Geneticist James Watson who co-discovered the structure of DNA dies at 97

James Watson, who shared the Nobel prize for his work on DNA’s molecular structure, has died at the age of 97.

Working alongside Francis Crick, Watson helped to uncover DNA’s famous double helix structure in 1953. Along with the biophysicist Maurice Wilkins, the pair shared the 1962 Nobel prize in physiology or medicine for the discovery, which is considered one of the greatest scientific breakthroughs of the 20th century. However, Watson’s career was also marked by controversy, and he faced criticism for his failure to give Rosalind Franklin appropriate credit for her role in the discovery of DNA’s structure, as well as his outspoken views, expressed later in life, on race.