According to the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in the United States,James Dewey Watson, one of the most influential scientists of the 20th century, co-discoverer of the double helix structure of DNA, and winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, died on November 6, local time, at the age of 97.
James Watson was born on April 6, 1928. In 1951, he went to the Cavendish Laboratory of Cambridge University and collaborated with Francis Crick to study the structure of DNA.
Inspired by Rosalind Franklin's X-ray image of DNA, known as "Photograph 51"The two published a paper "Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acid-A Possible Structure of DNA" in "Nature" in 1953, proposing the DNA double helix structure model for the first time.
At the same time, Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin also published papers on the double helix structure of DNA in the journal Nature.
In 1962, James Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for "the discovery of the structure of nucleic acid molecules and their importance for the transmission of information in living substances."
The revelation of the DNA double helix has been hailed as a "milestone in life sciences".It has completely changed mankind's understanding of the nature of life, making genetic technology, precision medicine, and biotechnology industries possible. It is known as a biological revolution comparable to Darwin's theory of evolution..
In his later years, James was "exiled" by the scientific community for making many controversial remarks about race and intelligence. In 2019, he even auctioned his Nobel Medal, but these controversies could not obscure the light of his scientific achievements.
