--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Biologists have long attempted by…" description: "\"Biologists have long attempted by chemical means to induce in higher organisms predictable and specific changes which thereafter could be transmitted i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/oswald-avery-89637_alterations_biologists-have-long-attempted-by-chemic_2873791.jpg" --- # Biologists have long attempted by chemical means to induce… ![“Biologists have long attempted by chemical means to induce in higher organisms predictable and specific changes which thereafter could be transmitted in series as hereditary characters. Among microorganisms the most striking example of inheritable and specific alterations in cell structure and…” quote by Oswald Avery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/oswald-avery-89637_alterations_biologists-have-long-attempted-by-chemic_2873791.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/oswald-avery-89637_alterations_biologists-have-long-attempted-by-chemic_2873791.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/oswald-avery-89637_alterations_biologists-have-long-attempted-by-chemic_2873791.jpg) > “Biologists have long attempted by chemical means to induce in higher organisms predictable and specific changes which thereafter could be transmitted in series as hereditary characters. Among microorganisms the most striking example of inheritable and specific alterations in cell structure and function that can be experimentally induced and are reproducible under well defined and adequately controlled conditions is the transformation of specific types of Pneumococcus.” Oswald Avery ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scientists used chemicals to induce specific, inheritable changes in bacteria, demonstrating controllable genetic transformation **In simple terms:** Chemicals can cause predictable, inherited changes in cells Key Takeaway Use controlled experiments to study genetic alteration Themes biology genetics transformation experiment inheritance Mood inquisitive analytical optimistic Type Alterations:1 Biologist:1 Biology:1 Cells:1 Character:0 Chemicals:1 Conditions:1 Controlled:1 Defined:1 Evolution:0 Example:1 Function:1 Genetics:1 Hereditary:1 Higher:0 Long:0 Mean:0 Microorganisms:1 Organisms:1 Predictable:1 Series:0 Structure:1 Structure and function:1 Transformation:1 Type:0 Wells:0 Reproducible:1 Induced Reproducible:1 Organisms Predictable:0 Experimentally Induced:1 Alterations Cell:0 When to use this quote - lab research - medical genetics - biotech development Key Concepts DNA uptake horizontal gene transfer mutagenesis Questions to Reflect On - How can controlled bacterial transformations inform human gene therapy? - What limits exist when scaling from microbes to higher organisms? A Different Perspective Findings may not directly apply to complex multicellular organisms ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Biologist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biologist/) [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Genetics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genetics/) [Microorganisms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/microorganisms/) [Organisms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organisms/) [Structure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structure/) [Transformation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transformation/) ## Related quotes > [“Infrastructure as Code.” If you’re going to do operations reliably, you need to make it reproducible and programmatic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-loukides/infrastructure-as-code-if-you-re-going-to-do-operations-reliably-you/) Mike Loukides > [The natural scientist is concerned with a particular kind of phenomena ... he has to confine himself to that which is reproducible ... I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-pauli/the-natural-scientist-is-concerned-with-a-particular-kind-of/) [Wolfgang Pauli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-pauli/) > [“Science, however, is never conducted as a popularity contest, but instead advances through testable, reproducible, and falsifiable theories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/science-however-is-never-conducted-as-a-popularity-contest-but/) [Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/) > [When everything is immediately available and infinitely reproducible, nothing is valuable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/when-everything-is-immediately-available-and-infinitely-reproducible/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) > [No occupation is more worthy of an intelligent and enlightened mind, than the study of Nature and natural objects; and whether we labour to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-paxton/no-occupation-is-more-worthy-of-an-intelligent-and-enlightened-mind/) Joseph Paxton > [The elegant study... is consistent with the themes of modern cognitive neuroscience . Every aspect of thought and emotion is rooted in brain structure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-elegant-study-is-consistent-with-the-themes-of-modern-cognitive/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [My own prejudices are exactly the opposite of the functionalists': "If you want to understand function, study structure".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/my-own-prejudices-are-exactly-the-opposite-of-the-functionalists-if/) [Francis Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/) > [Life's Solution builds a forceful case for the predictability of evolutionary outcomes, not in terms of genetic details but rather their broad phenotypic manifestations.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-conway-morris/life-s-solution-builds-a-forceful-case-for-the-predictability-of/) [Simon Conway Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-conway-morris/) > [Interpersonal experience shapes the mind as it continues to develop throughout the lifespan... Interactions with the environment, especially relationships with other people, directly shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-siegel/interpersonal-experience-shapes-the-mind-as-it-continues-to-develop/) [Daniel J. Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-siegel/) ## More by Oswald Avery > [Whenever you fall, pick something up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-avery/whenever-you-fall-pick-something-up/) Oswald Avery Explore all 2 Oswald Avery quotes ## More Alterations quotes > [“When you alter yourself, the alterations become the truth...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/when-you-alter-yourself-the-alterations-become-the-truth/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Death's not a separation or alteration or parting; it's just a one-handled door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/death-s-not-a-separation-or-alteration-or-parting-it-s-just-a-one/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [There are two processes which we adopt consciously or unconsciously when we try to prophesy. We can seek a period in the past whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/there-are-two-processes-which-we-adopt-consciously-or-unconsciously/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [The present Constitution, with a few alterations of a trifling nature, is just as good as we want; and if it is sustained on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigham-young/the-present-constitution-with-a-few-alterations-of-a-trifling-nature/) [Brigham Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigham-young/) > [My being consists of matter and form, that is, of soul and body; annihilation will reach neither of them, for they were never produced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/my-being-consists-of-matter-and-form-that-is-of-soul-and-body/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Every story is flawed, every story is subject to change. Even after it is set down to print, between covers of a book, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-richmond/every-story-is-flawed-every-story-is-subject-to-change-even-after-it/) [Michelle Richmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-richmond/) > [Human beings were not well served by permanence or stasis. Obviously, if individuals were progressing, they were undergoing a series of presumably desirable alterations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/human-beings-were-not-well-served-by-permanence-or-stasis-obviously/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Everything that makes diversity of kinds, of species, differences, properties... everything that consists in generation, decay, alteration and change is not an entity, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giordano-bruno/everything-that-makes-diversity-of-kinds-of-species-differences/) [Giordano Bruno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giordano-bruno/) > [One of the pleasures of reading is seeing this alteration on the pages, and the way, by reading it, you have made the book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/one-of-the-pleasures-of-reading-is-seeing-this-alteration-on-the/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [Whether it is seen in personal terms or trans-personal terms, whether it is Heaven or Nirvana or Happy Hunting Ground or the Garden of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-smith/whether-it-is-seen-in-personal-terms-or-trans-personal-terms-whether/) [John Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-smith/) > [For a woman ... to explore and express the fullness of her sexuality, her ambitions, her emotional and intellectual capacities, her social duties, her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-j-kaplan/for-a-woman-to-explore-and-express-the-fullness-of-her-sexuality-her/) [Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) > [When it happens that a person has to give up a sexual object, there quite often ensues an alteration of his ego which can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/when-it-happens-that-a-person-has-to-give-up-a-sexual-object-there/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Reagan took an approach to the Cold War dramatically different from any other US President. To wit, he thought we should win. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/reagan-took-an-approach-to-the-cold-war-dramatically-different-from/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [Contentment is never the outcome of fulfillment, of achievement, or of the possession of things; it is not born of action or inaction. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/contentment-is-never-the-outcome-of-fulfillment-of-achievement-or-of/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments: love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/let-me-not-to-the-marriage-of-true-minds-admit-impediments-love-is-2/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) Browse all 94 Alterations quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Biologists have long attempted by chemical means to induce in higher organisms predictable and specific changes which thereafter could be transmitted in series as hereditary characters. Among microorganisms the most striking example of inheritable and specific alterations in cell structure and function that can be experimentally induced and are reproducible under well defined and adequately controlled conditions is the transformation of specific types of Pneumococcus.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oswald Avery" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-avery/biologists-have-long-attempted-by-chemical-means-to-induce-in-higher/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alterations" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-avery/biologists-have-long-attempted-by-chemical-means-to-induce-in-higher/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/oswald-avery-89637_alterations_biologists-have-long-attempted-by-chemic_2873791.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/oswald-avery-89637_alterations_biologists-have-long-attempted-by-chemic_2873791.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/oswald-avery-89637_alterations_biologists-have-long-attempted-by-chemic_2873791.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Biologists have long attempted by chemical means to induce in higher organisms predictable and specific…” — Oswald Avery", "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": "Oswald Avery", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-avery/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Biologists have long attempted by chemical...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-avery/biologists-have-long-attempted-by-chemical-means-to-induce-in-higher/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-avery/biologists-have-long-attempted-by-chemical-means-to-induce-in-higher/#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 } } ] } ```