My parents were neither wealthy nor academic, but we lived comfortably and they were always extremely supportive of my academic efforts and aspirations, both at school and university.

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 to follow up things that really interested me.

I was by far the youngest of the family, and at times it was like being an only child.

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.

Scientific understanding is often beautiful, a profoundly aesthetic experience which gives pleasure not unlike the reading of a great poem.

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 rather dismal.

I am still a keen mountain walker and an enthusiastic glider pilot.

During the winter my attention was attracted to the changes in the stars and planets in the sky.

After an extensive interview he arranged for my weaknesses in foreign languages to be over-looked and so I started a Biology degree at Birmingham in 1967.

It has been a privilege to pursue knowledge for its own sake and to see how it might help mankind in more practical ways.

It always matters who the storyteller is. It’s a lens.

I am confident that the next century will be better than this one.

Sign outside a country shop: We buy junk and sell antiques.

You can't eat fish. It's 6,000 parts DDT per million all over the world, not counting radiation.

A genius is always on duty; even his dreams are tax deductible.

Is my ability what it was at, say, 25 or 30 years old? Probably not, but I like to compete. I like to go out and play the game hard.

Nature has lent us life at interest, like money, and has fixed no day for its payment.

I mean the reason the sit-down strikes struck such fear in the hearts of management was that they knew that a sit-down strike was just one step short of taking over the factory.

Therefore today we have an absolutely sufficient level of gold and foreign currency reserves in order to ensure economic stability and sustainable foreign trade turnover.

He accepted what each moment brough him, and never troubled himself with matters that were outside his control.