Getting Ahead

The beginning of the chapter, where Shubin becomes so immersed in his work that he forgets he is alone with 25 dead bodies and decides to run out quickly is quite funny. I, like Shubin, would probably react in a similar way. That is scary!

When the description of the nervous system began, all I could think about was the robotic way in which this system functions, acting like an Internet warehouse of Google, where thousands of wires carrying information run around. Its quite interesting how the human body, around for thousands of years, and even more ancient, the animal nervous system, is millions of years before the first fiber-optic wires originated, yet are still able to send information through sensory detectors throughout the body. The elaborate system of trigernimnal branches amazes me, with its functionality astonishing.

The description of what we would see if we were to watch a fetus grow from the first day is quite intriguing. Also, the discovery by Goethe about the fusion of bones to form a carriage for the brain is interesting, pointing out that many times, science is a result of pure luck and coincidence.

The tests on animals during the fetal stages, however brutal they seem, turning on/off genes, is interesting. A frog with 2 jaws. How about a human with 8 hands/legs and the ability to wall-crawl?

Ah, the science of the body is astounding. If only our government would stop printing money for City Group Banks, and instead printed money for school. Then, we could do experiments like this. Or could we?

--- Abdel Albakri