Frederick Sanger

I retired because I felt I'd done enough. And I wanted to do some gardening.

My greatest contribution was probably realizing that proteins weren't just random blobs.

I never set out to win a Nobel Prize. I just wanted to understand how things worked.

The secret to success in science is to choose a problem that's solvable.

I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time, with the right chemicals.

People often ask me what I'm working on now. I tell them, 'My garden.'

It's a good thing I didn't become a doctor. I'm not very good with blood.

I always preferred the lab to the lecture hall.

The most exciting moment is when you realize you've found something new.

I never liked being called a 'father of molecular biology.' I just did my job.

If you want to understand something, try to take it apart.

I think I was just lucky enough to be born with a certain aptitude for fiddling about with things.

The beauty of science is that it's always moving forward.

I never worried much about the big picture. I just focused on the next step.

It's a lot easier to sequence DNA now than it was in my day. You just press a button.

I always found the practical side of chemistry more appealing than the theoretical.

My wife always said I was more interested in my experiments than in her cooking. She was probably right.

You don't need to be a genius to do good science, just patient and observant.

I never really understood all the fuss about my work. It just seemed like the logical thing to do.

The best experiments are often the simplest ones.