James Watson | file photo

 

James Watson, a prominent American scientist and Nobel Prize winner, has died at the age of 97. Watson, alongside Francis Crick, famously identified the structure of DNA in 1953, a groundbreaking discovery that fundamentally transformed the field of molecular biology. His death was confirmed by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where Watson spent much of his career.

 

In the 1962 Nobel Prize ceremony, Watson was celebrated alongside Maurice Wilkins and Crick for revealing DNA's double-helix structure. The trio famously announced, "We have discovered the secret of life." However, Watson's later years were marked by controversies following his remarks on race and intelligence, leading to significant backlash within the scientific community. His comments, first made in 2007, suggested racial differences in intelligence, and further remarks in 2019 saw him stripped of honorary titles by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

 

Despite his controversial statements, Watson's scientific contributions are undeniable. Watson and Crick constructed a physical model of DNA using images produced by Rosalind Franklin at King's College. Maurice Wilkins, a colleague of Franklin's, also played a crucial role in this discovery, leading to the shared Nobel triumph. Later, feeling ostracised, Watson auctioned his Nobel medal, which a Russian buyer later returned.

 

Born in Chicago in 1928, Watson was a prodigious talent, earning a scholarship to the University of Chicago at just 15. It was there he developed a passion for using X-ray diffraction to study atomic structures. His journey in research took him to Cambridge, where his partnership with Crick flourished, culminating in their historic DNA model. Watson later settled at Harvard University as a professor before transforming Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory into a leading research institute, reported the BBC.

 

While Watson’s legacy in science remains, his remarks on race overshadow his contributions, prompting deep reflections on the intersection of science and ethics. His life's work continues to inspire and challenge the scientific community as it progresses into new frontiers of genetic research.

 

Key Takeaways

 

• James Watson, DNA pioneer, dies at 97; known for double-helix model.
• Controversial remarks led to his isolation from scientific circles.
• His legacy underscores essential scientific and ethical discussions.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from BBC 2025-11-08

 

 

What a brilliant man we all lost with his passing sad 😞 

You have to ask if the discovery of DNA is really a positive thing.

RIP James Watson 🙏

 

Despite some of his 'tasty' views, he has made one of the greatest contributions to science in the discovery of the DNA double-helix 🙂

 

 

 

And Rosalind Franklin?.....the impression given is she did no more than take a photograph.......sad.

5 hours ago, Will B Good said:

 

 

 

And Rosalind Franklin?.....the impression given is she did no more than take a photograph.......sad.

 

Actually, Watson himself was of the opinion that Franklin should have shared the Nobel Prize. Unfortunately, she died a few years before the nominations and according to the (then) rules, awards were not given posthumously.

 

BTW she didn't actually take the 'photograph'. If you're referring to Photo 51, it was taken by her PhD student Raymond Gosling so he lost out as well.

 

Credit to her for her work on the structure of RNA and viruses. Maybe she should have had a Nobel Prize for that but that is another story 🙂

5 hours ago, Will B Good said:

 

 

 

And Rosalind Franklin?.....the impression given is she did no more than take a photograph.......sad.

Which is one of the criticism of Watson. He overstated his own role.

7 hours ago, FlorC said:

You have to ask if the discovery of DNA is really a positive thing.

Only you would state that.............

17 hours ago, FlorC said:

You have to ask if the discovery of DNA is really a positive thing.

 

It was.

 

You have to ask, it was a terrible  that Newton discovered gravity. Imagine the world being a better place if Edison had been smothered at birth. All the terrible things that resulted as a while. An imbecile might ask that though.

6 hours ago, Roadsternut said:

 

It was.

 

You have to ask, it was a terrible  that Newton discovered gravity. Imagine the world being a better place if Edison had been smothered at birth. All the terrible things that resulted as a while. An imbecile might ask that though.

Big difference between Newton naming gravity and the discovery of DNA.

16 minutes ago, FlorC said:

Big difference between Newton naming gravity and the discovery of DNA.

How weird..........🙃

9 hours ago, FlorC said:

Big difference between Newton naming gravity and the discovery of DNA.

 

Duh, but explain why you think science is a terrible thing. Instead of discovering DNA, would you rather go back to pounding the bible/koran/torah/whatever takes your fancy. You comment was bizarre and anti-prgress., like you'd rather we live in caves. Discovery of DNA has been of indisputable benefit the humankind/mankind, except to people who feel threatened by the idea of progress.

 

Religious freaks in the 21st century make me sick.

9 hours ago, transam said:

How weird..........🙃

 

Well technically he was correct (Newton formulated Universal Gravitation), but also a wierdo, or more likely a contrarian, because he was bored. He googled to put together a clever clogs answer, because I suspect he is highly uneducated.

4 minutes ago, Roadsternut said:

 

Duh, but explain why you think science is a terrible thing. Instead of discovering DNA, would you rather go back to pounding the bible/koran/torah/whatever takes your fancy. You comment was bizarre and anti-prgress., like you'd rather we live in caves. Discovery of DNA has been of indisputable benefit the humankind/mankind, except to people who feel threatened by the idea of progress.

 

Religious freaks in the 21st century make me sick.

 

 

Religious freaks in the 21st century make me sick.

1 hour ago, Will B Good said:

 

 

Religious freaks in the 21st century make me sick.

I agree.

I am completely against religions.

Almost did 5 years because of this guy and my digger wasn’t even working that month but my cousin fessed up you gotta be careful when it’s relatives dna especially when you got previous but rip anyway 

1953. Wow. After that, "the de-coding" of life. We still don't know how "life" began after all these years of research.

 

Albert Einsteins "space time". The attempt to explain "gravity". Science is starting to realise that the concept of "gravity" as we understand it, is flawed.

To say: As far as "how did life begin" and "what is gravity really", we have made no progress over the last decades.

 

So it wasn't elementary my dear Watson.....