Classic review of molecular biology
A classic from1971, Monod's popular exposition of molecular biology in the development of life.
It was memorable from his use of two terms:
Epigenetic: Living things grow spontaneously out of the nature of their chemical constituents. Their genetic makeup has evolved to use environmental resources and fit them into a characteristic pattern, analogous to the physics of crystallization producing shapes determined by interatomic forces.
Teleonomic: We see purpose in the characters that living things have evolved - fingers and thumb for grasping, teeth for chewing, digestive system for nutrition etc. But we should recognize that those explanations are ideas and we should take credit for inventing them! Evolution happens, and the purposes we see there are our own creation!
