American scientist James Watson, who co-discovered the structure of DNA, has died at the age of 97. This was reported by The New York Times (NYT) in connection with his son Duncan.
“Dr. Watson's role in decoding DNA, the genetic code of life, may make him one of the most prominent scientists of the 20th century,” the document reads.
According to the publication, the biologist died in a hospice, where he was transferred from the hospital after undergoing full treatment for an unknown infection.
James Dewey Watson went down in history as the researcher of the molecular structure of nucleic acids and their importance for the transmission of information in living systems. For this, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine in 1962.
British biologist John Gurdon, a pioneer in the field of cloning and winner of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Medicine, died in October at the age of 92.
In 1962, he successfully cloned a frog by transferring genetic material from its cells into a denuclearized egg. Three decades later, researchers at the University of Edinburgh, building on Gurdon's method, were able to clone Dolly the sheep, becoming the first mammal to be cloned from adult cells.
