James Watson, Nobel Prize-winning co-discoverer of DNA’s double-helix structure, dead at 97

Fox News ^ | 11/7/2025 | Sophia Compton

[sopo]

James Watson, who co-discovered the double-helix structure of DNA in 1953, has died at age 97.

Born in Chicago in 1928, Watson made the groundbreaking discovery at just 24 years old alongside British physicist Francis Crick. Watson died in hospice care after a brief illness, his son confirmed Friday, according to The Associated Press.

"As a scientist, his and Francis Crick’s determination of the structure of DNA, based on data from Rosalind Franklin, Maurice Wilkins and their colleagues at King’s College London, was a pivotal moment in the life sciences," Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Watson’s former research institution, said in a statement Friday.

[ifinnegan]

He didn’t dislike or have animosity for other races.

His comments about Africa were meant to be observational and pragmatic, not condemnatory of a race.

He was actually kind of dumb about a lot of things, knowing how to communicate was one.

[cgbg]

Interesting—I thought his communication on the particular “Africa” point was crystal clear and valid.

[sopo]

National Review didn’t get government funding, I would imagine Woods Hole gets a lot.

[ifinnegan]

So you’re saying you think he was racist?

That what he said was racist and meant to be racist?

[cgbg]

I cannot read anyone’s mind.

I think that is what we are talking about here.

[ifinnegan]

Ok. Do you think what he said was racist?

[mewzilla]

I know what his epitaph should be.

He had good genes.

[sopo]

lol

[cgbg]

By my definition I would claim it is racist. My definition would be the belief that in large samples race matters—even though there could be many exceptions for individuals.

But—I understand that the term is used in many different contexts—and can see how another person could see it differently.

[MoochPooch]

My father, a physician who held a Masters in genetics, had a license plate that read “2Helix.” He was a fan of Watson.

[sopo]

CNN finally has an obit up

https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/07/us/james-watson-death

[aspasia]

Hmm, the government has no problem going after entities that don’t take funding. Funding is not the substantial part of the constitutional question.

[ifinnegan]

Fair enough.

My idea is more he’s an idiot.

And he likes attention.

[sopo]

Hillsdale

[Billthedrill]

RIP. I met the man and had him and his wife to myself for 15 glorious minutes at the ground-breaking of a laboratory complex in Seattle. Lovely people.

[sopo]

That would be an experience to last a life time I’m sure.

[ek_hornbeck]

I'm coming late to this post, but here's my $0.02: the strange thing about James Watson is that while he had the courage and integrity to state that "equality" was a myth incompatible with the facts of genetics, he still (quietly) supported liberal policies and politicians. Perhaps it was simply because liberals were more generous at funding scientific research with federal dollars than conservatives.

Regardless of this inconsistency, he was one of the giants of 20th century science who helped make much of modern biotechnology and personalized medicine possible. RIP.

[sopo]

Exhibit A of what J K Rowling and Bret Weinstein later found out, doesn’t matter how many feet you’ve kissed, when they turn on you, you’re gonna be pilloried

[bert]

Because are mostly ignorant and have no science at all. They obtained degrees that lacked all science and espacially genetics.

The number of air line delays and cancellations is far more important to an ignorant journo than anything having the bad taste of science.

[ek_hornbeck]

To his credit, Watson never groveled apologetically for his politically incorrect statements, as far as I know. He simply held to liberal political positions that contradicted his own statements and beliefs about the innate, genetic basis of inequality among people.