James Watson

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Scientific Giant Stripped of Honors Over Racist Comments

Nobel laureate James Watson ghosted by his own lab after new racist comments

(Newser) - James Watson, the Nobel Prize-winning DNA scientist who lost his job in 2007 for racist views, was stripped of several honorary titles Friday by the New York lab he once headed. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory said it was reacting to Watson's remarks in a TV documentary aired earlier this...

Buyer of Watson Nobel Giving It Back to Him

Russia's richest man says scientist deserves to have it

(Newser) - Russia's richest man says he was the winning bidder for James Watson's 1962 Nobel Prize at an auction last week —and he's going to give it back to the scientist. Watson "is one of the greatest biologists in the history of mankind, and his award...

James Watson's DNA Nobel Sells for $4.1M

$4.8M if you count the premium paid to Christie's

(Newser) - James Watson will collect $4.1 million for the Nobel medal he received in 1962 for unraveling the structure of DNA. The anonymous buyer will actually have to shell out $4.8 million counting the premium that goes to Christie's auction house, reports the New York Times . The newspaper...

Ostracized DNA Pioneer Is Hawking His Nobel Prize

DNA co-discoverer James Watson says he's become a pariah, needs the cash

(Newser) - One of the scientists who helped unfold the structure of DNA is putting his Nobel Prize on the auction block, and James Watson says it's because he's broke after being ostracized by the academic community over racist remarks he made seven years ago, the Atlantic reports. "No...

10 Volunteers Go Public With Their DNA

Database will divulge what really makes a Harvard man, and other genetic secrets

(Newser) - Ten volunteers, including some rather well known ones, are exposing themselves online, the New York Times reports, by making their DNA available for anyone to peruse. The goal of the Personal Genome Project is to start making genetic information—along with personal traits called phenotypes—publicly available, a move whose...

Scientist Blasted for Racism Has Black Genes

Watson said blacks less intelligent than whites

(Newser) - Nobel laureate James Watson, famous for co-discovering DNA and infamous for his theory that black Africans are less intelligent than whites, turns out to have a genetic profile with 16 times as many black genes as the average white European, the Independent reports. Watson's genes are said to be comparable...

Muslims See Hypocrisy on Hate Speech

Radio host's slur seen as evidence of US double standard

(Newser) - After radio host Michael Savage took potshots at Islam, the relatively muted response has left Muslim Americans with a question: Where's the outrage? A handful of advertisers have pulled out, but the reaction is nowhere near as strong as it was, say, when Don Imus made an anti-black slur, the...

Watson Retires Amid Race Furor
Watson Retires Amid Race Furor
Oct 25, 2007 12:39 PM CDT

Watson Retires Amid Race Furor

Watson leaves job as Laboratory head

(Newser) - Amid outrage over recent racial remarks, Nobel Prize-winning geneticist James Watson is retiring as chancellor of Long Island’s Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, the New York Times reports. Watson, 79, said his departure was overdue but admitted this wasn’t how he’d wanted to leave. The lab suspended Watson...

Lab Suspends Watson After Race Row
Lab Suspends Watson After Race Row
Oct 19, 2007 2:00 PM CDT

Lab Suspends Watson After Race Row

DNA pioneer and Nobel winner cancels book tour to fight for his job

(Newser) - Embattled geneticist James Watson was suspended from his laboratory today in response to comments he made suggesting that black people are inherently less intelligent than whites, the London Times  reports. The 79-year-old scientist  canceled a British book tour and headed back to the States. The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, which...

DNA Scientist Apologizes for Racial Uproar

Watson says he's "mortified," doesn't think Africa is inferior

(Newser) - DNA pioneer James Watson apologized today for comments in which he implied that white people were smarter than black people, the AP reported. "I am mortified about what has happened," said Watson, who helped discover the structure of DNA but whose recent words brought international condemnation and scorn....

DNA Pioneer Ignites Furor Over Race and Intelligence

Watson claims blacks lag in reasoning powers

(Newser) - One of the most decorated modern scientists has ignited an explosion after telling the Independent that white people are smarter than black people—a view also reflected in his new book. James Watson, who helped discover the structure of DNA, claimed Western policies towards Africa should not assume "that...

Human Genome Mapped, but DNA Still a Mystery

Genes more complex than scientists thought

(Newser) - A new map of human DNA shows just how complex we really are – so much so that scientists can’t even pin down which genes are making our eyes blue. "I found out that I have [only] a high probability of having blue eyes," says azure-eyed biologist...

Odile Crick Dies at 86
Odile Crick
Dies at 86
Jul 23, 2007 4:25 AM CDT

Odile Crick Dies at 86

Wife of Francis Crick first sketched the double helix structure of DNA

(Newser) - Odile Crick, who made the first published sketch of double-helix structure of DNA, died July 5th in La Jolla, CA, at age 86.  She was the wife of Francis Crick, who together with James Watson discovered the structure of DNA.  Odile Crick's drawing first appeared with her husband's...

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