Eric Lander Quotations

We're not going to stand up and say that these 14 things make us human, ... But it's not trivial to be able to say, 'Here is an inventory of the most important differences, and now go at it and figure out which of these differences contain the signatures of what is distinctively human.'

What makes evolution a scientific explanation is that it makes testable predictions. You only believe theories when they make non-obvious predictions that are confirmed by scientific evidence.

Having a sequence of the human genome is good, but our ability to interpret it was limited. The mouse sequence provides, for the first time, an ability to determine what matters and what doesn't in the human genome.

I think it means that we'll be able to track down the actual causes of disease. What most folks don't realize we don't know the cause of asthma, of heart disease, of diabetes or hypertension.

I think it means that we'll be able to track down the actual causes of disease. Most folks don't realize we don't know the cause of asthma, of heart disease, of diabetes or hypertension.

I think it means that we'll be able to track down the actual causes of disease, ... Most folks don't realize we don't know the cause of asthma, of heart disease, of diabetes or hypertension.

We're living through a historic revolution in biology.

We need to create a free trade zone among different labs in Boston. Private benefit goes hand in hand with enlightened public interest.

Of the more than 5,500 mammals living today, dogs are arguably the most remarkable. The incredible physical and behavioral diversity of dogs -- from Chihuahuas to Great Danes -- is encoded in their genomes. It can uniquely help us understand embryonic development, neurobiology, human disease and the basis of evolution.

Now folks say 'I believe in this Internet world and I want to disclose my data before publishing ... but don't scoop me on my own project,'

This is telling us about those changes that make us human.

About 99 percent of genes in humans have counterparts in the mouse. Eighty percent have identical, one-to-one counterparts.

The more species we look at, the more, frankly, we find that humans are not exceptional here.

Darwin and his descendants couldn't have asked for a better example of how you make scientific predictions and how you verify them in a very rigorous way.

Evolution is a way of understanding the world that continues to hold up day after day to scientific tests.

Evolutionary analysis is a handmaiden to human medicine.

We now know 600 different genes involved in cancer - giving rise to new drug targets.

Time for the FUTURE!! We will see young scientists in the future writing D++ (DNA Code).

Suddenly it was clear to me that all the beautiful complexity of life had simplicity at its core.

If you do something extraordinary for your customer you will never be forgotten. Customer service heroes get remembered, but legends never die.

The human genome itself is just a parts list. The human genome with the chimp genome tells us how these parts have changed.

The goal is not just butterfly collecting or mammal collecting to simply describe mammals. All of that comparative work across mammals is about informing the human genome for medicine. Until we actually understand all the working parts within our genome, we won't really be able to practice the most informed medicine.