Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

Everyone thinks I must have been an ace in school. But I didn't work hard, I was lazy. I liked to be…

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

I was always trying to look modest and natural. I don't like women who come into the lab and you see immediately…

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

I remember that already as a child I was often intensely interested in things, obsessed by ideas and projects in many areas,…

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

At the time I finished high school, I was determined to study biology, deeply convinced to eventually be a researcher.

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

I think there is too much attention on mentoring. If people want to be scientists, they will figure out how to do…

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

I think women are just as gifted when it comes to science as men are. But I think their wishes and desires…

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

The drive to want to know is innate in people. You cannot influence this. I think in contrast it is harmful if…

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

I immediately loved working with flies. They fascinated me, and followed me around in my dreams.

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

In mathematics and science, there is no difference in the intelligence of men and women. The difference in genes between men and…

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

I had a happy childhood, with many stimulations and support from my parents who, in postwar times, when it was difficult to…

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

I think there are profound differences between women and men. In intelligence and creativity, there is no difference, but in what one…

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

I think women who are pretty certainly have an advantage in any field, in any profession. When a girl is born people…

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

People think if you have deciphered the genome of humans that you can change everything. But you cannot change everything, because you…

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

I know labs where women refuse to make a coffee for others because they don't want to be seen doing seemingly female…

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

In German science, we have a special problem. We lose talented women at the time they get pregnant. Some of it occurs…

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

I am often asked why there is discrimination against women in science. And I have given it some thought. With prejudicial attitudes,…

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

In systemic searches for embryonic lethal mutants of Drosophila melanogaster we have identified 15 loci which when mutated alter the segmental patterns…

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

The three of us have worked on the development of the small and totally harmless fruit fly, Drosophila. This animal has been…

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

I was born during the war, on October 20, 1942, as the second of five children. My father, Rolf Volhard, was an architect.

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

If woman wants to have kids and work a little less she has a big disadvantage compared to a male colleague who…

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

Humans are something very different from animals, and the numbers required to get cloning to work in animals are completely prohibitory with…

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

Successful women are not liked. I think the biggest danger for women in science is colleagues who are not as good as…

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

It is very important for me to be taken seriously for my science and not for my looks or other personal accomplishments.

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

I was raised with this idea of hard work and keeping doors open. To be able to choose what you want to…

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

In my age group I don't know a single woman who is as successful as I am. I am the total exception.…

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

The pressure on kids is high to get good grades. In my time, no one cared about it. My father looked at…

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

Not everybody is talented for doing research. I think many women prefer to look for an easier job after their dissertations because…

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard

I had a very intense relationship with my father, who was always extremely interested in what we kids were doing. I actually…

— Christiane Nusslein-Volhard