James Watson dies: DNA pioneer's racist comments, controversies resurface
Posted on: Nov 08, 2025 01:24 IST | Posted by: Hindustantimes
james iv D. Thomas augustus watson who helped distinguish the double-helix bodily structure of the DNA molecule, died on th at the age of 97. He breathed his last in East Northport, New York, on Long Island.
Watson's son confirmed the news of his death and said that he'd been moved to a hospice after being treated for an infection in a hospital, as per New York Times. His role in decoding DNA, the genetic blueprint for life, has made Watson one of the most important scientists of the 20th century. He also led the ambitious Human Genome Project.
However, Watson has also made numerous racist remarks in the past and has been mired in controversy as a result. Here is a look at some of his racist comments and beliefs.
Watson had made controversial remarks about race and genetics in 2007 and doubled down on it in 2018. He had courted controversy with the belief that there's a genetic link between race and intelligence.
He had said he was "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa" as "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours - where all the testing says not really".
Watson's belief was debunked in modern science with a 2009 study using his own DNA to disprove any such link. Watson’s genetic data and that of Craig Venter were compared to that of Korean scientist, Seong-Jin Kim. Both Watson and Venter were found to have more genetic similarities to Kim than to each other.
(More to follow)
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