--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Given the opportunity, under the right…" description: "\"Given the opportunity, under the right conditions, two cells from wildly different sources, a yeast cell, say, and a chicken erythrocyte, will touch, f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d72/lewis-thomas-2299_cells_given-the-opportunity-under-the-right-co_1809007.png" --- # Given the opportunity, under the right conditions, two… ![“Given the opportunity, under the right conditions, two cells from wildly different sources, a yeast cell, say, and a chicken erythrocyte, will touch, fuse, and the two nuclei will then fuse as well, and the new hybrid cell will now divide into monstrous progeny. Naked cells, lacking self-respect…” quote by Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d72/lewis-thomas-2299_cells_given-the-opportunity-under-the-right-co_1809007.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d72/lewis-thomas-2299_cells_given-the-opportunity-under-the-right-co_1809007.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d72/lewis-thomas-2299_cells_given-the-opportunity-under-the-right-co_1809007.png) > “Given the opportunity, under the right conditions, two cells from wildly different sources, a yeast cell, say, and a chicken erythrocyte, will touch, fuse, and the two nuclei will then fuse as well, and the new hybrid cell will now divide into monstrous progeny. Naked cells, lacking self-respect, do not seem to have any sense of self.” [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When compatible cells meet under optimal conditions they can fuse, creating a hybrid that proliferates, illustrating that individual cells lack inherent self‑identity. **In simple terms:** Cells can merge and lose self‑sense. Key Takeaway Recognize the power of cooperation. Themes biology cellular fusion identity cooperation Mood curious analytical Type scientific educational When to use this quote - research labs - biotech development - stem cell therapy Key Concepts cell biology genetics hybridization Questions to Reflect On - What ethical limits should guide cellular hybrid experiments? - How does this inform our view of individuality? A Different Perspective Fusion requires precise conditions and may produce unstable hybrids. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-respect/) [Sense of self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-of-self/) ## Related quotes > [Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes shine to the stars. 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I wasn't starving or maimed by a land mine or orphaned.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/what-was-wrong-with-me-i-had-a-decent-life-i-was-healthy-i-wasn-t/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Kilgore Trout once wrote a short story which was a dialogue between two pieces of yeast. They were discussing the possible purposes of life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/kilgore-trout-once-wrote-a-short-story-which-was-a-dialogue-between/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [You can do anything if you have enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes rise to the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/you-can-do-anything-if-you-have-enthusiasm-enthusiasm-is-the-yeast/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [Of course, there is some truth in advertising. There's yeast in bread, but you can't make bread with yeast alone. Truth in advertising is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/of-course-there-is-some-truth-in-advertising-there-s-yeast-in-bread/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [Is it not better to intimate our astonishment as we pass through this world if it be only for a moment ere we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/is-it-not-better-to-intimate-our-astonishment-as-we-pass-through-this/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“I believe in absolutely nothing except yeast and the inevitability of politicians.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-greenwood/i-believe-in-absolutely-nothing-except-yeast-and-the-inevitability-of/) [Kerry Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-greenwood/) > [You can do anything if you have enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/you-can-do-anything-if-you-have-enthusiasm/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [My work is the world. Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird - equal seekers of sweetness. Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/my-work-is-the-world-here-the-sunflowers-there-the-hummingbird-equal/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“Yeast is to flour as action is to ambition. Rising to success requires adding and alternating starters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-lilly/yeast-is-to-flour-as-action-is-to-ambition-rising-to-success-requires/) [Ryan Lilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-lilly/) > [You can't just leave out one part; the bread won't rise if the yeast isn't there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-near/you-can-t-just-leave-out-one-part-the-bread-won-t-rise-if-the-yeast/) [Holly Near](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-near/) > [Welcome to Bologna on Capital Gold for England versus San Marino with Tennent's Pilsner, brewed with Czechoslovakian yeast for that extra Pilsner taste and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-pearce/welcome-to-bologna-on-capital-gold-for-england-versus-san-marino-with/) Jonathan Pearce > [I am personally convinced that one person can be a change catalyst, a 'transformer' in any situation, any organization. Such an individual is yeast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/i-am-personally-convinced-that-one-person-can-be-a-change-catalyst-a/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) ## More by Lewis Thomas > [“We are endowed with genes which code out our reaction to beavers and otters, maybe our reaction to each other as well. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-endowed-with-genes-which-code-out-our-reaction-to-beavers-and/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [We are a spectacular, splendid manifestation of life. We have language. . . . We have affection. We have genes for usefulness, and usefulness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-a-spectacular-splendid-manifestation-of-life-we-have-language/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“It is not a simple thing to decide where we fit, for at one time or another in our lives we manage to organize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/it-is-not-a-simple-thing-to-decide-where-we-fit-for-at-one-time-or/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [It is in our genes to understand the universe if we can, to keep trying even if we cannot, and to be enchanted by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/it-is-in-our-genes-to-understand-the-universe-if-we-can-to-keep/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [If an idea cannot move on its own, pushing it doesn't help; best to let it lie there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/if-an-idea-cannot-move-on-its-own-pushing-it-doesn-t-help-best-to-let/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Left to ourselves, mechanistic and autonomic, we hanker for friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/left-to-ourselves-mechanistic-and-autonomic-we-hanker-for-friends/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [I do not agree with this century's fashion of running down the human species as a failed try, a doomed sport. At our worst,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/i-do-not-agree-with-this-century-s-fashion-of-running-down-the-human/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [It would seem to me... an offense against nature, for us to come on the same scene endowed as we are with the curiosity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/it-would-seem-to-me-an-offense-against-nature-for-us-to-come-on-the/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [The drive to be useful is encoded in our genes. But when we gather in very large numbers, as in the modern nation-state, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/the-drive-to-be-useful-is-encoded-in-our-genes-but-when-we-gather-in/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [I would send the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach into outer space on the Voyager spacecraft. But that would be boasting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/i-would-send-the-complete-works-of-johann-sebastian-bach-into-outer/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“Nature abhors a long silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/nature-abhors-a-long-silence/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [“The future is too interesting and dangerous to be entrusted to any predictable, reliable agency. We need all the fallibility we can get. 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