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)
The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.
Creativity is the ability to see things in new ways.
The only way to do great work is to love what you do.
We are all storytellers, and science is one of the greatest stories ever told.
The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.
The world is full of magic, you just have to know where to look.
Curiosity is the engine of discovery.
The greatest discoveries are often made by accident.
To live is to choose.
The human brain is the most complex object in the known universe.
Science is a continuous process of refinement and correction.
The past is never dead. It's not even past.
We are all connected, like threads in a vast tapestry.
The most profound truths are often the simplest.
Science is a collective enterprise, built on the shoulders of giants.
The only constant in life is change.
To see a world in a grain of sand and a heaven in a wild flower.
The universe is a grand experiment.
The greatest adventure is to live the life of your dreams.
The most important thing in science is not to discover new facts, but to discover new ways of thinking about them.
Contemporaries of François Jacob
Other Biologys born within 50 years of François Jacob (1920–2013).