And of course, identifying all human genes and proteins will have great medical significance.

First of all, many human diseases are influenced by, if not caused by mutations in genes.

The glimpses of human strength and frailty that a physician sees are with me still.

At every stage of my career I have had interesting and cordial colleagues, some of whom are close friends.

So I applied to medical school and received a scholarship at Washington University in St. Louis. Washington University turned out to be a lucky choice. The faculty was scholarly and dedicated and accessible to students.

Small science, which includes most research in the life sciences all over the world, is science directed usually by an individual senior scientist and a small team of junior associates, perhaps three, ten, fifteen, something in that order.

And of course, identifying all human genes and proteins will have great medical significance.