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)
Science is a process of refinement.
The living world is a world of contingency and necessity.
The scientist is a philosopher, seeking to understand the fundamental nature of reality.
The living world is a world of interplay between chance and selection.
The genome is a dynamic entity, constantly changing and adapting.
Science is a quest for truth.
The living world is a world of endless possibilities.
The scientist is an artist, creating new visions of the world.
The living world is a world of beauty and complexity.
The genome is a testament to the power of evolution.
The dream of every cell is to become two cells.
Biology is the study of the logic of life.
Evolution is a tinkerer, not an engineer.
The living world is a world of tinkering.
Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.
The cell is the basic unit of life, but its behavior is governed by genes.
Operons are the regulatory switches of the genetic machinery.
Life is a matter of regulating what is expressed and what is not.
In the history of life, chance plays a major role.
The genome is like a library where only certain books are read at certain times.
Contemporaries of François Jacob
Other Biologys born within 50 years of François Jacob (1920–2013).