for whom the nobel tolls

January 2011, ScientificAmerican.com 27 COURTESY OF GERRY GOODSTEIN Never make the mistake of opening a re- porter’s notebook inside the River Club. James Watson, the Nobel laureate who co-discovered the double-helical struc- ture of DNA in 1953, which has been get- ting renewed attention with the release of a play and the publication of a trove of lost letters, is seated on a leather ban- quette in the posh Manhattan establish- ment. “People don’t do work here. It’s just not done,” he admonishes. Our compan- ions grow jittery, and an awkward silence falls. I relent, tucking the notebook inside my purse. “These are just WASP conven- tions,” says Watson as we make our way from the cocktail lounge to the dining room, and all is well again. Watson, now 82, is easily recognizable as the young upstart who, with co-con- spirator Francis Crick, beat out a field of big-name scientists to what was then a holy grail in biology. (He succeeded be- cause he had few distractions. “There was DNA and no girls,” he quipped.) In his book, The Double Helix, Watson de- scribed the events leading up to the dis- covery as a tense race among rival labs, an account that many had suspected was overdramatized and that Watson said over dinner was influenced by Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited. Watson was par- ticularly excited about the collection of letters that belonged to Crick and were published in Nature in September, be- cause they confirm his account of height- ened emotions. In one, Maurice Wilkins, who was at first a rival but later shared their Nobel Prize, writes of feeling weighed down by inter-lab politics: “We are real- ly between forces that may grind all of us into little pieces.” He wrote the letter after Watson and Crick built their first, incorrect, DNA model. Instead of feeling embarrassed, the duo wrote to Wilkins: “Cheer up.” The play Photograph 51 focuses on x- ray crystallographer Rosalind Franklin, who worked with Wilkins and died be- fore the Nobel was awarded. Watson not- ed that the Wilkins character “talked too much,” that the Crick character lacked charisma and that the Franklin character had perhaps too much of it. As the dinner was winding down and waiters were serving profiteroles with sil- ver pitchers of chocolate sauce, Watson mentioned that he was writing what he called his first scientific paper in 40 years. We can cure a major scourge of hu- mankind (he wouldn’t say which) with the drugs we have now. The manuscript has been rejected once, but he is trying again. Fear of failure has never stopped Watson. —Anna Kuchment BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES For Whom the Nobel Tolls An evening out with James Watson and colleagues Eureka moment: Watson (right) and Wilkins as portrayed in Photograph 51. Scientific AmericAn mArketplAce contact beth boyle 914.461.3269 or beth@specialaditions.com ADVERTISEMENT Providing quality goods since 1962: Akubra fur felt hats from Australia, Filson outdoor clothing and luggage, Pacific Northwest Coast jewelry, and much more. 800-324-4934 davidmorgan.com Protect Your Back, Protect Your Money. Curved edge designed to fit comfortably in your front pocket. Many styles available. 800-786-1768 EXT 14 ORDER ONLINE roguewallet.com #1622 $150

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January 2011, ScientificAmerican.com 27

Cour

tesy

of G

erry

stei

Never make the mistake of opening a re-porter’s notebook inside the River Club. James Watson, the Nobel laureate who co-discovered the double-helical struc-ture of DNA in 1953, which has been get-ting renewed attention with the release of a play and the publication of a trove of lost letters, is seated on a leather ban-quette in the posh Manhattan establish-ment. “People don’t do work here. It’s just not done,” he admonishes. Our compan-ions grow jittery, and an awkward silence falls. I relent, tucking the notebook inside my purse. “These are just WASP conven-tions,” says Watson as we make our way from the cocktail lounge to the dining room, and all is well again.

Watson, now 82, is easily recognizable as the young upstart who, with co-con-spirator Francis Crick, beat out a field of big-name scientists to what was then a holy grail in biology. (He succeeded be-cause he had few distractions. “There was DNA and no girls,” he quipped.) In his book, The Double Helix, Watson de-scribed the events leading up to the dis-covery as a tense race among rival labs, an account that many had suspected was overdramatized and that Watson said over dinner was influenced by Evelyn Waugh’s Brides head Revisited. Watson was par-ticularly excited about the collection of

letters that belonged to Crick and were published in Nature in September, be-cause they confirm his account of height-ened emotions. In one, Maurice Wil kins, who was at first a rival but later shared their Nobel Prize, writes of feeling weighed down by inter-lab politics: “We are real-ly between forces that may grind all of us into little pieces.” He wrote the letter after Watson and Crick built their first, incorrect, DNA model. Instead of feeling embarrassed, the duo wrote to Wil kins: “Cheer up.”

The play Photograph 51 focuses on x-ray crystallographer Rosalind Franklin, who worked with Wilkins and died be-fore the Nobel was awarded. Watson not-ed that the Wilkins character “talked too much,” that the Crick character lacked charisma and that the Franklin character had perhaps too much of it.

As the dinner was winding down and waiters were serving profiteroles with sil-ver pitchers of chocolate sauce, Watson mentioned that he was writing what he called his first scientific paper in 40 years. We can cure a major scourge of hu-mankind (he wouldn’t say which) with the drugs we have now. The man u script has been rejected once, but he is trying again. Fear of failure has never stopped Watson. —Anna Kuchment

biological sciences

For Whom the Nobel Tolls An evening out with James Watson and colleagues

Eureka moment: Watson (right) and Wilkins as portrayed in Photograph 51.

sad0111_Adva3p.indd 27 11/23/10 6:01:15 PM

Scientific AmericAnmArketplAce

contact beth boyle914.461.3269 or

[email protected]

Providing quality goods since 1962: Akubra fur felt hats from Australia, Filson outdoor clothing and luggage, Pacific Northwest

Coast jewelry, and much more.

800-324-4934davidmorgan.com

Protect Your Back,Protect Your Money.

Curved edge designed to fit comfortably in your front pocket. Many styles available.