Chapter 3: Handy Genes

With the full excitement, I started to bullet through Chapter 3 as if there were no tomorrow. Unfortunately, I was disappointed shortly after reading a few pages of chapter three either due to my high expectations or the lack of the vitalities shown unlike last two chapters. However, this chapter was special in many ways for me despite the disappointment such as the introduction of Shubin's colleague which transited the profile to relate to the discovery of Tiktaalik. Because last two chapters have been introducing Shubin's role as paleontologist, I was enlightened by the fact that the unconventionality of Randy Dahn has contributed to enormous discoveries of finding one's inner fish. Prior to reading this chapter, the ambiguity of how DNA structured certain cells cleared away when I read about the genetic switches that control the activity of genes in the cells and tissues. Therefore, specialized cells are assembled to compose certain parts of the body. The thing that startled me even more was although the DNA is consisted of complexities, it starts out with single cell that eventually structures a whole body. Last but not least, I learned that the ZPA is the tissue that causes and distinguishes pinky and thumb side. Even though I was disappointed in this chapter in many ways, the fact that this book distributes far more knowledge than what I would obtain in my lifetime impelled me to be optimistic about the later chapters.