He won the Nobel, later sold it: DNA double-helix pioneer James Watson dies at 97; 'discovery of the century' reshaped science

James D Watson, co-discoverer of the DNA double-helix structure, has died at 97. Watson was an American biologist whose work with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins in 1953 revealed that DNA is a double helix — two strands that coil around each other like a twisting ladder. The discovery showed how hereditary information is stored and how cells copy DNA when they divide. Watson once said, "Francis Crick and I made the discovery of the century, that was pretty clear," and later wrote, "There was no way we could have foreseen the explosive impact of the double helix on science and society." Watson was only 24 when the breakthrough happened. In 1962, he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Crick and Wilkins. Their work helped launch modern genetics and later developments