He was responsible for discovering the structure of DNA
American geneticist James Watson, who discovered the structure of DNA, died on Thursday in New York at the age of 97, The Washington Post reported today.
The death was confirmed by the Cold Spring Harbor laboratory, which he founded and where he spent his career, and by his son Rufus, who did not give a specific cause.
His discovery of the double helix structure of the DNA molecule (which stores the genetic information of a living being) earned him the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1962 together with the British Francis Crick and the New Zealander Maurice Wilkins.
Watson was a professor at Harvard University and directed the Human Genome Project, which mapped the more than 20,000 genes found in human chromosomes.
According to The Washington Post, the geneticist was professionally ostracized at the end of his life for comments considered sexist and racist.
At the age of 80, he resigned from his position at the Cold Spring Harbor laboratory and six years later he put his Nobel medal up for auction.
