Therefore, I reasoned that study of the cell cycle responsible for the reproduction of cells was important and might even be illuminating about the nature of life.

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.

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.

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.

Act with purpose, courage, confidence, competence and intelligence until these qualities 'lock in' to your subconscious mind.

One step is better than no steps.

If you see someone in trouble, you should help them. Experiment or not.

If it works, it's out of date.

What's crucial about being an executive producer is that you stay in the loop, information-wise. They have to share all their major decisions with you.

He who can destroy a thing, can control a thing.

The generation of women who came before us did much of our shouting. They laid the groundwork and now we can be calm and constant and steady.

Upgrade your user, not your product. Value is less about the stuff and more about the stuff the stuff enables. Don't build better cameras - build better photographers.

There is no reality on this earth except religion and the power of love; all the rest is even more fugitive than life itself.

Until our mission becomes our obsession, we'll be chained to the realm of average.