The Pathway to DNA: The Double Helix Model

Talk Overview

In an interview with Ron Vale, Jim Watson tells us how his scientific interest moved from studying birds to DNA. He describes his journey to Cambridge, his collaboration with Francis Crick, the events leading to the elucidation of the double helix model for DNA, and his current passion of understanding cancer. His story illustrates why it is critical to identify and focus on important scientific problems.

The Science Communication Lab wants to acknowledge that the discovery of the structure of DNA was the collective work of numerous scientists. Specifically, James Watson and Francis Crick excluded the important contributions of Rosalind Franklin and Florence Bell to their model. These women and other scientists have often been left out of the discovery narrative.

Learn more about the discovery of the structure of DNA in our XBio Narrative.

Speaker Bio

James Watson

In 1953, Watson, along with his friend and colleague Francis Crick, elucidated a model for the double-helical structure of DNA. Together with Maurice Wilkins, Watson and Crick received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for Physiology in 1962 for this discovery. Watson has had a long association with the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory first as Director… Continue Reading