I do what I feel impelled to do, as an artist would. Scientists function in the same way. I see all these as creative activities, as all part of the process of discovery. Perhaps that's one of the characteristics of what I call the evolvers, any subset of the population who keep things moving in a positive, creative, constructive way, revealing the truth and beauty that exists in life and in nature.

Now, some people might look at something and let it go by, because they don't recognize the pattern and the significance. It's the sensitivity to pattern recognition that seems to me to be of great importance. It's a matter of being able to find meaning, whether it's positive or negative, in whatever you encounter. It's like a journey. It's like finding the paths that will allow you to go forward, or that path that has a block that tells you to start over again or do something else.

The art of science is as important as so-called technical science. You need both. It's this combination that must be recognized and acknowledged and valued.

What people think of as the moment of discovery is really the discovery of the question.

[Who owns the patent on this vaccine?] Well, the people, I would say. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?

I have come to recognize evolution not only as an active process that I am experiencing at the time, but as something I can guide by the choices I make.

There is hope in dreams, imagination, and in the courage of those who wish to make those dreams a reality.