"The breakthrough - made when the brash, Chicago-born Watson was just 24 - turned him into a hallowed figure in the world of science for decades. But near the end of his life, he faced condemnation and professional censure for offensive remarks, including saying Black people are less intelligent than white people. Watson shared a 1962 Nobel Prize with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins for discovering that deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is a double helix,"
"That realization was a breakthrough. It instantly suggested how hereditary information is stored and how cells duplicate their DNA when they divide. The duplication begins with the two strands of DNA pulling apart like a zipper. Even among non-scientists, the double helix would become an instantly recognized symbol of science, showing up in such places as the work of Salvador Dali and a British postage stamp."
James D. Watson co-discovered the double-helix structure of DNA in 1953 at age 24, revealing how hereditary information is stored and how cells duplicate DNA during division. He shared the 1962 Nobel Prize with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins for identifying DNA's two coiling strands. The double helix became a widely recognized symbol and enabled advances in genetic modification, gene therapy, forensic identification, and ancestry research. The discovery prompted ethical debates about altering genomes, especially heritable changes. Watson later faced professional censure and condemnation for offensive remarks about Black intelligence and did not make another laboratory finding of comparable magnitude.
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