James Dewey Watson passed away: the deciphering of the "code of life" from Cambridge

Nobel laureate James Dewey Watson, known as the "father of the double helix of DNA", died of illness in a hospice in New York on Thursday local time at the age of 97.

In early 1953, in a humble cottage in the Cavendish Laboratory of the University of Cambridge, England, two young scientists living in a place of academic and intellectual freedom - American James Watson and British Francis Crick - worked together to achieve a breakthrough that changed the history of biology: they built a double helix structural model of DNA.

One afternoon in February of that year, the two walked into the Eagle Bar in downtown Cambridge and opened a new era of life sciences with a seemingly nonchalant announcement:

"We have discovered the secret of life."

This discovery became the cornerstone of modern molecular biology, allowing humans to understand heredity, disease, and life itself at the molecular level for the first time. In the decades that followed, from the Human Genome Project to gene editing technology, from molecular target research in cancer treatment to DNA fingerprinting in the judicial field, this structural model was used as a starting point.

Cambridge: The turning point of Watson's thought

Watson's connection to Cambridge extends beyond the discovery itself. At that time, the Cavendish Laboratory was in the golden age of structural biology, with free and fierce competition in academic discussion. Watson and Crick debate fiercely every day, and the collision of ideas directly contributed to scientific breakthroughs.

Watson later recalled:

"Without Cambridge, there would be no double helix."

This breakthrough also condenses the strength of the Cambridge academic community. The DNA crystallography image was taken by Rosalind Franklin, who also works at Cambridge, and Chagaff's base ratio law provides a key theoretical framework for the model.

In 1962, Watson, Crick and Wilkins jointly won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of the structure of DNA. Franklin, who had died of illness four years earlier, was unable to share the honor.

A complex figure with both achievements and controversies

Later, Watson served as the head of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in the United States for a long time, promoting the study of tumor molecular mechanisms and the launch of the Human Genome Project. He also wrote the book "Double Helix", which brought the image of scientists into the public eye as "real people", but the book's description of Franklin and others was controversial.

In his later years, he was strongly criticized for his public remarks about race and intelligence, and was forced to resign from his management position. His reputation was thus overshadowed.

However, the scientific community generally believes that his insight into the structure of DNA at a young age and his ability to "pick the right questions and stay the course" during the life sciences transition period are indelible historical contributions.

An era that started with Cambridge

Watson once said:

"The real turning point in the history of science is not that we learn more, but that we know for the first time where the design of life comes from."

In Cambridge, England, the metal double helix model he built with Crick still stands at the center of the history of human science.

From that moment on, life is seen as a system that can be understood, deciphered, and even redesigned.

He is the discoverer and the initiator of the era.