I decided that the University of Sussex in Brighton was a good place for this work because it had a strong tradition in bacterial molecular genetics and an excellent reputation in biology.

My 6 years with Murdoch were pivotal for my entire research career.

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.

This progress in the molecular analysis of the cell cycle led to more interest being taken in my work and as a consequence to greater competition.

My life-long interest in astronomy started then and I still regularly use a telescope for astronomical observations, although very much as an amateur.

I enjoyed my time at primary school because my teachers made the world seem such an interesting place and encouraged my innate curiosity.

My time as an undergraduate at Birmingham was extremely stimulating both as a biologist and also for my more general intellectual development.

At the end of the 1980s as a complete surprise my old Edinburgh friend, Ed Southern offered me the Chair of Microbiology at the University of Oxford.

This meant that when I left school I had to work as a technician in a microbiological laboratory associated with the local Guinness brewery.