"James Watson, who has died aged 97, had an extraordinary gift for science, combined with ruthless ambition and an arrogant disregard for most of his peers. These combined qualities earned him a key role in one of the 20th century's most profound scientific revolutions, a share in a Nobel prize, a bestselling memoir, a place in science history and the anger of many of his colleagues."
"With Francis Crick, at Cambridge University in 1953, Watson discovered the structure of the giant molecule DNA deoxyribonucleic acid, found in almost every living cell and demonstrated that all inheritance, and even life itself, could be explained by chemistry and physics. The discovery revealed new horizons in evolutionary, biological, medical, archaeological, conservation and criminal sciences, and launched an industrial revolution, all within the working lifetime of the discoverers."
"They showed how DNA carried the genetic code, written in a chemical alphabet of four letters, A, C, G and T: the letters stood for adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine. Heralded as one of the greatest achievements of all time, it was more than just another chapter in the absorbing story of the search for the secret of life. The idea that DNA probably held the secret to understanding genetic inheritance was beginning to evolve among some leading biochemists and biologists."
James Watson combined exceptional scientific talent with ruthless ambition and an arrogant disregard for many peers, securing a central role in a major 20th-century scientific revolution and sharing a Nobel prize. With Francis Crick at Cambridge in 1953 he discovered DNA’s double-helix structure and demonstrated that inheritance and life can be explained by chemistry and physics. DNA carries a genetic code written in a four-letter chemical alphabet (A, C, G, T). The double helix can unzip to replicate itself. The discovery opened new horizons across evolutionary, biological, medical, archaeological, conservation and criminal sciences and spurred an industrial revolution.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]