James Watson, Architect of Modern Genetics, dies at 97

The Nobel prize-winning American scientist James Watson, best known for his co-discovery of the structure of DNA, has died aged 97.

He was a prominent figure for co-discovering the double helix structure of DNA in 1953 alongside a British scientist, Francis Crick, and made intriguing advances in molecular biology.

DNA was discovered in 1869 but it took until 1943 for scientists to conclusively demonstrate that DNA is made of the genetic material in cells.

Using the images obtained by King’s College researcher Rosalind Franklin (without her knowledge), Crick and Watson were able to create a physical model of the molecule.

Maurice Wilkins and Crick and Watson worked on X-ray diffraction at King’s College. Crick and Watson use this data to describe the DNA molecule’s structure.

Watson sold his Nobel gold medal at auction for $4.8m in 2014, stating the sale was prompted by his feeling of being marginalized by the scientific community.

He continued his research into DNA structures as he went to Cambridge, where he met Crick, and constructed large-scale models of possible structures for DNA.

Watson’s legacy is synonymous with the dawn of molecular biology.

His work not only explained the molecular basis of the Mendelian laws of inheritance but also continued to shape biology through advancements in biotechnology and his direction of the monumental Human Genome Project.