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I don't much like being a public figure, because so often how people appear is not how they really are, and I think one of the issues about our society is that we make judgments about people on the basis of very flimsy evidence.

Robert Winston

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Robert Winston
Age: 84
Born: 1940
Born: July 15
Academic
Physician
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Scientist
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Television Presenter
Inner and Outer London
Robert Maurice Lipson Winston
The Lord Winston
Lord Winston
Baron Winston
Professor Robert Maurice Lipson Winston
Baron Winston
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More quotes by Robert Winston

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I'm a traditional Jew with an orthodox background, and it informs much of my approach to science. Of course I think it's very important that if you have those sorts of backgrounds you don't impose them on other people as a clinician, of course.
Robert Winston
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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.
Robert Winston
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My first vote was for a communist in east London when I was a medical student. But I've voted Tory, Labour and Lib Dem in my time.
Robert Winston
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My own field, the prevention of genetic disorders in babies, has been possible only because of humane work on animals.
Robert Winston
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I remember eating in school in the years after the Second World War. Most of my friends had miserable portions of Spam with an inedible, glutinous pudding served in containers we called 'coffins.' As a vegetarian, I had a lump of loathsome cheese and some bread.
Robert Winston
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I've been all over the world on my own because, as a scientist, you travel a great deal if your work is reasonably successful or published. I get invitations to go to all sorts of strange countries where I would mostly be by myself and just meet other people there, instead of having travelling companions.
Robert Winston
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We are more dependent on science and engineering than at any other time in history. However, there is plenty of evidence that far too many people are scientifically illiterate, often having been put off science at school.
Robert Winston
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Scientists need to be prepared to engage, and the best people to engage with are students, ideally from primary school because there's no question that their capacity to work out complex things is extremely good.
Robert Winston
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I love the French detective series 'Spiral.' It's quite brutal to watch, but I'm already hooked.
Robert Winston
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Ethics is not routinely taught to science students except in medicine, and I think it should be.
Robert Winston
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Both in Britain and America, huge publicity has been given to stem cells, particularly embryonic stem cells, and the potential they offer. Of course, the study of stem cells is one of the most exciting areas in biology, but I think it is unlikely that embryonic stem cells are likely to be useful in healthcare for a long time.
Robert Winston
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Animal rights activists talk about cruelty and torture, some backing their assertions by publishing out-of-date photographs of experiments banned long ago. This is a misrepresentation. The work we do is performed with compassion, care, humanity and humility. I have never seen an animal suffer pain.
Robert Winston
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You can't be judgmental about babies. They are all have different needs. I was left with an enduring hatred of cheese because it was forced down me when I was young.
Robert Winston
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It is important that legislation keeps pace with scientific progress.
Robert Winston
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Medicine, which I wouldn't be without, has also been a force for... less good. For example, if you look at our mishandling of the immune system, using antibiotics in children and avoiding infection, we've certainly increased the risk of asthma.
Robert Winston
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I don't know whether it is important to study science at a young age, though current thinking emphasises the need.
Robert Winston
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Robots may cut down on infection and mean a consultant can see more patients, but wouldn't you rather meet the doctor than a machine?
Robert Winston
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I think it's important for scientists to be a bit less arrogant, a bit more humble, recognising we are capable of making mistakes and being fallacious - which is increasingly serious in a society where our work may have unpredictable consequences.
Robert Winston
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You can now modify the genes of large animals, and the largest animal we are concerned with is the human.
Robert Winston
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There were never any doctors in my family. But my grandparents and my mother had a strong social conscience that was formative.
Robert Winston