James D Watson, the American biologist who co-discovered the structure of DNA and helped launch the modern age of genetics, has died at 97. His death was confirmed by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) on Long Island, where he worked for many years. The New York Times reported that Watson died this week at a hospice on Long Island.

Watson, along with British physicist Francis Crick, discovered the double-helix structure of DNA in 1953, a breakthrough that revolutionised biology and paved the way for genetic engineering, gene therapy, and biotechnology. The duo shared the 1962 Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discovery.

Watson chronicled the journey in his 1968 memoir The Double Helix, an unflinching, candid account that portrayed scientists as fiercely ambitious and competitive. The b

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