Best 50 quotes from some of the world’s top biologists:

  1. “In the struggle for survival, the fittest win out at the expense of their rivals because they succeed in adapting themselves best to their environment.” – Charles Darwin
  2. “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.” – Theodosius Dobzhansky
  3. “The function of biology, like that of every other science, is merely to observe, describe, and explain.” – Thomas Huxley
  4. “Genes don’t just make proteins; genes are proteins.” – Richard Dawkins
  5. “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” – Albert Einstein
  6. “The cell is a city of unparalleled complexity, in which tens of thousands of different types of proteins are produced at any moment and are delivered to wherever they are needed.” – Bruce Alberts
  7. “Nature is not cruel, only pitilessly indifferent.” – Richard Dawkins
  8. “The Earth is what we all have in common.” – Wendell Berry
  9. “Nothing in biology is certain, except that the species will evolve.” – Theodosius Dobzhansky
  10. “All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
  11. “Life finds a way.” – Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park)
  12. “Biology is the study of complicated things that have the appearance of having been designed with a purpose.” – Richard Dawkins
  13. “The diversity of life on Earth is simply mind-boggling.” – E. O. Wilson
  14. “Life is a journey that must be traveled no matter how bad the roads and accommodations.” – Oliver Goldsmith
  15. “The great tragedy of science—the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact.” – Thomas Huxley
  16. “The human genome is not a blueprint; it’s a rough draft.” – Eric Lander
  17. “The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson
  18. “Biological diversity is the key to the maintenance of the world as we know it.” – Edward O. Wilson
  19. “Life is like a garden, where seeds of curiosity can blossom into knowledge.” – Unknown
  20. “The history of life is more complex than anyone could imagine.” – Carl Sagan
  21. “Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.” – Soren Kierkegaard
  22. “In biology, nothing is clear, everything is too complicated, everything is a mess, and just when you think you understand something, you peel off a layer and find deeper complexities.” – A. C. Grayling
  23. “The more you know, the more you realize you know nothing.” – Socrates
  24. “Biology is the study of the complicated chemistry surrounding a collection of water.” – Bob Cook-Deegan
  25. “Biology is the science. Evolution is the concept that makes biology unique.” – Jared Diamond
  26. “In the study of biology, nothing is too small or too large to be worthy of attention.” – Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
  27. “The study of biology is the study of all living things.” – Carolus Linnaeus
  28. “The earth does not belong to us. We belong to the earth.” – Chief Seattle
  29. “The earth laughs in flowers.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
  30. “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” – John Lennon
  31. “In the end, we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught.” – Baba Dioum
  32. “The science of life is a superb and dazzlingly lighted hall which may be reached only by passing through a long and ghastly kitchen.” – Claude Bernard
  33. “The study of life is an ongoing process of discovery.” – Gregor Mendel
  34. “Life is not about finding yourself, life is about creating yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw
  35. “Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty.” – John Ruskin
  36. “Nothing in biology is simple.” – Barry Commoner
  37. “To the world, you may be one person, but to one person, you may be the world.” – Dr. Seuss
  38. “In all things of nature, there is something of the marvelous.” – Aristotle
  39. “The study of biology is the study of life itself.” – Unknown
  40. “The most important thing in life is to stop saying ‘I wish’ and start saying ‘I will.’ Consider nothing impossible, then treat possibilities as probabilities.” – Charles Dickens
  41. “Biology is the study of life, and life is the study of biology.” – Unknown
  42. “To the scientist, there is the joy in pursuing truth, which nearly counteracts the depressing revelations of truth.” – H. P. Lovecraft
  43. “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb
  44. “Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.” – Carl Sagan
  45. “Life is what happens when you’re making other plans.” – Allen Saunders
  46. “The biology of life is the greatest miracle of all.” – Unknown
  47. “The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” – W.B. Yeats
  48. “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.” – Theodosius Dobzhansky
  49. “The human race is challenged more than ever before to demonstrate our mastery, not over nature but of ourselves.” – Rachel Carson
  50. “In biology, nothing is certain except death and taxes.” – Benjamin Franklin