I don’t want a few extra weeks of life at enormous cost, for example, when it comes to the end. – John Sulston
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. – John Sulston
The only thing I have retained from my upbringing – I did not retain the religious element – is the idea that you do not do things for money. – John Sulston
Biomedical research is only as good as its delivery. Distribution of medicines by charities is no more than a stopgap. – John Sulston
Science and the many benefits that science has produced have played a crucial part in our history and produced vast improvements to human welfare. – John Sulston
The Wellcome Trust is a hugely important organisation, and it is vital that its fundraising continues unabated. – John Sulston
The myth is that IP rights are as important as our rights in castles, cars, and corn oil. IP is supposedly intended to encourage inventors and the investment needed to bring their products to the clinic and marketplace. – John Sulston
I would say if we can select children who are not going to be severely disadvantaged, then we should do so, but I think it has to be done by voluntary choice. – John Sulston
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. – John Sulston
It is very clear that the present system of innovation for medicines is very inefficient and really somewhat corrupt. It benefits shareholders over patients; it produces for the rich markets and not for the poor and does not produce for minority diseases. – John Sulston
The fruits of science and innovation have nourished our society and economy for years, but nations unable to navigate our regulatory system are often excluded, as are vulnerable individuals. – John Sulston
The strong evidence is that we’re running out of space. We’re collectively affecting the world’s climate. This is due to the still-growing human population and our increase in consumption. – John Sulston
We can choose to address the twin issues of population and consumption to rebalance the use of resources to a more egalitarian pattern of consumption. – John Sulston
The human world lives in a framework called global economics. We live in a system based on GDP, which drives consumption. it causes people to compete with each other through trade in a way that they all grow. – John Sulston
On my mother’s side, I come from Midlands engineers and, on my father’s, from tenant farmers near Oxford. – John Sulston
Whilst worthy in themselves, applications shouldn’t be the only way to drive basic research. – John Sulston
Title deeds establish and protect ownership of our houses, while security of property is as important to the proprietors of Tesco and Sainsbury’s as it is to their customers. – John Sulston
I wandered along to the chemistry labs, more or less on the rebound, and asked about becoming a research student. It was the ’60s, a time of university expansion: the doors were open, and a 2:1 was good enough to get me in. – John Sulston
As far back as I remember, and earlier, I was an artisan, a maker and doer. Mechanically minded, my parents said. – John Sulston
Many people thought that, given my knowledge of the egg, I should analyse embryonic mutants. – 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. – John Sulston
It was a matter of not living lavishly but enjoying what you had, growing things with your hands, working hard, but not being tied to a nine-to-five job, and generally feeling that there’s more to life than money. – John Sulston
The fact is that proprietary databases don’t work for such basic and broadly needed information as the sequence of the human genome. – John Sulston
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. – John Sulston
