An interview with Sydney Brenner

AUDIO of the full interview. You will need the free RealPlayer browser plug-in to hear the audio.

Part 1: Early Education

Growing up in the "relative isolation" of South Africa, Dr. Brenner says he became a self-taught chemist until going on to university there and later to Oxford.

Read HTML transcript

Hear the RealPlayer audio of this portion of the interview

Part 2: Encounter with Francis Crick

When Brenner met Jim Watson and Crick at Cambridge, he says he realized what his life's work would be. Brenner and Crick shared an office for some 20-odd years.

Read HTML transcript

Hear the RealPlayer audio of this portion of the interview

Part 3: Most Rewarding Scientific Contribution

At Cambridge, Brenner cites the experiments leading to analyzing the triplet code most intellectually gratifying.

Read HTML transcript

Hear the RealPlayer audio of this portion of the interview

Part 4: Transition from Prockaryotes to Higher Organisms

After the DNA structure was accepted, a period some scientists describe as an experience of anticlimax, was exciting for Brenner as he turned to the study of "real living organisms."

Read HTML transcript

Hear the RealPlayer audio of this portion of the interview

Part 5: The Politics of Genetic Engineering

Brenner writes a paper for the Ashby Commission to dissuade legislation that he felt could inhibit scientific investigation.

Read HTML transcript

Hear the RealPlayer audio of this portion of the interview

Part 6: The Politics of Genetic Engineering Continues

Brenner works in Britain to prevent moratorium legislation based on "fallacious biological theories."

Read HTML transcript

Hear the RealPlayer audio of this portion of the interview

Complete transcript

You may also download the full transcript of all four parts of the interview as a single HTML file to print or download (42 KB), or or e-mail a plain text version of the file.

Begin reading this interview