Paul Nurse Quotes

United Kingdom, Scientist
January 25, 1949

Sir Paul Maxime Nurse FRS FMedSci HonFREng HonFBA MAE, is an English geneticist, former President of the Royal Society and Chief Executive and Director of the Francis Crick Institute. He was awarded the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with Leland Hartwell and Tim Hunt for their discoveries of protein molecules that control the division of cells in the cell cycle.

Also known as Geneticist

Scientific understanding is often beautiful, a profoundly aesthetic experience which gives pleasure not unlike the reading of a great poem.

Paul Nurse
Therefore, I reasoned that study of the cell cycle responsible for the reproduction of cells was important and might even be illuminating about the nature of life.

Paul Nurse

Better understanding of the natural world not only enhances all of us as human beings, but can also be harnessed for the better good, leading to improved health and quality of life.

Paul Nurse
My main efforts focussed on trying to identify the rate controlling steps during the cell cycle. Crucial for this analysis were wee mutants that were advanced prematurely through the cell cycle and so divided at a reduced cell size.

Paul Nurse
- Efforts
- Cycle
- Cell
I had a great time investigating the pigments of different mutant fruit flies by following experimental protocols published in Scientific American, and I also remember making my own beetle collection when it was still acceptable to make such collections.

Paul Nurse
A key issue in developmental biology at that time was the problem of how cells underwent differentiation, with most workers concentrating on explanations in terms of changes in enzyme and gene regulation.

Paul Nurse
- Problem
- Biology
- Cells
I have an idealistic view of science as a liberalising and progressive force for humanity.

Paul Nurse
- Science
- Humanity
- View
It was during my time at secondary school that I abandoned religion.

Paul Nurse

I think it was this curiosity about the natural world which awoke my early interest in science.

Paul Nurse
I felt strongly that since the pursuit of good science was so difficult it was essential that the problem being studied was an important one to justify the effort expanded.

Paul Nurse
- Science
- Effort
- Pursuit