![]() Also, a basic background in chemistry and physics (none of which I have) would be beneficial. I see now that it really needs to be read in just a few sittings. I made the mistake of reading this over a long period of time. The discovery of DNA's structure changed biology and the book catapulted Watson & Crick into that pantheon of fame that is seldom reached by even Nobel-level scientists. Still, despite this major and very real issue, the book (along with Watson, Crick & Wilkins contributions) cannot be undersold. Watson's attitudes towards Rosalind Franklin today seem so maligned that Watson eventually had to clarify that these were attitudes and view at the time of the discovery and not when he wrote the book. Short, interesting, personal and important but also sexist, biased, & according to Crick "a violation of friendship". The structure wasn't stable, and I felt it probably deserved four stars (one for A, one for T, one for G, one for C also one for Watson, one for Crick, one for Wilkins, and yes one for Franklin). I gave it three stars last night (DNA night, thanks Riku), but that just didn't seem right. “In the end, though, science is what matters scientists not a bit.” ![]() Where the underdogs beat the heavyweight to the punch and first discovered the two intertwined chains structure that ended up becoming one of the greatest scientific achievements of all time. To be fair, he does speak very highly and sincerely of Franklin in his epilogue, but she was no longer alive at the time it was written.Īlso, the only semi-eventful development of the story was the competition between the laboratories in England (underdogs) and the laboratory in Pasadena (favorite) headed by the renowned scientists, Linus Pauling. I mostly recall the women either portrayed as snobbish or sex objects. There was also a subtle trace of a discriminatory tone, Watson, employs when referring to women in his stories. Nevertheless, their work and discovery was a quantum leap in the field of genetics.īut as far as the book is concerned, this first-person narrative was somewhat colorless with only skin-deep descriptions and illustrations of the science behind the discovery. Franklin's excessive exposure to radiation was in all likelihood the cause of her cancer that resulted in her untimely death. As a result, Watson, together with his colleague, Francis Crick (1916-2004), from the University of Cambridge and Maurice Wilkins (1916-2004), from King's College London, were awarded a Nobel Prize in 1962 for discovering the molecular structure of the DNA.īut it was Wilkins' colleague, Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958), who was marginalized, hence being a woman scientists, as the double helical structure was significantly based on her X-ray diffraction (crystallography image) patterns that were shown to Watson and Crick without her knowledge and consent. The sacrifices, Watson, made were mostly fueled by his desire to become a renowned scientists and his dream of winning the Nobel Prize. These autobiographical accounts for the most part take place between the years 19, during which, Watson, takes the reader though the events, roadblocks, and uncertainties he faced until discovering the secret to life. James Watson (b.1928) an American molecular biologist that only had moderate knowledge of mathematics, genetics, and chemistry when he began his research to uncover the structure of the DNA. The Double Helix (1968) is written by Dr. I wanted to understand" (The Vindicator, Dec. In a Youngstown State University speech, Watson said, "The biggest advantage to believing in God is you don't have to understand anything, no physics, no biology. Watson is an outspoken unbeliever who considers that human progress has been shackled by the idea of divine fate, and that human beings should do their utmost to improve the future. As director of the National Center for Human Genome Research at the NIH in 1989, Watson launched the worldwide campaign to map and sequence the human genome. Watson was appointed director of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island in 1968, and became its president in 1994. His book The Double Helix, which was published in 1968, became a bestseller. ![]() Watson became a member of the Harvard Biology Department in 1956, then a full professor in 1961. He worked with Wilkins and Francis Crick at Cavendish Laboratory in England in 1951-1953, when they discovered the structure of DNA. from Indiana University in Bloomington in 1950. degree in zoology from the University of Chicago in 1947, and his Ph.D. His bird-watching hobby prompted his interest in genetics. Watson, who co-discovered the double helix structure of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) at age 25, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962, along with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins.
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