Three billion bases of DNA sequence can be put on a single compact disc and one will be able to pull a CD out of one's pocket and say, "Here is a human being; it's me!"

- Walter Gilbert, 1992

God could cause us considerable embarrassment by revealing all the secrets of nature to us: we should not know what to do for sheer apathy and boredom.

- Johann von Goethe

When one goes on a journey of self-exploration, one should go heavily armed.

- Paul Verlaine