Chapter 6: The Best-Laid (Body) Plans

The name of the chapter quickly caught my attention. A chapter all about the body is what i've been waiting for. Shubin started off stating that it is hard comparing our bodies to those of jellyfish, and what i first thought was "duh." But as i read further, he explains that we actually have something in common: we all originate from 3 layers. At first i was surprised and didn't understand it, but as he explained it more and had the diagram, i could see what he meant. I have never heard of these layers before, and i find that really sad, because it sounds really important.

The section about the embryo 2 weeks after conception also peaked my interest because i've heard of an ectopic pregnancy before. It kind of scared me. I also like how he compared the shape of the embryo to a Frisbee, he makes it much easier to imagine.

When he talks about how embryologists before him experimented with embryos to see how they "plan" the build of an entire body. What confused me for a bit was that the "incredibly important patch of tissue containing all the information" was named The Organizer. I was sort of expecting some crazy hard-to-pronounce scientific name, but that makes it easier i guess.

The rest of the chapter was kind of slow-paced for me. I found myself falling asleep, but that just may be because i'm tired, i'm not sure. I really did enjoy this chapter, don't get me wrong, but i just wished that the end half was more interesting.

"All animals are the same but different. Like a cake recipe passed down from generation to generation-- with enhancements to the cake in each-- the recipe that builds our bodies has been passed down, and modified, for eons" (115). I liked his use of a simile here.

-Shay Fajardo