As far back as I remember, and earlier, I was an artisan, a maker and doer. Mechanically minded, my parents said.
From John Sulston
If you patent a discovery which is unique, say a human gene or even just one particular function of a human gene, then you are actually creating a monopoly, and that's not the purpose of the world of patents.
Biomedical research is only as good as its delivery. Distribution of medicines by charities is no more than a stopgap.
On my mother's side, I come from Midlands engineers and, on my father's, from tenant farmers near Oxford.
Muriel, my mother, was my main confidant. She was a teacher of English at Watford grammar school but took a break while my sister Madeleine and I were children. She held court in the kitchen, and we talked about everything.
When it came to choice of subjects, science was obvious - since I was uninterested in anything else - but a decision that caused consternation in some eyes was my demand to take biology for A-level.
Many people thought that, given my knowledge of the egg, I should analyse embryonic mutants.
The fact is that proprietary databases don't work for such basic and broadly needed information as the sequence of the human genome.
In order to protect the market value of a proprietary database, the owner must prohibit redistribution of the contents - otherwise, the information would quickly leak out and be widely known.
Whilst worthy in themselves, applications shouldn't be the only way to drive basic research.
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