Birth: January 25, 1949
How scientists go about their job: and it's a process, it's a question of asking questions, respecting observation, respecting experiment, having ten….
My parents were neither wealthy nor academic, but we lived comfortably and they were always extremely supportive of my academic efforts and aspiratio….
I had a great time investigating the pigments of different mutant fruit flies by following experimental protocols published in Scientific American, a….
I felt strongly that since the pursuit of good science was so difficult it was essential that the problem being studied was an important one to justi….
My parents were born in Norfolk and spent their early years working in the big houses of that rural English county, my mother as a cook and my father….
It was during my time at secondary school that I abandoned religion..
Like many students, I found the drudgery of real experiments and the slowness of progress a complete shock, and at my low points I contemplated other….
I think it was this curiosity about the natural world which awoke my early interest in science..
At age 11 in 1960, I moved to an academic state secondary school, Harrow County Grammar School for Boys..
I met my wife Anne who was a sociology student, and her influence together with activities associated with the student movement of the time opened up….
I am still a keen mountain walker and an enthusiastic glider pilot..
I have an idealistic view of science as a liberalising and progressive force for humanity..
Better understanding of the natural world not only enhances all of us as human beings, but can also be harnessed for the better good, leading to impr….
Therefore, I reasoned that study of the cell cycle responsible for the reproduction of cells was important and might even be illuminating about the n….
I was never very good at exams, having a poor memory and finding the examination process rather artificial, and there never seemed to be enough time ….
Scientific understanding is often beautiful, a profoundly aesthetic experience which gives pleasure not unlike the reading of a great poem..
Ever since Sir Isaac Newton's times, scientists have worked in the same sort of way: They show a great respect for experiment and observation, They d….
My main efforts focussed on trying to identify the rate controlling steps during the cell cycle. Crucial for this analysis were wee mutants that were….
It has been a privilege to pursue knowledge for its own sake and to see how it might help mankind in more practical ways..
During the winter my attention was attracted to the changes in the stars and planets in the sky..
This possibility bothered me as I thought it was not advisable to remain in one academic environment, and the long dark winters in Edinburgh could be….