'Wasting Away Again With All This DNA'

As his retirement draws near, NPR spoke with Francis Collins about all the different aspects of his career, though his future path is still undecided. As a physician, Collins says that he is motivated by the suffering he has seen and could not relieve because of a lack of knowledge. That knowledge can be best found nowadays through teamwork and "blurry" disciplinary boundaries, Collins adds. Ari Shapiro, the NPR journalist, says one of the reasons that Collins has been so popular is that he has the ability to speak with both the smartest scientists and with laymen, particularly Congress. GTO suspects it also has something to do with his motorcycle and songwriting ability. (Listen all the way to the end to hear a DNA-themed version of a Jimmy Buffet song.)