The problem [with genetic research] is, we're just starting down this path, feeling our way in the dark. … - Francis Collins

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If, while observing the boundless universe, the writer is able to scrutinise his own self as well as others, the resulting incisiveness of his observations will far surpass objective descriptions of reality.

Francis Collins

The problem [with genetic research] is, we're just starting down this path, feeling our way in the dark. We have a small lantern in the form of a gene, but the lantern doesn't penetrate more than a couple of hundred feet. We don't know whether we're going to encounter chasms, rock walls or mountain ranges along the way. We don't even know how long the path is.

Couple, Wall, Dark, Lantern, Feeling, Problem

Same Author Quotes

I took biology in high school and didn't like it at all. It was focused on memorization. . . . I didn't appreciate that biology also had principles and logic. . . [rather than dealing with a] messy thing called life. It just wasn't organized, and I wanted to stick with the nice pristine sciences of chemistry and physics, where everything made sense. I wish I had learned sooner that biology could be fun as well.

Appreciation, Fun, High, Memorization, Nice, Organized

The human genome will not help us to understand the spiritual side of humankind, or to know who God is or what love is. The well-heeled couple who decide they want to use genetics to have a child that is a gifted musician may end up with a sullen adolescent who smokes marijuana and doesn't talk to them.

Children, Couple, Decide, Gifted, Smokes, Spiritual

But full sequencing? No. Very hard to interpret. At some point probably we'll all have that opportunity but most of what's there will be stuff that we don't know what to say much about. So it's a great research tool, but for clinical purposes to advise somebody to practice better health maintenance, it's not necessarily gonna be a big one for a while.

Clinical, Know, Opportunity, Practice, Purposes, Tools

My daughter is a practicing physician so believe me I get a lot of the frustration from her. You get it from patients. For me personally, when I ask my doctor to send me my record, what I get is a scanned PDF of his hard copy! This is not good. It would be hopeless to work with a million people if you had to do this on paper, and one of the reasons this is the right time for this is because of the existence of EHRs.

Believe, Daughter, Frustration, Hard, Personally, Practicing

The best diet is the one that can be sustained over the long term, combined with other healthful lifestyle behaviors.

Behavior, Behaviors, Lifestyle, Long, Term