James Watson, co-discoverer of the double-helix shape of DNA, has died at age 97

Scientist James Watson, who shared the Nobel Prize for helping to discover the double helix shape of the DNA molecule, has died. He was 97 years old. His death was announced by his former research laboratory. Watson also helped guide efforts to map the human genome. But he was later widely condemned for his racist remarks and left his post as chancellor of the prestigious Cold Spring Harbor laboratory in New York. Watson shared the Nobel Prize in 1962 with his collaborator Francis Crick and scientist Maurice Wilkins for discovering in 1953 that DNA was shaped like a long, gently twisting ladder. Knowing the structure of DNA was essential to understanding how genetic material works.