Governments and scientists in India need to ensure that politics and religious ideology do not intrude into science. They belong to separate spheres, and if they are not kept separate, it is science in India and the country as a whole that will suffer. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan belongcountryensure share on social
It's not about where you were born or where you come from that makes you a good scientist. What you need are good teachers, co-students, facilities. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan bearfacilitygood Change image and share on social
I had an excellent math and physics teacher in high school named T.C. Patel, and in the university, I had truly dedicated professors in both physics and mathematics who gave me a sound foundation with which to pursue graduate studies. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan dedicateexcellentfoundation share on social
I started working on ribosomes when I was a post doc, in 1978, when it would have been impossible, really, to solve it. But, it was just a fundamental problem in biology. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan biologydocfundamental Change image and share on social
During the decade following the discovery of the double-helical structure of DNA, the problem of translation - namely, how genetic information is used to synthesize proteins - was a central topic in molecular biology. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan biologycentraldecade share on social
It takes a certain amount of courage to tackle very hard problems in science, I now realise. You don't know what the timescale of your work will be: decades or only a few years. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan amountcouragedecade Change image and share on social
I am still the same person doing the same science. Why are people so impressed when some academy in Sweden gives an award? Venkatraman Ramakrishnan academyawardimpress Change image and share on social
It's for scientists to lay out the data and lay out what they think, and then it's for the public to make up its own mind. We don't live in a priesthood where some small group imposes its views on other people - that's not the way that science works, and it's not the way a democratic society should work. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan datumdemocraticgroup share on social
Science is an international enterprise where discoveries in one part of the world are useful in other parts. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan discoveryenterpriseinternational Change image and share on social
I began studying ribosomes as a postdoctoral fellow in Peter Moore's laboratory in 1978. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan beginfellowlaboratory Change image and share on social