The American pioneer of genetics and the discovery of its structure DNAJames Watson, has died aged 97, it was announced on Friday (07.11.2025). The famous scientist in collaboration with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins were awarded in 1962 with the Prize Nobel Prize in Medicine for their great achievement.
THE James Watsonthe molecular biologist, geneticist and zoologist who “unlocked” the structure of DNA, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine together with his two colleagues, Crick and Wilkins “for his discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and their importance for the transfer of information in living material”.
His death was confirmed by the Laboratory “Cold Spring Harbor(CSHL) of New York, where he worked for many years. The “New York Times” reported that the James Watson died this week in a Long Island asylum.
In his later years, Watson’s reputation was tarnished by comments about genetics and racewhich led to his exclusion from the scientific establishment.
In particular, in 2007, he had stated in the “Times” of London that he believed that the tests showed that the intelligence of Africans “it wasn’t really… the same as ours”.
He was accused of promoting racist theories, as a result of which he was forced to retire from the position of dean of the laboratory “Cold Spring Harbor».
“There is a difference on the average between Whites and Blacks on the IQ test. I would say the difference is genetic.”
-James Watson
The man who discovered DNA.
R.I.P.
— Uncommon Sense (@Uncommonsince76) November 7, 2025
Although he apologized, in 2019 he made similar comments in a documentary. He called the different racial rankings on IQ tests – attributed by most scientists to environmental factors – “genetic”.
In 1997 in an interview with the Italian “Corriere della Sera” he claimed that it is the right of women to have an abortion if it appears from genetic analysis of the fetus that the child has a homosexual predisposition. All this resulted in him being accused of racism, sexism and homophobia.