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Pioneering Molecular Biologist James Watson, DNA Discoverer, Dies at 97
7 Nov
Summary
- Renowned molecular biologist and Nobel Prize winner for discovering DNA structure
- Spent most of career at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
- Sold his Nobel Prize in 2014 to raise money for scientific research
James Watson, a pioneering molecular biologist who co-discovered the structure of DNA and won a Nobel Prize for it in 1962, passed away on November 7, 2025, at the age of 97 after a brief illness. Watson spent the bulk of his career at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where he served as the first director of the groundbreaking Human Genome Project until 1992.
In 2013, Watson reflected on his legacy, stating, "Being driven by the desire to find the truth, that's really my legacy. The truth, sometimes you don't find it and it's complicated, but what you always have is that if you can start with the truth, it's helpful." However, Watson's reputation was later tarnished by his controversial and unsubstantiated remarks about genetic differences between races.
Despite the controversies, Watson's scientific achievements remain significant. In 1953, he and his colleague Francis Crick published a landmark paper in the journal Nature, outlining the double-helix structure of DNA, a discovery that revolutionized the field of molecular biology. In 2007, Watson became the second person to have his entire genome sequenced and published it online.
