"I think it was this curiosity about the natural world which awoke my early interest in science."

"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 my interests amongst other things into the theatre, art, music, politics and philosophy."

"I have an idealistic view of science as a liberalising and progressive force for humanity."

"I had a great time investigating the pigments of different mutant fruit flies by following experimental protocols published in Scientific American, and I also remember making my own beetle collection when it was still acceptable to make such collections."

"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 justify the effort expanded."

"I decided that the University of Sussex in Brighton was a good place for this work because it had a strong tradition in bacterial molecular genetics and an excellent reputation in biology."

"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."

"A key issue in developmental biology at that time was the problem of how cells underwent differentiation, with most workers concentrating on explanations in terms of changes in enzyme and gene regulation."

"At age 11 in 1960, I moved to an academic state secondary school, Harrow County Grammar School for Boys."