Why do we do basic research? To learn about ourselves.

It's easier to change what you do than people think it is. If you don't change, your field changes around you.

Biology will relate every human gene to the genes of other animals and bacteria, to this great chain of being.

The virtues of science are skepticism and independence of thought.

The interaction of the variation in our genes is what's responsible for lots of our attributes and vigor.

We haven't been able yet to determine in terms of genes what makes a human being a human and not another mammal.

Three billion bases of DNA sequence can be put on a single compact disc and one will be able to pull a CD out of one's pocket and say, 'Here is a human being; it's me!'

The community as a whole doesn't listen patiently to critics who adopt alternative viewpoints. Although the great lesson of history is that knowledge develops through the conflict of viewpoints.

Early on, it's good to develop the ability to write. Learning to write is a useful exercise, even if what you're writing about is not that relevant.

The human's place in the universe will be set in the scheme of evolution, the product of our biological inheritance.

We are embedded in a biological world and related to the organisms around us.

Know yourself fearlessly (even quietly) for all the things you are.

Each and every one of us can make changes in the way we live our lives and become part of the solution [to climate change]

In the Heaven's above, the angels, whispering to one another, can find, among their burning terms of love, none so devotional as that of 'Mother.

Don't look back, over your shoulder! Keep your eye on freedom shore! Because you know the brave man with you, also pays for the wages of war.

I know that [Sunday is the day you spend with your family] is a tradition that I want to keep alive and I also want to share.

I've achieved many of my dreams, and I want to see that some others get a chance to, especially younger Texans.

A sense of continuity with the rest of creation is a form of religious experience essential to sanity.

My favorite food is macaroni and cheese that my grandma makes. My favorite drink has to be Vita Coco coconut water.

When we're falling in love or out of it, that's when we most need a song that says how we feel. Yeah, I write a lot of songs about boys. And I'm very happy to do that.

The sky is my prayer, the birds are my prayer, the wind in the trees is my prayer, for God is all in all.