Biology Quote by James Gleick
““Even before the exact answer was reached, Crick crystallized its fundamental principles in a statement that he called (and is called to this day) the Central Dogma. It is a hypothesis about the direction of evolution and the origin of life; it is provable in terms of Shannon entropy in the possible chemical alphabets: Once “information” has passed into protein it cannot get out again. In more detail, the transfer of information from nucleic acid to nucleic acid, or from nucleic acid to protein may be possible, but transfer from protein to protein, or from protein to nucleic acid is impossible. Information means here the precise determination of sequence.””
About This Quote
Source Book: The Information, 2011
The Central Dogma states that genetic information flows from DNA to RNA to protein, and not in reverse, framing evolution as a one‑way information transfer.
In simple terms: Genetic info moves forward, not backward.
Key Takeaway
Understand the directionality of genetic information.
Themes
biology
information theory
evolution
Mood
thoughtful
inquisitive
Type
educational
philosophical
When to use this quote
- genetics labs
- educational curricula
- research presentations
- science communication
Key Concepts
Shannon entropy
molecular biology
Questions to Reflect On
- Can exceptions to the Dogma reshape evolutionary theory?
- How does information loss affect biological complexity?
A Different Perspective
Some viruses challenge the strict one‑way view, showing rare reverse transfers.
