Contra Crick
that is: the nature of life

(Gondolat, 1989)
pdf


„ I recommend this book to Francis Harry Compton CRICK,

- who: together with Watson constructed the double helix model of DNA providing thereby the basis for molecular biology;
- who: also in cooperation with Watson, claryfied by means of this model how the heretic information is copied during cell division;
- who: at the top of his success did not rest on his laurels, rather started to solve new, big problems, and had very good ideas also on the origin of genetic code;
- who: believes, but at least proclaims that life on Earth has its origin in bacteria sent by other civilizations by space ships (in which I do not believe);
- who: also has very significant results concerning the functioning of brain and the origin of dreams.


However, in this book I want to oppose the ideas represented by him (and also by others).

„NOT AS AN EXCUSE, only for laying down facts. This book is a polemic essay. A polemic essay against the onesided idea of biology having the genes in the center. I do not deny the existence of genes. They cannot be denied, their existence is a fact, among the most important facts of biology. I cannot deny it also because I would be an apostate if I denied it. More than twenty years ago, I was the first to write about the results of molecular biology in Hungarian, about the structure and synthesis of proteins and nucleic acids. This book appeared also in the edition of Gondolat Publisher under the title: Revolution in the research of life. When I was working on the manuscript, genes were not accepted in Hungary, they passed for „reactionary”, „pseudo-scientific” phenomena. In fact, I was anxious, and not without reason, whether I would not have problems due to the book, as I had to fight with dominating dogmas.

However, the fundaments of these dogmas were already shaky, their walls were in collapse. To the time the book appeared (1966), the walls collapsed. The concept of genes was accepted, the structure of nucleic acids got into school-books, the model of DNA, the famous double helix concept of Watson and Crick became well-known also in our country. Well-known and acknowledged, similarly to the whole of the world. It ran a brilliant course and shines in its full splendour. So much that from its light it is more difficult to percieve the other, not less important mechanisms of living systems. Today it blinds, it became itself a dogma. Fate brought that I have to oppose again a dogma, against the dogma of omnipotent genes.

The book of Francis Crick: „The nature of life” published also by Gondolat provided only a pretext to this. I don’t want to fight against the genes, not even against Crick. I struggle for the other side, for that which is today in shadow. What is this? And why it deserves attention, this is what I want to speak about in this book.”