James Watson, Nobel laureate & co-discoverer of the DNA structure, dies at 97

Nobel Prize-winning American scientist James Watson, one of the co-discoverers of the DNA structure, has passed away at the age of 97. What is seen as one of the greatest breakthroughs of the 20th century, Watson identified the double-helix structure of DNA in 1953 alongside Francis Crick.

However, in the later stage of his life, his reputation and standing were badly hurt because of the problematic comments he made on race and sex. In a TV programme, Watson made claims about genes causing a difference in average IQ between blacks and whites.

Watson’s death was confirmed by Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory, where he worked and researched for decades. He won the Nobel Prize in 1962 with Maurice Wilkins and Crick for the DNA’s double helix structure.

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“We have discovered the secret of life,” they said at the time. However, controversial comments about race led him to say that he felt ostracised by the scientific community. In 2007, he told The Times newspaper that he was “inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa”, because “all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours - whereas all the testing says not really”.

The controversial scientist

Watson’s comments eventually led him to lose his job as chancellor at Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory in New York. In 2019, he once again suggested a link between race and intelligence. This was followed by the lab’s decision to strip his honorary titles of chancellor emeritus, Oliver R Grace professor emeritus and honorary trustee.

“Dr Watson’s statements are reprehensible, unsupported by science,” the laboratory said in a statement. It is pertinent to note that the DNA was discovered back in 1869. However, it took until 1943 for scientists to discover that DNA made up the genetic material in cells. It took another decade to understand its structure.

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Working with images obtained by King’s College researcher Rosalind Franklin, without her knowledge, Crick and Watson were able to construct a physical model of the molecule. Maurice Wilkins, who shared the Nobel with Crick and Watson, had worked with Franklin to determine the DNA molecule’s structure.

Interestingly, Watson sold his Nobel gold medal at auction for $4.8 million in 2014. He said at that time that he was letting go of the medal because he felt ostracised by the scientific community after he had remarked on race. A Russian billionaire who bought the medal gave it back to him out of respect.