Bill Clinton - Human Genome
The Language in Which God Created Life

Illustrated Quote - Large (800 x 600px)

President Clinton quote “Today, we are learning the language in which God created life” + Vitruvian Man + genome sequences

Click here or image for medium 500 x 350px version

Lines from a computer screen showing DNA sequences such as GAGCACTCAGGA

(source)

“Today, we are learning the language in which God created life.”

— U.S. President Bill Clinton

(26 Jun 2000)

More Bill Clinton quotes on science >>

The Context of Bill Clinton's “The language in which God created life.” Quote

On 26 Jun 2000, the first draft was announced of the human genome, the result of an international research effort to map the entire sequence of genes in human DNA. For the announcement, in the East Room of the White House on 26 Jun 2000, President Bill Clinton was joined by biotechnologists Drs. Francis Collins and Craig Ventner, with British Prime Minister Tony Blair via satellite.

After welcoming everyone, the President began by considering the historic frontiers crossed by two maps. The first was made by the Lewis and Meriwether expedition to the Pacific. Then he compared the new map being announced of the human genome, saying:

“Without a doubt, this is the most important, most wondrous map ever produced by humankind.”

After acknowledging the groundbreaking work of Francis Crick and James Watson (who was present) to reveal the structure of DNA, and now the contributions of over a thousand more researchers, the President continued:

“we have pooled the combined wisdom of biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, mathematics and computer science; tapped the great strengths and insights of the public and private sectors. More than 1,000 researchers across six nations have revealed nearly all 3 billion letters of our miraculous genetic code. I congratulate all of you on this stunning and humbling achievement.

Today's announcement represents more than just an epic-making triumph of science and reason. After all, when Galileo discovered he could use the tools of mathematics and mechanics to understand the motion of celestial bodies, he felt, in the words of one eminent researcher,

'that he had learned the language in which God created the universe.'

Today, we are learning the language in which God created life. We are gaining ever more awe for the complexity, the beauty, the wonder of God's most divine and sacred gift. With this profound new knowledge, humankind is on the verge of gaining immense, new power to heal. Genome science will have a real impact on all our lives—and even more, on the lives of our children. It will revolutionize the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of most, if not all, human diseases.

… modern science has confirmed what we first learned from ancient fates. The most important fact of life on this Earth is our common humanity. My greatest wish on this day for the ages is that this incandescent truth will always guide our actions as we continue to march forth in this, the greatest age of discovery ever known.”

From White House announcement broadcast on the day of the publication of the first draft of the human genome. Text of Remarks on the Completion of the First Survey of the Entire Human Genome Project (26 Jun 2000). (source)

Quotes by | Tony Blair | Francis Collins | Craig Ventner | Francis Crick | James Watson

President Clinton at podium + Quote “We are here to celebrate…entire human genome…most wondrous map ever produced by human kind”

(click for more about this quote and a larger picture • 500px • 800px)

(source)

(click for more about this quote and a larger picture • 500px • 800px)

(source)

See also:

Science Quotes by President Bill Clinton.
Bill Clinton - Context of the “Celebrate completion of the first survey of the entire human genome” quote - with medium image (500 x 350px).
Bill Clinton - Context of the “Celebrate completion of the first survey of the entire human genome” quote - with large image (800 x 600px).
Bill Clinton - Context of the “Our children's children will know the term cancer only as a constellation” quote - with medium image (500 x 350px).
Bill Clinton - Context of the “Our children's children will know the term cancer only as a constellation” quote - with large image (800 x 600px).
Bill Clinton - Context of the “We are learning the language in which God created life” quote - with medium image (500 x 350px).

Nature bears long with those who wrong her. She is patient under abuse. But when abuse has gone too far, when the time of reckoning finally comes, she is equally slow to be appeased and to turn away her wrath. (1882) -- Nathaniel Egleston, who was writing then about deforestation, but speaks equally well about the danger of climate change today.

Carl Sagan: In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion. (1987) ...(more by Sagan)

Albert Einstein: I used to wonder how it comes about that the electron is negative. Negative-positive—these are perfectly symmetric in physics. There is no reason whatever to prefer one to the other. Then why is the electron negative? I thought about this for a long time and at last all I could think was “It won the fight!” ...(more by Einstein)

Richard Feynman: It is the facts that matter, not the proofs. Physics can progress without the proofs, but we can't go on without the facts ... if the facts are right, then the proofs are a matter of playing around with the algebra correctly. ...(more by Feynman)