James Dewey Watson, a renowned scientist known for his pivotal role in uncovering the double-helix structure of DNA and launching the Human Genome Project, has passed away at the age of 97. Watson, who also gained notoriety for his contentious statements on race and gender, died in a hospice in East Northport, New York, according to confirmations by his son, Duncan Watson, and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Born in Chicago in 1928, Watson rose to scientific prominence in 1953 at the age of 25 when he, alongside Francis Crick, solved the molecular structure of DNA at the Cavendish Laboratory in England. Their groundbreaking discovery extensively built upon the work of Rosalind Franklin, a chemist and crystallographer at King’s College, London. Her X-ray images, especially Photo 51, provided essential insights into DNA’s twisted-ladder form. The image, however, was shared with Watson and Crick by Maurice Wilkins, Franklin’s colleague, without her consent, leading to her undervaluation in the scientific recognition of the discovery.
In 1962, Watson, Crick, and Wilkins were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work on DNA’s structure. By then, Franklin had already died from ovarian cancer at the age of 37 in 1958, and Nobel Prizes are not awarded posthumously. Watson's and Crick's oversight and dismissive views towards Franklin's contributions have been topics of enduring criticism in the scientific community, exacerbated by Watson’s remarks about Franklin’s capabilities and appearance throughout his career.