James Dewey Watson (born April 6, 1928) is an American molecular biologist, geneticist, and zoologist, best known as a co-discoverer of the structure of DNA in 1953 with Francis Crick. Watson, Crick, and Maurice Wilkins were awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material".[2] After studies at the University of Chicago and Indiana University, he worked at the University of Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory in England, where he first met his future collaborator and friend Francis Crick.
In 1956, Watson became a junior member of Harvard University's Biological Laboratories, holding this position until 1976, promoting research in molecular biology. Between 1988 and 1992, Watson was associated with the National Institutes of Health, helping to establish the Human Genome Project. Watson has written many science books, including the textbook The Molecular Biology of the Gene (1965) and his bestselling book The Double Helix (1968) about the DNA structure discovery.
From 1968 he served as director of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) on Long Island, New York, greatly expanding its level of funding and research. At CSHL, he shifted his research emphasis to the study of cancer. In 1994, he started as president and served for 10 years. He was appointed chancellor, serving until 2007, when he resigned due to a controversial racial comment made during an interview.[3]
James Watson, was born in Chicago, Illinois on April 6, 1928, as the only son of Jean Mitchell and James D. Watson, a tax collector of Scottish descent.[4] His mother's father, Lauchlin Mitchell, a tailor, was from Glasgow, Scotland, and her mother, Lizzie Gleason, was the child of Irish parents from Tipperary.[5] Raised Catholic, he later described himself as "an escapee from the Catholic religion."[6] Watson said, "The luckiest thing that ever happened to me was that my father didn't believe in God."[7] His sister was Elizabeth Jean Watson.
Watson attended public school and graduated ahead of his peers.[8] He was fascinated with bird watching, a hobby shared with his father,[9] so he considered majoring in ornithology[8] Watson appeared on Quiz Kids, a popular radio show that challenged bright youngsters to answer questions.[10] Thanks to the liberal policy of University president Robert Hutchins, he enrolled at the University of Chicago at the age of 15.[8][11]
After reading Erwin Schrödinger's book What Is Life? in 1946, Watson changed his professional ambitions from the study of ornithology to genetics.[12] Watson earned his B.S. degree in Zoology from the University of Chicago in 1947.[8] In his autobiography, Avoid Boring People, Watson describes the University of Chicago as an idyllic academic institution where he was instilled with the capacity for critical thought and an ethical compulsion not to suffer fools who impeded his search for truth, in contrast to his description of later experiences. In 1947 Watson left Hyde Park to become a graduate student at Indiana University, attracted by the presence at Bloomington of the 1946 Nobel Prize winner Hermann Joseph Muller who in crucial papers published in 1922, 1929, and in the 1930s had laid out all the basic properties of the heredity molecule that Schrödinger presented in his 1944 book.[13] He received his PhD degree from Indiana University in 1950.[8]
Originally, Watson was drawn into molecular biology by the work of Salvador Luria. Luria eventually shared a Nobel Prize for his work on the Luria-Delbrück experiment, which concerned the nature of genetic mutations. Luria was part of a distributed group of researchers who were making use of the viruses that infect bacteria, called bacteriophages. Luria and Max Delbrück were among the leaders of this new "Phage Group", an important movement of geneticists from experimental systems such as Drosophila towards microbial genetics. Early 1948, Watson began his PhD research in Luria's laboratory at Indiana University. That spring he met Delbrück first in Luria's apartment and again that summer during Watson's first trip to the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL).[14]
The Phage Group was the intellectual medium where Watson became a working scientist. Importantly, the members of the Phage Group sensed that they were on the path to discovering the physical nature of the gene. In 1949 Watson took a course with Felix Haurowitz that included the conventional view of that time: that genes were proteins and able to replicate themselves.[15] The other major molecular component of chromosomes, DNA, was widely considered to be a "stupid tetranucleotide", serving only a structural role to support the proteins.[16] However, even at this early time, Watson, under the influence of the Phage Group, was aware of the Avery-MacLeod-McCarty experiment, which suggested that DNA was the genetic molecule. Watson's research project involved using X-rays to inactivate bacterial viruses.[17] He gained his PhD in Zoology at Indiana University in 1950 (at age 22).
Watson then went to Copenhagen University in September 1950 for a year of postdoctoral research, first heading to the laboratory of biochemist Herman Kalckar.[9] Kalckar was interested in the enzymatic synthesis of nucleic acids, and he wanted to use phages as an experimental system. Watson, however, wanted to explore the structure of DNA, and his interests did not coincide with Kalckar's.[18] After working part of the year with Kalcker, Watson spent the remainder of his time in Copenhagen conducting experiments with microbial physiologist Ole Maaloe, then a member of the Phage Group.[19]
The experiments, which Watson had learned of during the previous summer's Cold Spring Harbor phage conference, included the use of radioactive phosphate as a tracer to determine which molecular components of phage particles actually infect the target bacteria during viral infection.[18] The intention was to determine whether protein or DNA was the genetic material, but upon consultation with Max Delbrück,[18] they determined that their results were inconclusive and could not specifically identify the newly labeled molecules as DNA.[20] Watson never developed a constructive interaction with Kalckar, but he did accompany Kalckar to a meeting in Italy where Watson saw Maurice Wilkins talk about his X-ray diffraction data for DNA.[9] Watson was now certain that DNA had a definite molecular structure that could be elucidated.[21]
In 1951, the chemist Linus Pauling in California published his model of the amino acid alpha helix, a result that grew out of Pauling's efforts in X-ray crystallography and molecular model building. After obtaining some results from his phage and other experimental research[22] conducted at Indiana University, Statens Serum Institut (Denmark), Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and the California Institute of Technology, Watson now had the desire to learn to perform X-ray diffraction experiments so that he could work to determine the structure of DNA. That summer, Luria met John Kendrew, and he arranged for a new postdoctoral research project for Watson in England.[9]
In March 1953, Watson and Crick deduced the double helix structure of DNA.[4] Sir Lawrence Bragg, the director of the Cavendish Laboratory (where Watson and Crick worked), made the original announcement of the discovery at a Solvay conference on proteins in Belgium on April 8, 1953; it went unreported by the press. Watson and Crick submitted a paper to the scientific journal Nature, which was published on April 25, 1953. This has been described by some other biologists and Nobel laureates as the most important scientific discovery of the 20th century. Bragg gave a talk at the Guys Hospital Medical School in London on Thursday, May 14, 1953, which resulted in an article by Ritchie Calder in the newspaper The News Chronicle of London, on May 15, 1953, entitled "Why You Are You. Nearer Secret of Life."
Sydney Brenner, Jack Dunitz, Dorothy Hodgkin, Leslie Orgel, and Beryl M. Oughton, were some of the first people in April 1953 to see the model of the structure of DNA, constructed by Crick and Watson; at the time they were working at Oxford University's Chemistry Department. All were impressed by the new DNA model, especially Brenner who subsequently worked with Crick at Cambridge in the Cavendish Laboratory and the new Laboratory of Molecular Biology.[23]
The Cambridge University student newspaper Varsity also ran its own short article on the discovery on Saturday, May 30, 1953. Watson subsequently presented a paper on the double helical structure of DNA at the 18th Cold Spring Harbor Symposium on Viruses in early June 1953, six weeks after the publication of the Watson & Crick paper in "Nature". Many at the meeting had not yet heard of the discovery. The 1953 Cold Harbor Symposium was the first opportunity for many to see the model of the DNA Double Helix. Watson claimed that he was refused a $1,000 raise in salary after winning the Nobel Prize.[24] Watson, Crick, and Wilkins were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962 for their research on the structure of nucleic acids.[2][25][26][27][28]
File:AMNHWatson.jpg
Watson's accomplishment displayed on the monument at the
American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Because the monument memorializes only American Laureates, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins (who shared the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine) are omitted.
At Harvard University, starting in 1956, Watson achieved a series of academic promotions from Assistant Professor, to Associate Professor to full Professor of Biology. He championed a switch in focus for the school from classical biology to molecular biology, stating that disciplines such as ecology, developmental biology, taxonomy, physiology, etc. had stagnated and could only progress once the underlying disciplines of molecular biology and biochemistry had elucidated their underpinnings, going so far as to discourage their study by students. He left the school in 1976.
In 1968, Watson became the Director of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Between 1970 and 1972, the Watsons' two sons were born, and by 1974 the young family made Cold Spring Harbor their permanent residence. Watson served as the Laboratory's Director and president for about 35 years, and later he assumed the role of Chancellor. In October 2007, Watson resigned as a result of controversial remark about race made to the press. In a retrospective summary of his accomplishments there, Bruce Stillman, the laboratory's president said, "Jim Watson created a research environment that is unparalleled in the world of science." It was "under his direction [that the Lab has] made major contributions to understanding the genetic basis of cancer."
Generally in his roles as Director, President, and Chancellor, Watson led CSHL to its present day mission, which is "dedicat[ion] to exploring molecular biology and genetics in order to advance the understanding and ability to diagnose and treat cancers, neurological diseases, and other causes of human suffering." In October 2007, Watson was suspended following criticism of views on race and intelligence attributed to him, and a week later, on the 25th, he retired at the age of 79 from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory from what the lab called "nearly 40 years of distinguished service",[29] In a statement, Watson attributed his retirement to his age, and circumstances that he could never have anticipated or desired.[30][31][32]
In January 2007, Watson accepted the invitation of Leonor Beleza, president of the Champalimaud Foundation, to become the head of the foundation's scientific council, an advisory organ. He will be in charge of selecting the remaining council members.[33]
Watson was a former member of the Board of Directors of United Biomedical, Inc founded by Chang Yi Wang. He held the position for 6 years and retired from the Board in 1999.[34][35] Watson was also a former adviser for the Allen Institute for Brain Science.[36] The Allen Institute, located in Seattle, Washington, was founded in 2003 by Philanthropists Paul G. Allen and Jody Allen as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation medical research organization. A multidisciplinary group of neuroscientists, molecular biologists, informaticists, engineers, mathematicians, statisticians, and computational biologists were brought together to form the scientific core of the Allen Institute. Utilizing the mouse model system, these fields have joined together to investigate expression of 20,000 genes in the adult mouse brain and to map gene expression to a cellular level beyond neuroanatomic boundaries. The data generated from this joint effort is contained in the publicly available Allen Mouse Brain Atlas. Upon completion of the Allen Mouse Brain Atlas, this consortium of scientists will pursue additional questions to further our understanding of neuronal circuitry and the neuroanatomic framework that defines the functionality of the brain.
[edit] The Double Helix
In 1968, Watson wrote The Double Helix, one of the Modern Library's 100 Best Nonfiction books. The book details the sometimes painful story of not only the discovery of the structure of DNA, but also the personalities, conflicts and controversy surrounding their work. Watson's original title was to have been "Honest Jim", in that the book recounts the discovery of the double helix from his point of view and included many of his private emotional impressions at the time. The book changed the way the public viewed scientists and the way they work.[37]
Some controversy surrounded the publication of the book. Watson's book was originally to be published by the Harvard University Press, but both Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins objected, among others. Watson's home university dropped the project and the book was commercially published.[38]
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 successive textbooks.[citation needed] His next textbook was Molecular Biology of the Cell, in which he coordinated the work of a group of scientist-writers. His third textbook was Recombinant DNA, which described the ways in which genetic engineering has brought much new information about how organisms function. The textbooks are still in print.
In 1990, Watson was appointed as the Head of the Human Genome Project at the National Institutes of Health, a position he held until April 10, 1992.[39] Watson left the Genome Project after conflicts with the new NIH Director, Bernadine Healy. Watson was opposed to Healy's attempts to acquire patents on gene sequences, and any ownership of the "laws of nature." Two years before stepping down from the Genome Project, he had stated his own opinion on this long and ongoing controversy which he saw as an illogical barrier to research; he said, "The nations of the world must see that the human genome belongs to the world's people, as opposed to its nations." He left within weeks of the 1992 announcement that the NIH would be applying for patents on brain-specific cDNAs.[40] (The issue of the patentability of genes is still not resolved in the US; see Association for Molecular Pathology v. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office)
In 1994, Watson became President of CSHL. Francis Collins took over the role as Director of the Human Genome Project.
In 2007, James Watson became the second person[41] to publish his fully sequenced genome online,[42] after it was presented to him on May 31, 2007 by 454 Life Sciences Corporation[43] in collaboration with scientists at the Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine. Watson was quoted as saying, "I am putting my genome sequence on line to encourage the development of an era of personalized medicine, in which information contained in our genomes can be used to identify and prevent disease and to create individualized medical therapies".[44][45][46]
During his tenure as a professor at Harvard, Watson participated in several political protests:
- Vietnam War: While a professor at Harvard University, Watson, along with "12 Faculty members of the department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology" including one other Nobel prize winner, spearheaded a resolution for "the immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces' from Vietnam."[47]
- Nuclear proliferation and environmentalism: In 1975, on the "thirtieth anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima," Watson along with "over 2000 scientists and engineers" spoke out against nuclear proliferation to President Ford in part because of the "lack of a proven method for the ultimate disposal of radioactive waste" and because "The writers of the declaration see the proliferation of nuclear plants as a major threat to American liberties and international safety because they say safeguard procedures are inadequate to prevent terrorist theft of commercial reactor-produced plutonium."[48]
- In recent years, Watson has stated: "I turned against the left wing because they don't like genetics, because genetics implies that sometimes in life we fail because we have bad genes. They want all failure in life to be due to the evil system."[49]
James Watson (February 2003)
Watson has often expressed provocative concepts and disapproving opinion of others seemingly within the realm of genetic research.
- Watson has repeatedly supported genetic screening and genetic engineering in public lectures and interviews, arguing that stupidity is a disease and the "really stupid" bottom 10% of people should be cured.[50] He has also suggested that beauty could be genetically engineered, saying "People say it would be terrible if we made all girls pretty. I think it would be great."[50]
- He has been quoted in The Sunday Telegraph as stating: "If you could find the gene which determines sexuality and a woman decides she doesn't want a homosexual child, well, let her."[51] The biologist Richard Dawkins wrote a letter to The Independent claiming that Watson's position was misrepresented by The Sunday Telegraph article, and that Watson would equally consider the possibility of having a heterosexual child to be just as valid as any other reason for abortion, to emphasise that Watson is in favor of allowing choice.[52]
- On the issue of obesity, Watson has also been quoted as saying: "Whenever you interview fat people, you feel bad, because you know you're not going to hire them."[53]
- Watson also had quite a few disagreements with Craig Venter regarding his use of EST fragments while Venter worked at NIH. Venter went on to found Celera genomics and continued his feud with Watson. Watson was even quoted as calling Venter "Hitler".[54]
- While speaking at a conference in 2000, Watson had suggested a link between skin color and sex drive, hypothesizing that dark-skinned people have stronger libidos.[53][55] His lecture, complete with slides of bikini-clad women, argued that extracts of melanin – which gives skin its color – had been found to boost subjects' sex drive. "That's why you have Latin lovers," he said, according to people who attended the lecture. "You've never heard of an English lover. Only an English Patient."[56]
- On October 25, 2007, Watson was compelled to retire as chancellor of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on New York's Long Island and from its board of directors, after Watson had been quoted in The Times the previous week as saying "[I am] inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa [because] all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours—whereas all the testing says not really."[57]
An enduring controversy has been generated by Watson and Crick's unauthorized use of DNA X-ray diffraction data collected by Rosalind Franklin and Raymond Gosling. The controversy arose from the fact that some of Franklin's unpublished data was used without her consent by Watson and Crick in their construction of the double helix model of DNA.[58] Franklin's experimental results provided estimates of the water content of DNA crystals and these results were consistent with the two sugar-phosphate backbones being on the outside of the molecule. Franklin personally told Crick and Watson that the backbones had to be on the outside, which was a crucial piece of information since before this both Linus Pauling and Watson and Crick had generated crassly non-illuminating models with the chains inside and the bases pointing outwards.[13] Her identification of the space group for DNA crystals revealed to Crick that the two DNA strands were antiparallel. The X-ray diffraction images collected by Gosling and Franklin provided the best evidence for the helical nature of DNA. Franklin's experimental work thus proved crucial in Watson and Crick's discovery. Watson and Crick had three sources for Franklin's unpublished data: 1) her 1951 seminar, attended by Watson,[59] 2) discussions with Wilkins,[60] who worked in the same laboratory with Franklin, 3) a research progress report that was intended to promote coordination of Medical Research Council-supported laboratories.[61] Watson, Crick, Wilkins and Franklin all worked in MRC laboratories.
Prior to publication of the double helix structure, Watson and Crick had little interaction with Franklin. Crick and Watson felt that they had benefited from collaborating with Wilkins. They offered him a co-authorship on the article that first described the double helix structure of DNA. Wilkins turned down the offer, a fact that may have led to the terse character of the acknowledgment of experimental work done at King's College in the eventual published paper. Rather than make any of the DNA researchers at King's College co-authors on the Watson and Crick double helix article, the solution that was arrived at was to publish two additional papers from King's College along with the helix paper. Biographer Brenda Maddox suggested that because of the importance of her work to Watson and Crick's model building, Franklin should have had her name on the original Watson and Crick manuscript.[62] Franklin may have never known the extent to which her unpublished data had helped in the double helix discovery. According to one critic Watson's portrayal of Franklin in The Double Helix, writing after Franklin's death when she was unprotected by libel laws, was negative and gave the appearance that she was Wilkins' assistant and was unable to interpret her own DNA data.[63] The latter accusation was indefensible since, e.g., Franklin herself told Crick and Watson that the helix backbones had to be on the outside, before the elucidation of the helix.[13] In his book The Double Helix, Watson described being intimidated by Franklin and that they were unable to establish constructive scientific interactions during the time period when Franklin was doing DNA research. In the book's epilogue, written after Franklin's death, Watson acknowledges his early impressions of Franklin were often wrong, that she faced enormous barriers as a woman in the field of science even though her work was superb, and that it took years to overcome their bickering before appreciating Franklin's generosity and integrity.
A review of the handwritten correspondence from Franklin to Watson, located in the archives at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, reveals that the two scientists later had exchanges of constructive scientific correspondence. In fact, Franklin consulted with Watson on her Tobacco Mosaic Virus RNA research. Franklin's letters begin on friendly terms with "Dear Jim", and conclude with equally benevolent and respectful sentiments like "Best Wishes, Yours, Rosalind". Each of the scientists published their own unique contributions to the discovery of the structure of DNA in separate articles, and all of the contributors published their findings in the same volume of Nature. These classic molecular biology papers are identified as: Watson J.D. and Crick F.H.C. "A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid" Nature 171, 737-738 (1953),[24] Wilkins M.H.F., Stokes A.R. & Wilson, H.R. "Molecular Structure of Deoxypentose Nucleic Acids" Nature 171, 738-740 (1953),[64] Franklin R. and Gosling R.G. "Molecular Configuration in Sodium Thymonucleate" Nature 171, 740-741 (1953).[65]
The wording on the DNA sculpture (which was donated by Watson) outside Clare College's Memorial Court, Cambridge, England is:
On the base:
- "These strands unravel during cell reproduction. Genes are encoded in the sequence of bases."
- "The double helix model was supported by the work of Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins."
On the helices:
- "The structure of DNA was discovered in 1953 by Francis Crick and James Watson while Watson lived here at Clare."
- "The molecule of DNA has two helical strands that are linked by base pairs Adenine - Thymine or Guanine - Cytosine."
[edit] Avoid Boring People, UK book tour
In his memoir, Avoid Boring People: Lessons from a Life in Science, Watson describes his academic colleagues as "dinosaurs", "deadbeats", "fossils", "has-beens", "mediocre", and "vapid." Steve Shapin in Harvard Magazine noted that Watson had written an unlikely "Book of Manners", telling about the skills needed at different times in a scientist's career; he wrote Watson was known for aggressively pursuing his own goals at the university. E. O. Wilson once described Watson as "the most unpleasant human being I had ever met", but in a later TV interview said that he considered them friends and their rivalry at Harvard old history (when they had competed for funding in their different fields).[66][67]
In early October 2007, Watson was about to embark on a UK book tour to promote the memoir. He was interviewed by Charlotte Hunt-Grubbe at CSHL. In 1996 she had been a student there in a program in which Watson recruited students to live at his family home and work at CSHL for a year. Hunt-Grubbe had gone on to work for the Sunday Times Magazine; she was selected for the interview as she was one of the few women to have been mentored by him.
Hunt-Grubbe broached the subject of race and intelligence. Watson did not say in his memoir that race was a factor in his hypothesis of divergence of intellect between geographically isolated populations. The following is a transcript of that part of the interview: 'He says that he is “inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa” because “all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours – whereas all the testing says not really”, and I know that this “hot potato” is going to be difficult to address. His hope is that everyone is equal, but he counters that “people who have to deal with black employees find this not true”. He says that you should not discriminate on the basis of colour, because “there are many people of colour who are very talented, but don’t promote them when they haven’t succeeded at the lower level”. He writes that “there is no firm reason to anticipate that the intellectual capacities of peoples geographically separated in their evolution should prove to have evolved identically. Our wanting to reserve equal powers of reason as some universal heritage of humanity will not be enough to make it so”'.[68] Though other publications noted that the paper had '[kept] the profile sympathetic and place[d] the comments at the end of the piece',[69] the article was a public relations disaster for Watson. The Sunday Times Magazine editor Cathy Galvin noted, "It was important the reader understood Charlotte's relationship with Watson and her regard for him before exploring the explosive and unscientific territory of his opinions and history of statements about women, race, and abortion which have stirred so much controversy in the past."[69]
Watson's comments drew attention and criticism in the UK. Watson said his intention was to promote science not racism, but some of the UK venues canceled his appearances.[70] Watson canceled the rest of his tour.[71][72][73][74][75][76]
Because of the public controversy, on October 18 the Board of Trustees at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory suspended Watson's administrative responsibilities. On October 19, Watson issued an apology; on October 25, he resigned from his position as chancellor.[77][78][79][80][81][82][83] In 2008, Watson was appointed chancellor emeritus of CSHL.[84] As of 2009, he continues to advise and guide project work at the laboratory.[85] In a 2008 BBC documentary, Watson said: "I have never thought of myself as a racist. I don't see myself as a racist. I am mortified by it. It was the worst thing in my life."[86]
Some periodicals offered opinions on the matter.[87][88] On December 9, 2007, a Sunday Times article[89] reported a claim by deCODE Genetics that 16% of Watson's DNA is of African origin and 9% is of Asian origin. The claim to the provenience of Watson's (or anybody's) DNA, which is at least 99.5% identical between any two humans, has to be understood in terms of a statistical model that explains the provenience of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP). Based on this model, the interpretation of SNPs in Watson's DNA was that "we can conclude about one-sixth of his ancestors came from Africa within the last few hundred generations or so." This method of analysis is fairly sensitive to errors in the sequencing of the individual's genome; deCODE's methods were not reported and details of the analysis were not published. According to deCODE's Kari Stefansson, the analysis relied on an error-ridden version of Watson's full genome sequence, and Stefansson "doubts [...] whether the 16 percent figure will hold up", adding that based on the data used "it appears that Watson has two X chromosomes, which would make him a woman."[90]
Watson married Elizabeth Lewis in 1968. They have two sons, Rufus Robert Watson (b. 1970) and Duncan James Watson (b. 1972). Watson sometimes talks about their son Rufus, who suffers from schizophrenia. He wants to encourage progress in understanding and treatment of mental illness by determining how genetics contributes to it.[85] Watson is an atheist.[7][91]
On October 20, 1962 the award of Nobel prizes to John Kendrew and Max Perutz, and to Crick, Watson, and Wilkins was satirized in a short sketch in the BBC TV programme That Was The Week That Was with the Nobel Prizes being referred to as 'The Alfred Nobel Peace Pools'; in this sketch Watson was called "Little J.D. Watson" and "Who'd have thought he'd ever get the Nobel Prize? Makes you think, doesn't it". The germ of the joke was that Watson was only 25 when he helped discover DNA; much younger than the others.
- D.Sc., University of Chicago, USA, 1961
- D.Sc., Indiana University, USA, 1963
- L.L.D., University of Notre Dame, USA, 1965
- D.Sc., Long Island University (C.W. Post), USA, 1970
- D.Sc., Adelphi University, USA, 1972
- D.Sc., Brandeis University, USA, 1973
- D.Sc., Albert Einstein College of Medicine, USA, 1974
- D.Sc., Hofstra University, USA, 1976
- D.Sc., Harvard University, USA, 1978
|
- D.Sc., Rockefeller University, USA, 1980
- D.Sc., Clarkson College, USA, 1981
- D.Sc., SUNY at Farmingdale, USA, 1983
- M.D., Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1986
- D.Sc., Rutgers University, USA, 1988
- D.Sc., Bard College, USA, 1991
- D.Sc., University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, 1993
- D.Sc., Fairfield University, USA, 1993
- D.Sc., University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, 1993
- Dr.h.c., Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, 1998
|
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- American Association for Cancer Research
- American Philosophical Society
- American Society of Biological Chemists
- Atheneum (London)
- Cambridge University (Honorary Fellow, Clare College)
|
- Danish Academy of Arts and Sciences
- National Academy of Sciences
- Oxford University (Newton-Abraham Visiting Professor)
- Royal Society (London)
- Russian Academy of Sciences
|
- Watson, J. D. (1968). The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA. New York: Atheneum.
- Watson, J. D. (1968). Gunther S. Stent. ed. The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-95075-1. (Norton Critical Editions, 1981).
- Watson, J. D.; Baker, T. A.; Bell, S. P.; Gann, A.; Levine, M.; Losick, R. (2003). Molecular Biology of the Gene (5th ed.). New York: Benjamin Cummings. ISBN 0-8053-4635-X.
- Watson, J. D. (2002). Genes, Girls, and Gamow: After the Double Helix. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-375-41283-2. OCLC 47716375.
- Watson, J. D.; Berry, A. (2003). DNA: The Secret of Life. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-375-41546-7.
- Watson, J.D. (2007). Avoid Boring People and Other Lessons from a Life in Science. New York: Random House. p. 366. ISBN 978-0-375-41284-4.
- ^ James Watson to receive Othmer gold medal[dead link] retrieved September 29, 2009
- ^ a b The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1962. Nobel Prize Site for Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1962.
- ^ "Watson suspended over comments on race". Nature 449 (7165): 960–728. 2007. Bibcode 2007Natur.449Q.960.. DOI:10.1038/449960a. edit
- ^ a b "James Watson, The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1962". NobelPrize.org. 1964. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1962/watson-bio.html. Retrieved December 12, 2007.
- ^ Randerson, James (October 25, 2007). "Watson retires". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2007/oct/25/watsonretires. Retrieved December 12, 2007.
- ^ Watson, J. D. (2003). Genes, Girls, and Gamow: After the Double Helix. New York: Vintage. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-375-72715-3. OCLC 51338952.
- ^ a b "Discover Dialogue: Geneticist James Watson". Discover. July 2003. http://discovermagazine.com/2003/jul/featdialogue. "The luckiest thing that ever happened to me was that my father didn't believe in God"
- ^ a b c d e Cullen, Katherine E. (2006). Biology: the people behind the science. New York: Chelsea House. p. 133. ISBN 0-8160-5461-4.
- ^ a b c d Anonymous (1999). Biography J.D. Watson. Nobel Lectures, Physiology or Medicine 1942-1962. Hackensack, NJ: World Scientific. pp. 809–810. ISBN 981-02-3411-2. http://books.google.com/?id=Xh0239nCqIYC&pg=PA767. Excerpt from nobelprize.org
- ^ Samuels, Rich. "The Quiz Kids". Broadcasting in Chicago, 1921-1989. http://www.richsamuels.com/nbcmm/qk.html. Retrieved November 20, 2007.
- ^ a b "Nobel laureate, Chicago native James Watson to receive University of Chicago. Alumni Medal June 2". The University of Chicago News Office. June 1, 2007. http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/07/070601.watson.shtml. Retrieved November 20, 2007.
- ^ Friedberg, Errol C. (2005). The Writing Life of James D. Watson. Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. ISBN 978-0-87969-700-6. Reviewed by Lewis Wolpert, Nature, (2005) 433:686-687.
- ^ a b c In Pursuit of the Gene. From Darwin to DNA — By James Schwartz. Harvard University Press, 2008
- ^ "James D. Watson (biographical information)". Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. http://gradschool.cshl.edu/staff/nonresearch/jdw_.html. Retrieved November 20, 2007.
- ^ Putnum, Frank W. (1994). Biographical Memoirs – Felix Haurowitz (volume 64 ed.). Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press. pp. 134–163. ISBN 0-309-06978-5. http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=4547&page=144. "Among [Haurowitz's] students was Jim Watson, then a graduate student of Luria."
- ^ Stewart, Ian (2011). "The structure of DNA". The Mathematics of Life. Basic Books. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-465-02238-0.
- ^ Watson, J.D. (1950). "The properties of x-ray inactivated bacteriophage. I. Inactivation by direct effect". Journal of Bacteriology 60 (6): 697–718. PMC 385941. PMID 14824063. http://www.pubmedcentral.gov/picrender.fcgi?artid=385941&blobtype=pdf.
- ^ a b c McElheny, Victor K. (2004). Watson and DNA: Making a Scientific Revolution. Basic Books. p. 28. ISBN 0-7382-0866-3.
- ^ Putmum, F.W. (1993). "Growing up in the golden age of protein science" (PDF). Protein Science 2 (9): 1536–1542. DOI:10.1002/pro.5560020919. PMC 2142464. PMID 8401238. //www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=2142464.
- ^ Maaløe, O.; J.D. Watson (1951). "The transfer of radioactive phosphorus from parental to progeny phage" (PDF). PNAS 37 (8): 507–513. Bibcode 1951PNAS...37..507M. DOI:10.1073/pnas.37.8.507. PMC 1063410. PMID 16578386. http://www.pnas.org/content/37/8/507.full.pdf.
- ^ Judson, H. F. (1979) The Eighth Day of Creation. Makers of the Revolution in Biology. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-671-22540-5. See chapter 2.
- ^ Digital Collections
- ^ Olby, Robert, Francis Crick: Hunter of Life's Secrets, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 2009, Chapter 10, p. 181 ISBN 978-0-87969-798-3
- ^ a b Watson, J.D.; Crick, F.H. (1953). "A structure for deoxyribose nucleic acids" (PDF). Nature 171 (4356): 737–738. Bibcode 1953Natur.171..737W. DOI:10.1038/171737a0. PMID 13054692. http://www.nature.com/nature/dna50/watsoncrick.pdf.
- ^ Judson, H.F. (October 20, 2003). "No Nobel Prize for Whining". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9C02E4DE123EF933A15753C1A9659C8B63. Retrieved August 3, 2007.
- ^ Presentation speech at the Nobel Prize ceremony in 1962
- ^ Nobel Foundation biography
- ^ DNA – The Double Helix
- ^ "Dr. James D. Watson Retires as Chancellor of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory", CSHL, October 25, 2007. Retrieved on November 4, 2007.
- ^ Controversial DNA Scientist James Watson Retires © 2007 Associated Press/AP Online. © 2007 Sci-Tech Today. October 25, 2007 11:29 am
- ^ James D. Watson Collection at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Library & Archives
- ^ Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory biography
- ^ Teresa Firmino (March 20, 2007). "Nobel James Watson vai presidir ao conselho científico da Fundação Champalimaud" (in Portuguese). Público. http://www.publico.clix.pt/shownews.asp?id=1288894&idCanal=35. Retrieved March 22, 2007.
- ^ "Management Team". UBI. http://www.unitedbiomedical.com/Cor_Info/Default.asp. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
- ^ "United Biomedical, Inc.". Hoovers. http://www.hoovers.com/company/united_biomedical_inc/ryfxxjcst-1-1njea1.html/. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
- ^ Allen Institute for Brain Science Web page
- ^ Watson, J.D. and G. Stent (preface). 1980. The Double Helix : a personal account of the discovery of the structure of DNA. Norton: New York. ISBN 0-393-95075-1.
- ^ Watson's 1968 autobiographical account, The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA. For an edition which contains critical responses, book reviews, and copies of the original scientific papers, see James D. Watson, The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA, Norton Critical Edition, Gunther Stent, ed. (New York: Norton, 1980).
- ^ The NIH Almanac
- ^ Pollack, R.. 1994. Signs of Life: The Language and Meanings of DNA. Houghton Mifflin Company, p. 95. ISBN 0-395-73530-0.
- ^ Genome of DNA Discoverer Is Deciphered NYT, June 1, 2007.
- ^ James Watson genotypes, on NCBI B36 assembly
- ^ Wheeler, David A.; Srinivasan, M; Egholm, M; Shen, Y; Chen, L; McGuire, A; He, W; Chen, YJ et al. (April 17, 2008). "The complete genome of an individual by massively parallel DNA sequencing" (PDF). Nature 452 (7189): 872–876. Bibcode 2008Natur.452..872W. DOI:10.1038/nature06884. PMID 18421352. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v452/n7189/pdf/nature06884.pdf.
- ^ Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, June 28, 2003. Watson Genotype Viewer Now On Line[dead link]. Press release. Retrieved on September 16, 2007.
- ^ James Watson's Personal Genome Sequence
- ^ Watson's personal DNA sequence archive at the National Institutes of Health
- ^ "Faculty Support Grows For Anti-War Proposal", The Harvard Crimson, October 3, 1969. November 4, 2007.
- ^ "Three Harvard Scientists Lead Call to Stop Nuclear Reactors", The Harvard Crimson, August 5, 1975. November 4, 2007.
- ^ Esquire Magazine, October 19, 2007
- ^ a b Bhattacharya, S. "Stupidity should be cured, says DNA discoverer", New Scientist News Service, February 28, 2003. Retrieved June 24, 2007.
- ^ Macdonald, V. "Abort babies with gay genes, says Nobel winner", The Telegraph, February 16, 1997. Retrieved on October 24, 2007.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard (February 19, 1997). "Letter: Women to decide on gay abortion". London: The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/letter-women-to-decide-on-gay-abortion-1279433.html. Retrieved October 24, 2007.
- ^ a b Abate, T. "Nobel Winner's Theories Raise Uproar in Berkeley Geneticist's views strike many as racist, sexist", San Francisco Chronicle, November 13, 2000. Retrieved on October 24, 2007.
- ^ Shreeve. J. 2005. The Genome War: How Craig Venter Tried to Capture the Code of Life and Save the World. Ballantine Books, p. 48. ISBN 0-345-43374-2.
- ^ Thompson, C.; Berger, A. (2000). "Agent provocateur pursues happiness". British Medical Journal 321 (7252): 12. DOI:10.1136/bmj.321.7252.12. PMC 1127681. PMID 10875824. http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/321/7252/12.
- ^ "UK Museum Cancels Scientist's Lecture". ABC News. October 17, 2007. http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/WireStory?id=3743042&page=1. Retrieved May 28, 2008. [dead link]
- ^ Quotes: Smart People Say Dumb Things - The Daily Beast
- ^ Judson, H.F. 1996. The Eighth Day of Creation: Makers of the Revolution in Biology. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, chapter 3. ISBN 0-87969-478-5.
- ^ Cullen, Katherine E. (2006). Biology: the people behind the science. New York: Chelsea House. p. 136. ISBN 0-8160-5461-4.
- ^ Cullen, Katherine E. (2006). Biology: the people behind the science. New York: Chelsea House. p. 140. ISBN 0-8160-5461-4.
- ^ Stocklmayer, Susan M.; Gore, Michael M.; Brtyant, Chris (2001). Science Communication in Theory and Practice. Kluwer Academic Publishers. p. 79. ISBN 1-4020-0131-2.
- ^ Maddox, B. 2003. Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA. Harper Perennial. ISBN 0-06-098508-9.
- ^ Elkin, L.O. 2003. "Franklin and the Double Helix". Physics Today 56(3):42.
- ^ Wilkins, M.H.F.; Stokes, A.R.; Wilson, H.R. (1953). "Molecular Structure of Deoxypentose Nucleic Acids" (PDF). Nature 171 (4356): 738–740. Bibcode 1953Natur.171..738W. DOI:10.1038/171738a0. PMID 13054693. http://www.nature.com/nature/dna50/wilkins.pdf.
- ^ Franklin, R.; Gosling, R.G. (1953). "Molecular Configuration in Sodium Thymonucleate" (PDF). Nature 171 (4356): 740–741. Bibcode 1953Natur.171..740F. DOI:10.1038/171740a0. PMID 13054694. http://www.nature.com/nature/dna50/franklingosling.pdf.
- ^ "Chairman of the Bored", Steven Shapin, Harvard Magazine, January–February 2008
- ^ Charlie Rose Interview, paired with E. O. Wilson December 14, 2005
- ^ Hunt-Grubbe, Charlotte (October 14, 2007). "The elementary DNA of Dr Watson". The Times (London). http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article2630748.ece.
- ^ a b Gelf Magazine James Watson's Disastrous Interview
- ^ "Museum drops race row scientist", BBC, October 18, 2007. Retrieved October 24, 2007.
- ^ "Race remarks get Nobel winner in trouble", MSNBC and AP, October 18, 2007. Retrieved October 18, 2007.
- ^ Syal, R. "Nobel scientist who sparked race row says sorry - I didn't mean it", Times Online, October 19, 2007. Retrieved October 24, 2007.
- ^ "Watson Returns to USA after race row", International Herald Tribune, October 19, 2007. Retrieved on November 10, 2007
- ^ Watson, James (September/October 2007). ""Blinded by Science". An exclusive excerpt from Watson's new memoir, Avoid Boring People: Lessons from a Life in Science". 02138 Magazine: 102. http://www.02138mag.com/magazine/article/1488-3.html. Retrieved November 28, 2007. "As we find the human genes whose malfunctioning gives rise to such devastating developmental failures, we may well discover that sequence differences within many of them also lead to much of the observable variation in human IQs. A priori, there is no firm reason to anticipate that the intellectual capacities of peoples geographically separated in their evolution should prove to have evolved identically. Our desire to reserve equal powers of reason as some universal heritage of humanity will not be enough to make it so."
- ^ Jerry A. Coyne, "The complex James Watson", Times Literary Supplement, December 12, 2007
- ^ "Interview with James Watson: 'How to Avoid Boring People: Lessons from a Life in Science'", The Science Network
- ^ van Marsh, A. "Nobel-winning biologist apologizes for remarks about blacks", CNN, October 19, 2007. Retrieved October 24, 2007.
- ^ Watson, J.D. "James Watson: To question genetic intelligence is not racism", Independent, October 19, 2007. Retrieved October 24, 2007
- ^ Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. October 18, 2007. Statement by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Board of Trustees and President Bruce Stillman, PhD Regarding Dr. Watson’s Comments in The Sunday Times on October 14, 2007[dead link]. Press release. Retrieved October 24, 2007.
- ^ Wigglesworth, K.DNA pioneer quits after race comments, L.A. Times, October 26, 2007. Retrieved December 5, 2007
- ^ ""Nobel prize-winning biologist resigns."", CNN, October 25, 2007. Retrieved on October 25, 2007.
- ^ "DNA Pioneer Watson Resigns Amid Cloud of Scandal" by Malcolm Ritter AP 10/25/07 11:29 am PhT
- ^ Watson, J.Statement by James D. Watson "Retirement", "N Y Times", October 25, 2007. Retrieved December 5, 2007.
- ^ Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory | History
- ^ a b DNA father James Watson's 'holy grail' request May 10, 2009
- ^ Video: BBC 2 Horizon: The President's Guide to Science, September 16, 2008, see 28:00 to 34:00 mark
- ^ " Watson's folly", Nature, October 24, 2007. Retrieved September 27, 2008.
- ^ Rushton, J. Phillipe; Jensen, Arthur R. (November 2008). "James Watson's most inconvenient truth: Race realism and the moralistic fallacy". Medical Hypotheses (Elsevier) 71 (5): 629–640. DOI:10.1016/j.mehy.2008.05.031. PMID 18656315. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03069877. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
- ^ Jonathan Leake DNA pioneer James Watson is blacker than he thought, "Sunday Times", December 9, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2007.
- ^ Chris Wilson What does it mean to say James Watson is 16 percent African?, "Slate", December 14, 2007. Retrieved February 29, 2008.
- ^ * Kitcher, Philip (1996). The Lives to Come: The Genetic Revolution and Human Possibilities.
- ^ The Lasker Foundation.1960 Winners. Retrieved on November 4, 2007.
- ^ "Benjamin Franklin Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Sciences Recipients". American Philosophical Society. http://www.amphilsoc.org/prizes/franklinscience. Retrieved November 27, 2011 (2011-11-27).
- ^ The Hastings Center Hastings Center Fellows. Accessed November 6, 2010
- ^ Nobility News: Honorary Knights 2007
- ^ "John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science". National Academy of Sciences. http://www.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AWARDS_carty. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
- ^ National Constitution Center.2000 Liberty Medal Recipients. Retrieved on November 4, 2007.
- ^ The National Science Foundation.The President's National Medal of Science: Recipient Details. February 14, 2006. Retrieved on November 4, 2007.
- ^ The Nobel Foundation, 1962.James Watson: The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1962 . Retrieved on November 4, 2007.
- ^ Presidential Medal of Freedom, 2007. Retrieved on November 4, 2007.
- ^ O'Dowd, Niall. "He Helped Map the Structure of DNA. Up Next is a Cure For Cancer", Irish America magazine, March 10, 2011. Accessed March 22, 2011. "James Watson helped unravel the structure of DNA, a feat so stunning that it is considered the greatest scientific achievement of the 20th century. "
- Chadarevian, S. (2002) Designs For Life: Molecular Biology After World War II. Cambridge University Press ISBN 0-521-57078-6
- Chargaff, E. (1978) Heraclitean Fire. New York: Rockefeller Press.
- Chomet, S., ed., (1994) D.N.A.: Genesis of a Discovery London: Newman-Hemisphere Press.
- Collins, Francis. (2004) Coming to Peace With Science: Bridging the Worlds Between Faith and Biology. InterVarsity Press. ISBN 978-0-8308-2742-8
- Collins, Francis. (2007) The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief Free Press. ISBN 978-1-4165-4274-2
- Crick, F.H.C. (1988) What Mad Pursuit: A Personal View of Scientific Discovery (Basic Books reprint edition, 1990) ISBN 0-465-09138-5
- John Finch; 'A Nobel Fellow On Every Floor', Medical Research Council 2008, 381 pp, ISBN 978-1-84046-940-0; this book is all about the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge.
- Friedberg, E.C.; "Sydney Brenner: A Biography", CSHL Press October 2010, ISBN 0-87969-947-7.
- Friedburg, E. C. (2005) "The Writing Life of James D. Watson". "Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press" ISBN 0-87969-700-8
- Hunter, G. (2004) Light Is A Messenger: the life and science of William Lawrence Bragg. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-852921-X
- Inglis, J., Sambrook, J. & Witkowski, J. A. (eds.) Inspiring Science: Jim Watson and the Age of DNA. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. 2003. ISBN 978-0-87969-698-6.
- Judson, H. F. (1996). The Eighth Day of Creation: Makers of the Revolution in Biology, Expanded edition. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. ISBN 0-87969-478-5
- Maddox, B. (2003). Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA. Harper Perennial. ISBN 0-06-098508-9
- McEleheny, Victor K. (2003) Watson and DNA: Making a scientific revolution, Perseus. ISBN 0-7382-0341-6
- Robert Olby; 1974) The Path to The Double Helix: Discovery of DNA. London: MacMillan. ISBN 0-486-68117-3; Definitive DNA textbook, with foreword by Francis Crick, revised in 1994 with a 9 page postscript.
- Robert Olby; (2003) "Quiet debut for the double helix" Nature 421 (January 23): 402-405.
- Robert Olby; "Francis Crick: Hunter of Life's Secrets", Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, ISBN 978-0-87969-798-3, August 2009.
- Ridley, M. (2006) Francis Crick: Discoverer of the Genetic Code (Eminent Lives) New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 0-06-082333-X.
- Wilkins, M. (2003) The Third Man of the Double Helix: The Autobiography of Maurice Wilkins. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-860665-6.
- The History of the University of Cambridge: Volume 4 (1870 to 1990), Cambridge University Press, 1992.
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