James Watson, one of three scientists credited with discovering DNA’s double-helix structure, has died at the age of 97.
He died in hospice care on Long Island in New York.
The Chicago-born researcher received the 1962 Nobel Prize alongside Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins.
They are credited with discovering that DNA, which stands for deoxyribonucleic acid, consists of two strands that coil around each other.
Cells duplicate their DNA when they divide in a process where the two strands of the double helix pull apart from each other.
Following the famous discovery, the double helix became a recognizable symbol of science in general.
Watson’s work in Cambridge with Crick
Watson arrived at Britain’s Cambridge University in 1951, where he later began working with Crick.
The pair worked on analyzing the structure of DNA, in part leaning on X-ray research by Rosalind Franklin and her graduate student Raymond Grosling, as well as by Maurice Wilkins.
Franklin is today considered to be a prominent example of a female scientist whose work was overlooked. Watson has also been criticized for his negative portrayal of Franklin in an autobiographical account on the discovery of the double helix published in 1968.
Outcry over racist comments
Later in his life, Watson faced condemnation for racist remarks.
In 2007, he said that he was pessimistic about development in Africa and claimed that Black people are less intelligent than whites.
The comments were followed by his resignation from the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), a Long Island biomedical research powerhouse he had led for decades.
Watson said he still stood by the statement several years later in a television documentary aired in 2019, prompting the CSHL to decry the comments as Watson’s “reckless personal opinions,” severing all ties with him and revoking his honorary titles.
Edited by: Zac Crellin.
