Nobel Prize-winning American scientist James Watson has died at the age of 97.
His joint discovery of the structure of DNA opened the door to helping explain how DNA replicates and transmits genetic information, setting the stage for rapid advances in molecular biology.
But his honorary title was stripped in 2019 after repeated comments about his race and intelligence. He mentioned in a TV program the view that genes cause the average difference between blacks and whites on IQ tests.
The death of Watson, who co-discovered the double helix structure of DNA in 1953, was confirmed by the BBC by the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where he worked and studied for decades.
Watson shared the 1962 Nobel Prize with Maurice Wilkins and Francis Crick for the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA.
At the time, they said, “We have discovered the secret of life.”
His comments about race made him feel ostracized by the scientific community.
In 2007, a scientist who worked at the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge told the Times newspaper that he was “essentially gloomy about the prospects for Africa.” Because “all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours, but every test shows otherwise.”
These remarks cost him his job as president of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York.
In 2019, when he once again suggested a link between race and intelligence, his further comments led the institute to strip him of his titles as Prime Minister, Oliver R. Grace Professor Emeritus and Director Emeritus.
The institute said in a statement, “Dr. Watson’s remarks are reprehensible and have no scientific basis,” and “Dr. Watson’s apology has in fact been overturned.”
DNA was discovered in 1869, but researchers had not yet discovered its structure, and it was not until 1943 that scientists realized that DNA made up the genetic material of cells.
Working with images obtained by King’s College researcher Rosalind Franklin, Crick and Watson were able to construct a physical model of the molecule.
Watson sold his Nobel Prize gold medal at auction for $4.8 million (£3.6 million) in 2014.
He said he planned to sell the medal because he had been ostracized by the scientific community for his comments on racial issues.
