution... is the most powerful and the most comprehensive idea that has ever arisen on Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-huxley/evolution-is-the-most-powerful-and-the-most-comprehensive-idea-that/) [Julian Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-huxley/) > [History employs evolution to structure biological events in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/history-employs-evolution-to-structure-biological-events-in-time/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Browse all 3,034 Biology quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“George Gey paid his way through a biology degree at the University of Pittsburgh by working as a carpenter and mason, and he could make nearly anything for cheap or free. During his second year in medical school, he rigged a microscope with a time-lapse motion picture camera to capture live cells on film. It was a Frankensteinish mishmash of microscope parts, glass, and 16-millimeter camera equipment from who knows where, plus metal scraps, and an old motor from Shapiro’s junkyard. He built it in a hole he’d blasted in the foundation of Hopkins, right below the morgue, its base entirely underground and surrounded by a thick wall of cork to keep it from jiggling when streetcars passed. At night, a Lithuanian lab assistant slept next to the camera on a cot, listening to its constant tick, making sure it stayed stable through the night, waking every hour to refocus it. With that camera, Gey and his mentor, Warren Lewis, filmed the growth of cells, a process so slow - like the growth of a flower - the naked eye couldn’t see it. They played the film at high speed so they could watch cell division on the screen in one smooth motion, like a story unfolding in a flip book.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/george-gey-paid-his-way-through-a-biology-degree-at-the-university-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Biology" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/george-gey-paid-his-way-through-a-biology-degree-at-the-university-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/111/skloot-rebecca-154327_biology_george-gey-paid-his-way-through-a-biolog_1653104.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/111/skloot-rebecca-154327_biology_george-gey-paid-his-way-through-a-biolog_1653104.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/111/skloot-rebecca-154327_biology_george-gey-paid-his-way-through-a-biolog_1653104.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“George Gey paid his way through a biology degree at the University of Pittsburgh by working as a carpenter…” — Anonymous", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anonymous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“George Gey paid his way through...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/george-gey-paid-his-way-through-a-biology-degree-at-the-university-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/george-gey-paid-his-way-through-a-biology-degree-at-the-university-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```