François Jacob
A molecular biologist who, with Jacques Monod, discovered the operon model of gene regulation, explaining how genes are turned on and off.
Most quoted
"A theory is a good theory if it satisfies two requirements: It must accurately describe a large class of observations on the basis of a model that contains only a few arbitrary elements, and it must make definite predictions about the results of future observations."
— from Attributed
"Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like."
— from The Logic of Life: A History of Heredity
"The dream of the biologist is to understand the living world, to grasp its essence, to unravel its secrets. But the living world is not a simple mechanism; it is a history."
— from La logique du vivant, une histoire de l'hérédité, 1970
All quotes by François Jacob (362)
What is not explicitly forbidden is allowed.
The genetic program is not a blueprint, but a recipe.
Chance and necessity are the two faces of reality.
Science is a continuous process of questioning and refining.
The living world is a collection of improvisations.
The past is not dead, it is not even past.
Biology is the science of the improbable.
The future of biology lies in understanding how complex systems emerge from simple rules.
The cell is a machine, but a machine that builds itself.
We are all made of stardust and dreams.
The scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, but one who asks the right questions.
Life is a continuous experiment.
The genetic code is a language, but a language without a speaker.
Science is not about certainty, but about uncertainty.
The living world is a testament to the power of variation and selection.
The greatest discovery in science is the discovery of ignorance.
We are the product of a long and tortuous evolutionary journey.
The beauty of science lies in its ability to reveal the hidden order of the universe.
The genetic program is not a fixed entity, but a dynamic one.
The cell is a self-organizing system.
Contemporaries of François Jacob
Other Biologys born within 50 years of François Jacob (1920–2013).