James Watson, DNA double-helix structure co-discoverer, dies at 97
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James Watson, who discovered the double helix structure of DNA in 1953, died at the age of 97.
Born in Chicago in 1928, Watson made the groundbreaking discovery with British physicist Francis Crick when he was only 24 years old. Watson died in hospice care after a brief illness, The Associated Press reported, his son confirmed Friday.
“As a scientist, his and Francis Crick’s determination of the structure of DNA based on data from Rosalind Franklin, Maurice Wilkins, and their colleagues at King’s College London was a pivotal moment in the life sciences,” Watson’s former research institution, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, said in a statement Friday. he said.
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U.S. biologist James Watson, who shared the Nobel Prize for helping discover the double helix shape of the DNA molecule, poses for a portrait at an exhibition in Berlin on October 11, 2004. (Markus Schreiber/AP Photo)
Watson died on Long Island earlier this week. New York Times reported.
Watson, along with scientists Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, won the 1962 Nobel Prize after discovering the double helix structure of DNA, two intertwined strands that resemble a twisted ladder, the Associated Press reported.
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James Watson, left, and Francis Crick in 1959 (Getty Images)
“Francis Crick and I made the discovery of the century, that was pretty obvious,” Watson once said.
According to The Associated Press, the discovery revealed how genetic information is stored and copied and laid the foundation for modern genetic engineering, disease treatment with genes, and DNA identification techniques.
In the years following the discovery, Watson wrote books, including “The Double Helix” in 1968 and “The Molecular Biology of the Gene” in 1965.
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Vladimir Fortov (R), president of the Russian Academy of Sciences, returns a Nobel Prize medal sold at auction to a Russian businessman to U.S. Nobel laureate and biologist James Watson at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, Russia, June 17, 2015. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)
However, he also faced widespread condemnation for his racist remarks later in life.
“In 2008, his remarks about race and IQ led to the CSHL Board of Trustees removing him from all administrative roles and his appointment as a CSHL Trustee,” Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory wrote. “When he made similar statements in 2020, the board revoked his Emeritus status and cut all ties with him.”
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Crick and Wilkins died in 2004, according to the Associated Press.
