Francis Crick

“What is found in biology is mechanisms, mechanisms built up, bit by bit, over billions of years.”

“The ultimate aim of the modern movement in biology is in fact to explain all biology in terms of physics and chemistry.”

“A man who is right every time is not likely to do very much.”

“If you want to understand function, study structure.”

“Trying to determine the structure of a protein by UV spectroscopy was like trying to determine the structure of a piano by listening to the sound it made while being dropped down a flight of stairs.”

“Almost all aspects of life are engineered at the molecular level, and without understanding molecules we can only have a very sketchy understanding of life itself.”

“While Occam's razor is a useful tool in the physical sciences, it can be a very dangerous implement in biology. It is thus very rash to use simplicity and elegance as a guide in biological research.”

“There is no scientific study more vital to man than the study of his own brain. Our entire view of the universe depends on it.”

“It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material.”

“Christianity may be OK between consenting adults in private but should not be taught to young children.”

“We've discovered the secret of life.”

“The gossip of the laboratory is the truth of tomorrow.”

“A good scientist values criticism almost higher than friendship: no, in science criticism is the height and measure of friendship.”

“The major credit I think Jim and I deserve... is for persistence.”

“A knowledge of the true age of the Earth and of the fossil record makes it impossible for any balanced intellect to believe in the literal truth of every part of the Bible in the way that fundamentalists do.”