"Donax clams live in the intertidal zone on wave-swept beaches, where the sand is constantly kept wet.  They lie buried just an inch or so from the surface, with the ends of their two siphons extending slightly above the surface.  Waves flush them out of the sand; then they move either up or down with the wash and quickly bury themselves again with their powerful foot."—from Harald A. Rehder in The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Seashells, Alfred A. Knopt, 1981, p.779

"The most common method of closing wounds is by sutures. There are two basic types of suture materials; absorbable ones such as catgut (which comes from sheep intestine) or synthetic substitutes; and nonabsorbable materials, such as nylon sutures, steel staples, or adhesive tissue tape. Catgut is still used extensively to tie off small blood vessels that are bleeding, and since the body absorbs it over time, no foreign materials are left in the wound to become a focus for disease organisms. Nylon stitches and steel staples are removed when sufficient healing has taken place."—from "surgery," Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online, Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013, web, 28 March, 2013

"The skeleton is the internal framework of the body and is made up of bones and cartilage.  [...]  Bones provide support (when they are locked in position by the muscles and ligaments) and protection (the skull, rib cage and pelvis protect their contents).  They produce motion, acting as levers when pulled by the muscles."—from Eliot Goldfinger in Human Anatomy for Artists: The Elements of Form, Oxford University Press, 1991, p.3

"Statics deals with the equilibrium of bodies, that is, those that are either at rest or move with a constant velocity; whereas dynamics is concerned with the accelerated motion of bodies."—from R.C. Hibbeler in Engineering Mechanics: Statics and Dynamics, 9th Ed., Prentice Hall, 2000, p.3

"Homeostasis [is] the ability or tendency of an organism or cell to maintain internal equilibrium by adjusting its physiological processes." —from The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Ed., 2000

"Some of the most agreeable proportions [to humans] have an identifiable mathematical basis and are frequently found in natural forms.  [...]  If a group of people are asked individually to put a mark on a line that produces a pleasing division, the majority will intuitively select a point that roughly produces [what has come to be called] a Golden Section, [... a ratio of] approximately 8 to 5."—from Keith Micklewright in Drawing: Mastering the Language of Visual Expression, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 2005, p.58

"[...] the rate at which kaons turn into antikaons does not precisely balance the reverse process, antikaons into kaons.  If such an asymmetry exists between matter and antimatter, even at the minuscule level observed, it could offer a natural explanation of why the universe is predominantly made of matter."—from Paul Davies in About Time: Einstein's Unfinished Revolution, Simon & Schuster, 1995, p.213

"For about the first microsecond [after the big bang], both protons and antiprotons existed in abundance, because the thermal-energy density was greater than that needed to create such a pair.  After the first microsecond, nearly all of the proton-antiproton pairs annihilated each other, leaving a very small surplus of protons and neutrons, flooded by electrons and positrons."—from William W. Porterfield in Inorganic Chemistry: A Unified Approach, Academic Press,1993, p.3

"Ions are electrically charged particles. [...] Opposite charges attract and like charges repel. [...] Electrical potential, also called voltage, is the force exerted on a charged particle, and it reflects the difference in charge between [either side of a membrane or barrier]. [...] The resting potential of a typical neuron is about -65 millivolts [...], and is an absolute requirement for a functioning nervous system."—from Mark F. Bear, Barry W. Connors, & Michael A. Paradiso in Neuroscience:  Exploring the Brain, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins,2001, pp. 60-62

"Learning and memory can occur at synapses.  Regardless of the species, brain location and memory type, many of the underlying mechanisms appear to be universal.  Events are represented first as changes in the electrical activity of the brain, then as second messenger molecules, and next as modifications of existing synaptic proteins.  These temporary changes are converted to permanent ones—long-term memory—by altering the structure of the synapse."—from Mark F. Bear, Barry W. Connors, & Michael A. Paradiso in Neuroscience:  Exploring the Brain, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins,2001, p.792

"[Another] common [way] to generate current [is] chemically, involving electrochemical generation of electrons by reactions between chemicals and electrodes (as in batteries)."—from Harry Kybett & Earl Boynson in All New Electronics Self-Teaching Guide, Wiley Publishing, Inc.,2008, p.2

"Recent estimates put the total number of insect species known to science between 1 million and 2 million.  Whatever number we pick, we must remember that it is an estimate of the total number of names, not species.  Some species may have been described more than once; others may encompass several species that await formal description.."—from Arthur V. Evans and Charles L. Bellamy in An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles, Henry Holt and Company, Inc.,1996, p.20

"With all its eyes the creature
sees the open.  Our eyes alone are
as if turned back, and placed all around,
like traps, encircling its free escape.
What is outside we know only
from the face of the animal; and we even turn
the young child around and force it to look
back at created things, not at that openness
dwelling in the creature's face."
—from Rainer Maria Rilke in The Essential Rilke, (Trans., Galway Kinnell & Hannah Liebmann), The Ecco Press, 1999, p.125

"For Descartes the results of all previous speculation had to be set aside or suspended, until clear and indubitable principles could be established against which to measure them.  Without the aid of such principles, no system, scientific or metaphysical, could warrant assent."—from the Anna and Chris Celenza Library, Baltimore, Maryland:  from Roger Scruton in A Short History of Modern Philosophy, Routledge,1995, p.27

"Draw the verbs of the figure.  This is where we want to direct our concentration.  Draw what the body is doing, not just the body.  [...]  Here is our [...] line with force and direction.  The one line addresses one idea.  The line starts somewhere, does something, and goes somewhere."—from Michael D. Mattesi in Force:  Dynamic Life Drawing for Animators, Focal Press,2006, p.1-2

"[One of] the most common ways to generate current [is through the] photovoltaic generation of electrons; [...i.e.,] when light strikes semiconductor crystals, as in solar cells."—from Harry Kybett & Earl Boynson in All New Electronics Self-Teaching Guide, Wiley Publishing, Inc.,2008, p.2

"I was preoccupied with picturing his life; I had embarked on the task of imagining him, and the effort had brought out a sweat on me.  For I had to make him up as you would make up a dead man for whom no evidence and no remains exist, one who has to be constituted entirely within yourself."—from Rainer Maria Rilke (Michael Hulse, Trans.) in The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge, Penguin Books, 1910, 2009, p.134

"Stilt roots are common in rain-forest trees in families other than the Palmae and Pandanaceae, although those families most commonly display them.  This palm from Amazonas has an abundance of hiding places for small animals among its stilt roots."—from Michael Emsley in Rain Forests and Cloud Forests, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1979, p.74

"Projection:  [...] 7. The spreading out of the sensory fibers through the cerebral cortex after emerging from the spinal cord."—from Arthur S. Reber in The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology, Penguin Books, 1985, 1995, p.604

"Go to the underworld.
Enter the door like flies.
Ereshkigal, the Queen of the Underworld, is moaning
With the cries of a woman about to give birth.
No linen is spread over her body.
Her breasts are uncovered.
Her hair swirls about her head like leeks.

When she cries, 'Oh! Oh! My inside!'
Cry also, 'Oh! Oh! Your Inside!'
When she cries, 'Oh! Oh! My outside!'
Cry also, 'Oh! Oh! Your outside!'
The queen will be pleased.
She will offer you a gift.
Ask her only for the corpse that hangs from the hook on the wall.
One of you will sprinkle the food of life on it.
The other will sprinkle the water of life.
Inanna will arise.'"
—from Robert Wenke & Deborah Olszewski in Patterns in Prehistory:  Humankind's First Three Million Years, Oxford University Press, 2007, p.352, from Wolkstein and Kramer in Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth (full reference to come)