James Dewey Watson (born April 6, 1928, Chicago, Illinois) is an American biologist. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1962 - jointly with Francis Crick and Maurice H. F. Wilkins for the discovery of the structure of the DNA molecule.
Since childhood, thanks to his father, James was fascinated by observations of the life of birds. At the age of 12, Watson participated in Quiz Kids, a popular radio quiz show for intelligent young people. Thanks to the liberal policies of University of Chicago President Robert Hutchins, he entered the university at the age of 15. After reading Erwin Schrödinger's book What Is Life According to Physics?, Watson changed his professional interests from studying ornithology to studying genetics. In 1947, he received a bachelor's degree in zoology from the University of Chicago.
In 1951 he entered the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, where he studied the structure of proteins. There he met the physicist Francis Crick, who was interested in biology.
In 1952, Watson and Crick began working on modeling the structure of DNA. Using Chargaff's Rules and the x-ray photographs of Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins, a double-helical model was constructed. The results of the work were published on May 30, 1953 in the journal Nature. For 25 years he directed the Cold Spring Harbor Scientific Institute, where he conducted research into cancer genetics. From 1989 to 1992 - organizer and leader of the Human Genome project to decipher the sequence of human DNA, at the same time heading the secret project Faust.
In 2007, he spoke out in favor of the fact that representatives of different races have different intellectual abilities, which is determined genetically. Due to the violation of political correctness, a public apology was demanded from him, and in October 2007, Watson officially resigned as head of the laboratory where he worked. At the same time, he continues to lead research in the same laboratory.
According to the Independent, a DNA study of James Watson himself found a high concentration of African and, to a lesser extent, Asian genes. It was later suggested that the genome analysis contained significant errors.
Currently working on finding genes for mental illness.
James Watson is a pioneer of molecular biology who, along with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, is considered the discoverer of the DNA double helix. In 1962, they received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their work.
James Watson: biography
Born in Chicago, USA, April 6, 1928. He attended Horace Mann School and then South Shore High School. At the age of 15, he entered the University of Chicago under an experimental scholarship program for gifted children. An interest in bird life led James Watson to study biology, and in 1947 he was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology. After reading Erwin Schrödinger's landmark book What is Life? he switched to genetics.
After being rejected by Caltech and Harvard, James Watson won a scholarship to graduate school at Indiana University. In 1950, for his work on the effects of X-ray radiation on the reproduction of bacteriophage viruses, he was awarded a doctorate in zoology. From Indiana, Watson moved to Copenhagen and continued studying viruses as a fellow at the National Research Council.
Unravel DNA!
After visiting the New York laboratory at Cold Spring Harbor, where he reviewed the results of Hershey and Chase's research, Watson became convinced that DNA was the molecule responsible for transmitting genetic information. He became fascinated by the idea that if he understood its structure, he could figure out how data was transferred between cells. Virus research no longer interested him as much as this new direction.
In the spring of 1951, at a conference in Naples, he met Maurice Wilkins. The latter demonstrated the results of the first attempts to use X-ray diffraction to image a DNA molecule. Watson, excited by Wilkins' data, arrived in Britain in the autumn. He got a job at the Cavendish Laboratory, where he began collaborating with Francis Crick.
First attempts
In an attempt to unravel the molecular structure of DNA, James Watson and Francis Crick decided to use a model-based approach. Both were convinced that the solution to its structure would play a key role in understanding the transfer of genetic information from parent to daughter cells. Biologists realized that the discovery of the structure of DNA would be a major scientific breakthrough. At the same time, they were aware of the existence of competitors among other scientists, such as Linus Pauling.
Crick and James Watson modeled DNA with great difficulty. None of them had a background in chemistry, so they used standard chemistry textbooks to cut out cardboard configurations of chemical bonds. A visiting graduate student noted that, according to new data not in the books, some of his cardboard chemical bonds were used in reverse. Around the same time, Watson attended a lecture by Rosalind Franklin at nearby King's College. Apparently he wasn't listening very carefully.
Unforgivable mistake
As a result of the error, scientists' first attempt to build a DNA model failed. James Watson and Francis Crick constructed a triple helix with the nitrogen bases on the outside of the structure. When they presented the model to their colleagues, Rosalind Franklin harshly criticized it. The results of her research clearly demonstrated the existence of two forms of DNA. The wetter one matched the one Watson and Crick were trying to build, but they created a DNA model without the water present. Franklin noted that if her work were interpreted correctly, the nitrogen bases would be located inside the molecule. Feeling embarrassed by such a public failure, the director of the Cavendish Laboratory recommended that the researchers abandon their approach. Scientists officially moved on to other areas, but privately continued to think about the DNA problem.
Spy discovery
Wilkins, who worked at King's College with Franklin, was in personal conflict with her. Rosalind was so unhappy that she decided to move her research elsewhere. It is not clear how, but Wilkins obtained one of her best X-ray images of a DNA molecule. She might even have given it to him herself when she was cleaning out her office. But it is certain that he took the image out of the laboratory without Franklin's permission and showed it to his friend Watson in Cavendish. Subsequently, in his book “The Double Helix,” he wrote that the moment he saw the photograph, his jaw dropped and his pulse quickened. Everything was incredibly simpler than the A-form obtained earlier. Moreover, the black cross of reflections that dominated the photo could only have arisen from a spiral structure.
Nobel Prize Laureate
Biologists used the new data to create a double-stranded helix model with nitrogenous bases in A-T and C-G pairs at the center. This pairing immediately suggested to Crick that one side of the molecule could serve as a template for precisely repeating DNA sequences to carry genetic information during cell division. This second, successful model was presented in February 1951. In April 1953, they published their findings in the journal Nature. The article caused a sensation. Watson and Crick discovered that DNA has the shape of a double helix, or “spiral staircase.” Two chains in it were disconnected, like a “lightning”, and reproduced the missing parts. Thus, each deoxyribonucleic acid molecule is capable of creating two identical copies.
The abbreviation DNA and the elegant double helix model became known throughout the world. Watson and Crick also became famous. Their discovery revolutionized the study of biology and genetics, making possible the genetic engineering techniques used in modern biotechnology.
The Nature paper led to the Nobel Prize being awarded to them and Wilkins in 1962. Swedish Academy rules allow no more than three scientists to be awarded. Rosalind Franklin died of ovarian cancer in 1958. Wilkins mentioned her in passing.
The year he received the Nobel Prize, Watson married Elizabeth Lewis. They had two sons: Rufus and Duncan.
Continued work
James Watson continued to work with many other scientists throughout the 1950s. His genius lay in his ability to coordinate the work of different people and combine their results to new conclusions. In 1952, he used a rotating X-ray anode to demonstrate the helical structure of the tobacco mosaic virus. From 1953 to 1955 Watson collaborated with scientists at the California Institute of Technology to model the structure of RNA. From 1955 to 1956 he again worked with Crick to uncover the principles of the structure of viruses. In 1956 he moved to Harvard, where he researched RNA and protein synthesis.
Scandalous chronicle
In 1968, a controversial book about DNA was published, authored by James Watson. "The Double Helix" was full of derogatory comments and vindictive descriptions of many of the people involved in the discovery, especially Rosalind Franklin. Because of this, Harvard Press refused to publish the book. Nevertheless, the work was published and was a great success. In a later edition, Watson apologized for his treatment of Franklin, saying that he was unaware of the pressures she faced as a female researcher in the 1950s. He received the greatest profit from the publication of two textbooks - “Molecular Biology of the Gene” (1965) and “Molecular Biology of the Cell and Recombinant DNA” (updated edition 2002), which are still out of print. In 2007, he published his autobiography, Avoid Boring People. Life lessons in science."
James Watson: contributions to science
In 1968, he became director of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. At the time, the institute was experiencing financial difficulties, but Watson was very successful in finding donors. The institution he headed has become a world leader in the level of work in the field of molecular biology. Its employees uncovered the nature of cancer and discovered its genes for the first time. More than 4,000 scientists from around the world come to Cold Spring Harbor each year, such is the profound influence of the Institute for International Genetic Research.
In 1990, Watson was appointed director of the National Institutes of Health's Human Genome Project. He used his fundraising abilities to carry on the project until 1992. He left due to a conflict over patenting genetic information. James Watson believed that this would only hinder the research of scientists working on the project.
Controversial statements
His stay at Cold Harbor ended abruptly. On October 14, 2007, on the way to a conference in London, he was asked about world events. James Watson, a world-renowned scientist, responded that he was gloomy about Africa's prospects. According to him, all modern social policy is based on the fact that the intelligence of its inhabitants is the same as that of others, but test results indicate that this is not so. He continued his thought with the idea that progress in Africa was hampered by poor genetic material. Public outcry against this remark forced Cold Spring Harbor to ask for his resignation. The scientist later apologized and retracted his remarks, saying that “there is no scientific basis for this.” In his farewell speech, he expressed his vision that "ultimate victory (over cancer and mental illness) is within our reach."
Despite these failures, geneticist James Watson continues to make controversial claims today. In September 2013, at a meeting on brain science at the Allen Institute in Seattle, he again made a controversial statement about his belief that an increase in the diagnosis of hereditary diseases may be associated with later childbearing. “The older you get, the more likely you are to have defective genes,” Watson said, also suggesting that genetic material should be collected from people under 15 years of age for future conception through in vitro fertilization. In his opinion, this would reduce the chances that parents' lives would be ruined by the birth of a child with physical or mental disabilities.
James Dewey Watson - American molecular biologist, geneticist and zoologist; He is best known for his participation in the discovery of the structure of DNA in 1953. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
After successfully graduating from the University of Chicago and Indiana University, Watson spent some time doing chemistry research with biochemist Herman Kalckar in Copenhagen. He later moved to the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, where he first met his future colleague and comrade Francis Crick.
Watson and Crick came up with the idea of a DNA double helix in mid-March 1953, while studying experimental data collected by Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins. The discovery was announced by Sir Lawrence Bragg, director of the Cavendish Laboratory; This happened at a Belgian scientific conference on April 8, 1953. The important statement, however, was not actually noticed by the press. On April 25, 1953, an article about the discovery was published in the scientific journal Nature. Other biological scientists and a number of Nobel laureates quickly appreciated the monumentality of the discovery; some even called it the greatest scientific discovery of the 20th century.
In 1962, Watson, Crick and Wilkins received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery. The fourth participant in the project, Rosalind Franklin, died in 1958 and, as a result, could no longer qualify for the prize. Watson was also awarded a monument at the American Museum of Natural History in New York for his discovery; since such monuments are erected only in honor of American scientists, Crick and Wilkins were left without monuments.
Watson is still considered one of the greatest scientists in history; however, many people openly disliked him as a person. James Watson has been involved in quite high-profile scandals several times; one of them was directly related to his work - the fact is that while working on the DNA model, Watson and Crick used data obtained by Rosalind Franklin without her permission. The scientists worked quite actively with Franklin's partner, Wilkins; Rosalind herself, quite possibly, might not have known until the end of her life how important the role her experiments played in understanding the structure of DNA.
From 1956 to 1976, Watson worked at Harvard's biology department; During this period he was interested mainly in molecular biology.
In 1968, Watson received a position as director of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Long Island, New York; Through his efforts, the quality of research work in the laboratory has significantly increased, and funding has noticeably improved. Watson himself was primarily involved in cancer research during this period; Along the way, he made the laboratory under his control one of the best centers of molecular biology in the world.
In 1994, Watson became president of the research center, and in 2004 - rector; in 2007, he left his position after making rather unpopular statements about the existence of a connection between intelligence level and origin.
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The discovery of the duplicated DNA helix proved to be a watershed moment in biology. It was made by the Englishman Francis Crick and the American James Watson. In 1962, scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize.
They are considered among the smartest people on the planet. Crick made many discoveries in various fields, not limited to genetics. Watson earned himself notoriety with a number of statements, but this characterizes him more as an extraordinary person.
Childhood
Francis Crick was born in 1916 in Northampton, England. His father was a successful businessman and owned a shoe factory. He went to a regular high school. After the war, the family's income decreased significantly, the head decided to move the family to London. Francis graduated from Mill Hill School, where he was interested in mathematics, physics and chemistry. He later studied at University College London and was recognized as a Bachelor of Science.
Then his future colleague, James Watson, was born on another continent. Since childhood, he was different from ordinary children; even then, James was predicted to have a bright future. He was born in Chicago in 1928. His parents surrounded him with love and joy.
The teacher in the first grade noted that his intelligence was inappropriate for his age. After 3rd grade, he took part in an intellectual quiz for children on the radio. Watson showed amazing abilities. Later he would be invited to the four-year University of Chicago, where he would become interested in ornithology. Having a bachelor's degree, the young man decides to continue his studies at the University of Bloomington in Indiana.
Interest in science
At Indiana University, Watson studies genetics and comes to the attention of the biologist Salvador Lauria and the brilliant geneticist J. Moeller. The collaboration resulted in a dissertation on the effect of X-rays on bacteria and viruses. After a brilliant defense, James Watson became a Doctor of Science.
Further research on bacteriophages will take place in distant Denmark – the University of Copenhagen. The scientist is actively working on compiling a DNA model and studying its properties. His colleague is the talented biochemist Herman Kalkar. However, a fateful meeting with Francis Crick will take place at the University of Cambridge. An aspiring scientist, Watson, who is only 23 years old, will invite Francis to his laboratory to work together.
Before World War II, Crick studied the viscosity of water in various states. Later he had to work for the Navy Department - developing mines. The turning point will be reading E. Schrödinger’s book. The author's ideas pushed Francis to study biology. Since 1947, he has worked in a Cambridge laboratory, studying x-ray diffraction, organic chemistry and biology. Its leader was Max Perutz, who studies the structure of proteins. Crick develops an interest in determining the chemical basis of the genetic code.
DNA decoding
In the spring of 1951, a symposium was held in Naples, where James met the English scientist Maurice Wilkins and researcher Rosalyn Franklin, who were also conducting DNA analysis. They determined that the structure of the cell is similar to a spiral staircase - it has a double spiral shape. Their experimental data prompted Watson and Crick to conduct further research. They decide to determine the composition of nucleic acids and seek the necessary funding - a grant from the National Society for the Study of Infantile Paralysis.
James Watson In 1953, they would inform the world about the structure of DNA and present a completed model of the molecule.
In just 8 months, two brilliant scientists will summarize the results of their experiments with the available data. In a month, a three-dimensional DNA model will be made from balls and cardboard.
The discovery was announced by Lawrence Bragg, director of the Cavendish Laboratory, at a Belgian conference on April 8. But the importance of the discovery was not immediately recognized. Only on April 25, after the publication of an article in the scientific journal Nature, biologists and other laureates truly appreciated the value of new knowledge. The event was considered the greatest discovery of the century.
In 1962, the Englishmen Wilkins and Crick and the American Watson were nominated for the Nobel Prize in Medicine. Unfortunately, Rosalind Franklin died 4 years ago and was not among the contenders. There was a huge scandal about this, since the model used data from Franklin’s experiments, although she did not give official permission. Crick and Watson worked closely with her partner Wilkins, and Rosalind herself did not learn the importance of her experiments for medicine until the end of her life.
A monument was erected to Watson for his discovery in New York. Wilkins and Crick were not given this honor because they did not have American citizenship.
Career
After the discovery of the structure of DNA, Watson and Crick diverged. James became a senior member of the biology department at the University of California, and later became a professor. In 1969, he was offered to head the Long Island Laboratory of Molecular Biology. The scientist refuses to work at Harvard, where he has worked since 1956. He will devote the rest of his life to neurobiology, studying the influence of viruses and DNA on cancer. Under the leadership of the scientist, the laboratory reached a new level of research quality, and its funding increased significantly. Gold Spring Harbor has become the world's leading center for the study of molecular biology. From 1988 to 1992, Watson was actively involved in a number of projects to study the human genome.
After international recognition, Crick became the head of a biological laboratory in Cambridge. In 1977 he moved to San Diego, California, to study the mechanisms of dreams and vision.
Francis Creek In 1983, with the mathematician Gr. Mitchison, he suggested: dreams are the brain’s ability to free itself from useless and excessive associations that were accumulated during the day. Scientists have called dreams a way to prevent overload of the nervous system.
In 1981, Francis Crick’s book “Life as It Is: Its Origin and Nature” was published, where the author speculates about the origin of life on Earth. According to his version, the first inhabitants on the planet were microorganisms from other space objects. This explains the similarity of the genetic code of all living objects. The scientist died in 2004 from oncology. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered over the Pacific Ocean.
Francis Creek In 2004, Watson became rector, but in 2007 he had to resign from this position for speaking about the genetic connection between origin (race) and level of intelligence. The scientist loves to comment provocatively and insultingly on the work of his colleagues, and Franklin was no exception. Some statements were perceived as attacks against obese people and homosexuals.
In 2007, Watson released his autobiography, Avoid Boring. In 2008, he gave a public lecture at Moscow State University. Watson is called the first person with a completely deciphered genome. The scientist is currently working to find genes responsible for mental illness.
Crick and Watson opened up new possibilities for the development of medicine. It is impossible to overestimate the significance of their scientific activity.
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There are quite a few Nobel laureates in the world, but only a few of them are widely known. The legendary James Dewey Watson is one of them. Every schoolchild knows about the spatial structure of the DNA molecule he discovered. However, Watson became famous not only for his scientific achievements - among scientists he deservedly bears the title of number one brawler.
Unpleasant person
From the very beginning, James Watson followed his own special path in science. Perhaps the reason for this is his quarrelsome, quarrelsome, and, according to some, simply disgusting character. Watson's Harvard colleague, the famous zoologist Edward Wilson, once admitted: "Watson is the most unpleasant person I know." But Watson has long been accustomed to taking a punch - after all, he is from Chicago. It was in the capital of American crime that during the Great Depression, in 1928, the future genius James Dewey Watson happened to be born. True, young James never got involved with bad companies. He had no time for that. His father, a mediocre businessman, doted on his only son and did everything to give his son an excellent education. The parent's persistent efforts were crowned with success. An elementary school graduate was invited to participate in the radio program “Quiz for Children,” where only gifted children performed. But unlike other young talents, Watson is the only one who achieved worldwide recognition...
Sharp turns
After completing two years of high school, James is sent to college at the University of Chicago. Watson is most attracted to biology, and he dreams of becoming an ornithologist - a specialist who studies birds. In 1947, at the age of just 19, Watson received his B.A. University luminaries predicted a brilliant future for him, but the young man suddenly showed his obstinate disposition and decided to retrain as a geneticist. In this field, Watson also achieved recognition: already in 1950 he received a doctorate for studying the effects of X-rays on the reproduction of viruses living in bacteria. The National Research Society allocated a considerable subsidy to the young specialist, but he again played all-in - he left America and rushed to Europe.
The path to Olympus
In the Old World, Watson plunges headlong into studying the biochemical properties of deoxyribonucleic acid - DNA. The scientist wants to know how it works, but he has serious competition - Linus Pauling himself, winner of two Nobel Prizes, has been working on this problem for a long time. Watson changes universities like gloves and meets misunderstanding and opposition everywhere. However, James, a timid guy, is not used to retreating. In the autumn of 1951, he first crosses the threshold of Cambridge and there he finds a like-minded person - Francis Crick. The cry was a match for Watson - he was known as an eccentric. He spoke too quickly and too much, but could not boast of great achievements in science. Despite the age difference (James is 23, Francis is 35), they quickly find a common language and get to work with inspiration.
Modelers-constructors
By the early 1950s, it was clear that the components of DNA constituted some kind of unified structure. Just which one? Nobody knew this yet. True, the same Linus Pauling managed to suggest that DNA looks like a spiral. He was the first to come up with the idea of a “children’s construction set” - a spatial model of a molecule. But so far no one, including Pauling himself, has been able to correctly assemble this “constructor.”
Watson and Crick, day after day, did nothing but put together “balls” and “wires.” Watching them “juggle,” their colleagues jokingly called them scientific clowns. The insight came, as always, unexpectedly. One cold January night in 1953, while sleepless, Watson was reading a newspaper. But only three letters were spinning in his head - DNA. And suddenly the scheme they had been struggling with for so long appeared before his eyes! James grabbed a pen and quickly sketched a picture right in the margins of the newspaper. The DNA molecule finally took on the appearance of a twisted rope ladder.
In 1962, James Watson, along with Crick and Maurice Wilkins (the latter confirmed the structure of DNA using X-ray crystallography), was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Thus began the era of molecular biology in science, and Watson became its symbol.
Against the stream
Meanwhile, the “symbol” behaved inappropriately. He wasn’t particularly politically correct before, but now it’s as if he’s gone off the rails. He once said that it would be nice to use his discovery to make all girls beautiful. A scandal arose. Someone else in his place would have drawn conclusions, but it was not this one who was attacked! Watson seemed to be testing public patience. He publicly declared that it would be good to find the gene responsible for sexuality. Then each woman could decide for herself whether to keep a homosexual child or get rid of him in the womb. What started here! “Every woman wants grandchildren,” the scientist later explained. “I was only arguing in favor of her right to make a choice.” I didn’t discuss whether it was good or bad.” The explanations did not satisfy anyone.
Another time, Watson admitted that stupidity is a disease that should be treated, at least using genetic engineering methods. Well, the biologist never showed mercy for human shortcomings, but this time, it seems, he did not even spare himself, because his son suffered from schizophrenia. But the public did not accept this statement either. However, these were still flowers. In 2007, a real storm broke out. The Times newspaper published an interview with Watson, in which he stated without hesitation: “The prospects for Africa, in my opinion, are the gloomiest ... Our whole social policy is based on the assumption that they are as smart as us, while tests show that this is not the case.” The biologist was not forgiven for this phrase, and at the age of 79 he was forced to resign from the scientific laboratory in Cold Spring Harbor. It was a punch in the gut. The scientist himself created this laboratory, recruited staff there himself, led it for many years, thanks to him it turned into one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. How many times did Watson make excuses? He supposedly meant that people in different regions have different innate intellectual abilities, which is due to different living conditions. They didn't even listen to Watson.
Genes and prices
So, the hero was toppled from his pedestal. But he didn't break. Despite his advanced age, Watson today travels around the world giving lectures. Last August, for example, I visited Moscow. He gave a dozen interviews, received an honorary doctorate from Moscow State University, and gave two lectures. The halls where he performed were stormed. Watson eagerly talked about research into the human genome, which would help us understand the root cause of many serious diseases. Now such research costs a tidy sum, but in the future, according to the scientist, the cost of a complete reading of one human genome will approach the cost of a car. “And you will do this for your son or daughter, because knowing your DNA sequence is as important as having a car!” - the biologist is sure. By the way, Watson’s own genome was recently deciphered by two well-known American companies. It took two months of hard work and almost a million dollars to give the Nobel laureate such a gift!
Lyubov DYAKOVA
By the way:
1. For most, Watson is primarily the creator of the spatial model of the DNA molecule. But the scientist has one more talent. His book “The Double Helix,” which describes the history of the discovery, is rightfully considered the best that has been written about science.
2. Decoding the first human genome, undertaken in 1988 (including with the participation of Watson), cost three billion dollars and lasted more than thirteen years.
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