James Watson

James Watson is a molecular biologist who won the Nobel Prize in 1962, with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins "for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material."

Watson has recently been in the news for making racially charged comments against African Americans, stating, "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours - whereas all the testing says not really."

DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, carries the genetic information of a cell. The arrangement of the four nucleotides that make up DNA is the code which dictates protein synthesis in all living things.Elmhurst College Virtual Chembook: Nucleotides The nucleotides are arranged lengthwise along the DNA strand, which is paired with a second strand in an arrangement known as a double helix. The structure of DNA was identified by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953.NobelPrize.org: The Discovery of the Molecular Structure of DNA — The Double Helix They were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1962 for their work.NobelPrize.org: The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine — 1962