Controversial Scientist Who Co-Discovered DNA’s Physical Structure Dies at 97

James Dewey Watson, the famed scientific mind who co-discovered the structure of DNA alongside Francis H.C. Crick, winning them a Nobel Prize, has died at 97. Watson died in a hospice on Thursday in Long Island, New York, his son Duncan confirmed. At the age of 25, Watson played a significant role in discovering the twisted-ladder structure of DNA alongside Crick, which earned the pair a Nobel Prize of Medicine and Physiology in 1962. His 1968 memoir The Double Helix served to document the process of decoding the genetic blueprint—one of the greatest achievements in the history of mankind—but also irked colleagues who believe Watson inflated his own contributions and minimized others’. He also publicly espoused racist ideology on multiple occasions, telling The Sunday Times in 2007 that Bl