Religion has endured since the dawn of human consciousness precisely because it encompasses so much of being human. No idea has endured so long, gathered up so many disparate needs and wants and feelings, and inspired so many different paths towards understanding it.

Man is a competitive creature, and the seeds of conflict are built deep into our genes. We fought each other on the savannah and only survived against great odds by organising ourselves into groups which would have had a common purpose, giving morale and fortitude.

You can now modify the genes of large animals, and the largest animal we are concerned with is the human.

I don't believe the fertilised egg can be equated with the sort of human life that you and I represent, or our children represent.

People think I appear on television to promote my image. That's not fair. I hate filming. I turned down 'Strictly Come Dancing.' But television is a wonderful opportunity to promote scientific ideas. 'Super Doctors' is a very thoughtful piece.

My father died when I was nine, but I came from a stable family environment, which I think does contribute to being well-behaved.

I think that good parenting should allow children to be children. That naivety and slightly open way of looking at the world is very valuable.