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There is no greater impediment to progress in the sciences than the desire to see it take place too quickly.

As you know, in most areas of science, there are long periods of beginning before we really make progress.

Although scientists can often be as resistant to new ideas as anyone, the process of science ensures that, over time, good ideas and theories prevail.

I think the reason people are dealing with science less well now than 50 years ago is that it has become so complicated.

It takes years to realize the multiple benefits of science; without adequate, sustained funding for research, the careers of many bright, young scientists may come to a screeching halt.

It takes a certain amount of courage to tackle very hard problems in science, I now realise. You don't know what the timescale of your work will be: decades or only a few years.

At some point, the time will have passed when individuals are capable of major discoveries.

In the last fifty years science has advanced more than in the 2,000 previous years and given mankind greater powers over the forces of nature than the ancients ascribed to their gods.

One may say that in a state of science where fundamental concepts have to be changed, tradition is both the condition for progress and a hindrance. Hence, it usually takes a long time before the new concepts are generally accepted.

Biology has at least 50 more interesting years.