FILE - Dr. James Watson, co-discoverer of the DNA double helix in his office at his Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory office in Cold Spring Harbor, New York on June 10, 2015. (Photo by J. Conrad Williams, Jr./Newsday RM via Getty Images)
James Watson, the man who helped discover the double-helix structure of DNA in the 50s, has died.
Watson was 97 years old.
He died in hospice after a brief illness, according to his son.
Breakthrough discovery of DNA double-helix shape
The backstory:
Watson, along with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, discovered that deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is a double helix, consisting of two strands that coil around each other to create what resembles a long, gently twisting ladder.
The trio made the discovery in 1953 and went on to win the Nobel Prize in 1962.
The breakthrough helped suggest how hereditary information is stored and how cells duplicate their DNA when they divide.
Big picture view:
The discovery helped open the door to more recent developments such as tinkering with the genetic makeup of living things, treating disease by inserting genes into patients, identifying human remains and criminal suspects from DNA samples, and tracing family trees and ancient human ancestors. But it has also raised a host of ethical questions, such as whether we should be altering the body’s blueprint for cosmetic reasons or in a way that is transmitted to a person’s offspring.
Controversy and later life
Dig deeper:
Though Watson never made another discovery quite as significant as the double-helix, he went on to write influential textbooks and a best-selling memoir.
He also helped guide the project to map the human genome and used his reputation and network to influence science policy.
Watson faced some criticism in 2007 when the Sunday Times Magazine of London quoted him as saying 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 – where all the testing says not really."
He went on to say that while he hopes everyone is equal, "people who have to deal with Black employees find this is not true."
Watson later apologized but the damage was done and he was suspended from his job as chancellor of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York. He retired a week after that and served in various other leadership jobs for nearly 40 years.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from The Associated Press.