James Watson

My greatest joy has been contributing to human knowledge.

The pursuit of knowledge should be free from political interference.

I have always been a bit of a rebel, which has served me well in science.

We have discovered the secret of life.

Science is not a game of 'who is right' but 'what is right'.

The gene is the unit of heredity.

The biggest mistake I made was not realizing how much I loved science.

Life is a matter of genes.

The double helix is an elegant structure.

Never be afraid to ask a stupid question.

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.

Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.

The human genome project is the most important undertaking in human history.

It's a very exciting time to be a biologist.

The future of medicine lies in understanding our genes.

Rosalind Franklin's data was absolutely critical.

We were young and foolish, but we were also very determined.

The structure of DNA immediately suggested the mechanism of heredity.

Don't be afraid to challenge established dogma.

The beauty of science is its ability to explain the world around us.