James Watson
James Dewey Watson (born
April 6, 1928) is one of the discoverers of the structure of the
DNA molecule. Born in Chicago, he enrolled at the age of 15, earned a B.Sc. in
Zoology at the
University of Chicago in 1947 and a Ph.D. in Zoology at Indiana University at Bloomington in 1950 before heading to
Copenhagen for postdoctoral work.
In 1952, he started at the
Cavendish Laboratory, the physics department of the
University of Cambridge, where he met
Francis Crick. Building on the
X-ray diffraction research of
Rosalind Franklin and
Maurice Wilkins, they together deduced the
double helix structure of DNA, which they published in the journal
Nature on April 25, 1953. Watson, Crick, and Wilkins were awarded the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery in 1962.
In 1968 Watson wrote
The Double Helix, one of the
Modern Library's 100 best non-fiction books. The account is the sometimes painful story of not only the discovery of DNA, but the personalities, conflicts and controversy surrounding their work.
Also in 1968, Watson became the director of the CSHL (
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) and made the CSHL his permanent residence in 1974.
The Double Helix changed the way the public viewed scientists and the way they work. In the same way, Watson's first textbook,
The Molecular Biology of the Gene set a new standard for textbooks, particularly through the use of concept heads - brief declarative subheadings. Its style has been emulated by almost all succeeding textbooks. His next great success was
Molecular Biology of the Cell although here his role was more of coordinator of an outstanding group of scientist-writers. His third textbook was
Recombinant DNA which used the ways in which genetic engineering has brought us so much new information about how organisms function. All the textbooks are still in print.
In 1988, Watson's achievement and success led to his appointment as the Head of the
Human Genome Project at the
National Institutes of Health, a position he held until 1992.
Like his late colleague,
Francis Crick, Watson is an outspoken atheist, known for his frank opinions on politics, religion, and the role of science in society. He has been considered to hold a number of controversial views.
He is for instance a strong proponent of
genetically modified crops, holding that the benefits far outweigh any plausible environmental dangers, and that many of the arguments against GM crops are unscientific or irrational. His views on these matters are covered in some depth in his book
DNA: The Secret of Life (2003), particularly in chapter 6.
In 1994, Watson gave up his position of director and became president of the CSHL for ten years. Currently, Watson gives public speeches and serves as chancellor of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in
Cold Spring Harbor, New York.
Further reading
- James D. Watson and Francis H. Crick. "Letters to Nature: Molecular structure of Nucleic Acid." Nature 171, 737–738 (1953).
- James D. Watson, The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA, Atheneum, 1980, Order: ISBN 0689706022 (first published in 1968)
- James D. Watson, Genes, Girls, and Gamow: After the Double Helix, Random House, January, 2002, hardcover, 259 pages, Order: ISBN 0375412832
- James D. Watson and Andrew Berry, DNA: The Secret of Life, Random House, April, 2003, hardcover, 464 pages, Order: ISBN 0375415467
External links
Watson, James Dewey
Watson, James, D.
Watson, James D.
Watson, James D.
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