Watson and DNA: Making a Scientific Revolution - Softcover

McElheny, Victor

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0470854308 ISBN 13: 9780470854303

Publisher: Wiley, 2003

Synopsis

An account of one of the biggest scientific breakthroughs of the past century...

In 1950 a young American zoologist, James Watson, came to Cambridge to work on molecular biology. From 1950-1953 he worked with Francis Crick, during which time they solved the structure of DNA - seen as one of the biggest scientific breakthroughs of the past century - and for which they were awarded a shared Nobel Prize in 1962. Watson returned to the US where he became Professor of Molecular Biology at Harvard and subsequently Director of the Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory. He was appointed Head of the US Human Genome Project in 1988, and was pivotal to guiding the project through the controversy surrounding genetic research. His collaboration with The Wellcome Trust helped to establish the Sanger Centre as the focus for the UK sequencing effort of the human genome.

Giving a balanced view of Watson's whole life and work, this biography traces the stages of this discovery, the setbacks, false starts and breakthroughs, putting Watson and Crick within the context of the other work being done at the time. It also looks at Watson's whole career including his later genome work and his early life.

Victor K. McElheny is a prominent science writer who has been writing about the revolution in molecular biology and biotechnology for over three decades. His interest in James D. Watson spans the years from his first meeting with Watson in 1962 to the present day. He is a Harvard graduate who also headed the Knight Science Journalism Fellowships at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His work has been featured by The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Science and the BBC.
* There has been considerable criticism lately (particularly in a biography of Rosalind Franklin by Brenda Maddox) that James D. Watson's own account of his work, The Double Helix, presented an exceptionally biased view of events. This biography is based on interviews with all his contemporaries to present a more balanced view.
* A biography of a extremely talented man - he gained his PhD at the remarkably young age of 22 - who has made a major contribution towards the shaping of the future world
* Explains how the structure of DNA was discovered
* Gives an insight into the workings of the world of science and scientists
* 2003 is 50 years since the discovery of DNA, which will undoubtly ensure coverage of the progress to date in this field, and there is also a five-part series currently in production on James Watson and featuring the author of this book, which is due to be screened in Spring 2003 on Channel 4.

About this title

Review

If you have ever had the notion that science is dull business, this book will change your mind. Hardly your stereotypical scientist in a white lab coat, James Watson in his prime was fiercely competitive, brash, and irreverent, and caused controversy wherever he went, simultaneously inspiring and exasperating his colleagues. His arrogance, lack of tact, and love of gossip were only overshadowed by his passion, drive, and genius, allowing him to attract the most brilliant thinkers (and generous funding) to his projects. On the cutting edge of molecular biology since the mid1950s, Watson, along with collaborator Francis Crick, won the Nobel Prize in 1962 for discovering the double-helix structure of DNA. In 1965 he wrote Molecular Biology of the Gene, his textbook on molecular biology, followed by his controversial and entertaining The Double Helix in 1968. An "intellectual manager" on a grand scale, he built Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory into one of the great biological centers of the world and was chosen in 1988 by the National Academy of Sciences to be the first director of the Human Genome Project.

Since Watson chose not to cooperate with Victor McElheny, neither he nor his family were interviewed for the book, but this does not detract from the work, since the author focuses strictly on Watson's professional life anyway. And McElheny is certainly qualified to do so: not only did he work with Watson for four years, he has also been a science reporter for over four decades. He bases his book on personal observations and on extensive interviews with nearly 50 scientists who have worked closely with Watson. McElheny details the past half-century of breakthroughs with considerable color and a wealth of revealing anecdotes. A self-declared optimist most interested in using science to "improve human life," Watson placed himself on the frontlines of the war on cancer in order to make the largest possible impact. In doing so, writes McElheny, he "may have influenced the thinking of biologists more than any other scientist during this half-century." A fascinating portrait of a remarkable man. --Shawn Carkonen

From the Back Cover

Praise for Watson and DNA:

"Jim Watson made the most important biological discovery of the 20th century. Then, with a quirky but unexpectedly effective leadership style, he overthrew the biology of a previous generation and used his position at Harvard to whip up a revolution in molecular biology. In a superb book, McElheny tells us how he did it, and why for the past 50 years young scientists have just wanted to be near Jim. Who among us wouldn't have wanted to be at the center of a scientific revolution that is already revealing the deepest secrets of life?" Nancy Haven Hopkins, Amgen Professor of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

"James Watson is one of the most quirky and eccentric individuals ever to reach the starry firmament of immortal fame. A straight-ahead biography is much needed, given Watson's importance. In this perfectly timed account, Victor McElheny makes clear his own admiration for Watson, while giving space to his faults and his detractors at each turn of the spiral staircase." Jonathan Weiner, author of The Beak of the Finch and Time, Love, Memory

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0470854308
• ISBN 13: 9780470854303
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 380