Historical Figure
James D. Watson
b. 1928
American biologist (1928–2025)
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Biography
James Dewey Watson was an American molecular biologist, geneticist, and zoologist. In 1953, he and Francis Crick co-authored an academic paper in Nature proposing the double helix structure of the DNA molecule, building on research by Rosalind Franklin and Raymond Gosling. In 1962, Watson, Crick, and Maurice Wilkins were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material".
In Their Own Words (5)
Khan analyzed the data and was relieved to find that his son’s DNA was “pretty boring.” In the brave new world of personal genomics, “boring” is the new “great.”
Chapter 8, “Personal Genetics: The First of the Rest of Us” (p. 216) , 2003
No one may have the guts to say this, but if we could make better human beings by knowing how to add genes, why shouldn't we?
"Risky Genetic Fantasies" in The Los Angeles Times (29 July 2001), p. M4 , 2001
Whenever you interview fat people, you feel bad, because you know you're not going to hire them.
As quoted in "Nobel Winner's Theories Raise Uproar in Berkeley", by Tom Abate, San Francisco Chronicle (13 November 2000) , 2000
The law has always had difficulty assimilating the implications, if not the very idea, of scientific evidence. Even the most intelligent lawyers, judges, and juries have customarily found it difficult to understand at first.
Chapter 11, “Genetic Fingerprinting: DNA’s Day in Court” (p. 300) , 2003
There is only one science, physics: everything else is social work.
As quoted in Lifelines (1997) by Steven Rose , 1997
Timeline
The story of James D. Watson, told in moments.
Walked into The Eagle pub in Cambridge and announced he and Francis Crick had "found the secret of life." They'd built the double helix model of DNA. Watson was 25.
Published "Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids" in Nature. The paper was 900 words long. It earned Watson and Crick the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Published The Double Helix, his candid account of the DNA discovery. Scientists hated it. The public loved it. Rosalind Franklin's crucial X-ray data barely got credited.
Became the second person to have his full genome sequenced. Chose to make it publicly available online. Cost at the time: roughly $1 million.
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