Science

James D. Watson, the molecular biologist who co-discovered the double-helix structure of DNA, died at 97 in hospice on Long Island following a brief illness, his son told the Associated Press. A longtime director and scientific leader at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory who helped pioneer work on viral structures, mRNA, bacterial gene regulation and mentored the early Human Genome Project, Watson’s legacy is complicated by the reliance on Rosalind Franklin and King’s College data for the DNA model, the 2014 auction (and later return) of his Nobel medal, and his removal from administrative roles and eventual revocation of honorary status after repeated controversial remarks about race and IQ.