Product Description

There is probably no one who has a deeper understanding of life's biochemical basis than Francis Crick (b. 1916). In 1962 he jointly won the Nobel Prize (with James D. Watson and Maurice H.F. Wilkins) in physiology/medicine for breakthrough studies on the molecular structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). In 1966 he published this collection of popular lectures in which he explained the importance of this discovery in layman's terms, emphasizing its wide-reaching implications.

Crick begins with a critique of vitalism, the notion that an intangible life force beyond the grasp of biology distinguishes living organisms from inanimate things. In his second lecture he explores the borderline between the organic and inorganic, presenting an elegantly clear description of DNA's basic structure and function in relation to RNA and myriad enzymes.

In his third lecture Crick anticipates events and trends that have in fact come to pass in the past four decades, including the increasing use of computer technology and robotics in mind-brain research, explorations into right-side versus left-side uses of the brain, and controversies surrounding the existence of the soul.

OF MOLECULES AND MEN is fascinating not only for its historical significance but for its continued relevance to ongoing discussions of many crucially important issues in life science.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #466174 in Books
• Published on: 2004-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 115 pages

About the Author
Francis Harry Compton Crick was born on June 8, 1916, at Northampton, England. The elder son of Harry and Annie Elizabeth Wilkins Cricks, he was educated at Northampton Grammar School and Mill Hill School, London. He studied physics at University College, London, earning his bachelor's degree in 1937. His pursuit of a doctorate was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. Crick worked as a physicist for the British Admiralty during the war, leaning in 1947 to study biology. He earned his doctorate at Caius College, Cambridge University, in 1953.

Crick was a laboratory scientist at Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge University. In 1962 he became director of Cambridge University's Molecular Biology Laboratory. From 1977 he was a faculty member at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego, and is now a distinguished professor and president emeritus of the institute's Kieckhefer Center for Theoretical Biology. He was a visiting lecturer at the Rockefeller Institute, New York City, and a visiting professor at Harvard University. In 1959 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.

In 1962 Crick won the Nobel Prize in physiology/medicine, with James D. Watson and Maurice H.F. Wilkins, for studies of the molecular structure of DNA. Queen Elizabeth II awarded him the Order of Merit in 1992.

Crick is the author of numerous papers and articles on molecular biology, and four books: OF MOLECULES AND MEN (1966), LIFE ITSELF: ITS ORIGIN AND NATURE (1981), WHAT MAD PURSUIT: A PERSONAL VIEW OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY (1988), and THE ASTONISHING HYPOTHESIS: THE SCIENTIFIC SEARCH FOR THE SOUL (1994).

Customer Reviews

Touring Biology's Path to the Gene
Sir Francis Crick provides a clear, compact exploration of the shape, size, and significance of the gene, the molecular basis of all life. He begins his discussion asking for a definition of aliveness. Then he traces clearly the path to our present knowledge of how the gene is structured and points out that its existence is totally a product of Darwinian evolution. This means that the gene is not the product of a prior plan, but results from a series of accidents. He also believes that most of the elements making up the gene can either now, or soon will, synthesize genes.
He describes the position of several scientists who posit an invisible, purposeful substance or influence which cause life to exist within the gene, called vitalism. He is highly critical of this position as being based on wishful thinking, or an attempt to support a theological assumption.
Crick is a partner in the Watson-Crick team who first described the structure of the gene in the 1950s. Watson wrote a very controversial account of the "race" to discover the gene's structure in his book "The Double Helix."
"Of Molecules and Men" is a delightful read, elegant, sparce, and by a genuine authority. Itis a surprisingly brief and informative examination of what the gene is which is enlightening for any reader.
E.T. Dell, Jr. Peterborough, NH