The following is an edited excerpt.
Having shared the Nobel Prize for the discovery with Crick and Maurice Wilkins in 1962, who are now both deceased, Watson is aware that he perhaps has no competitor in the title of most famous living scientist.
“That’s really saying, there’s not been another DNA,” he said. “All you can say is that you were very lucky. You were born at the right time and your parents gave you books when you were young.”
Read the full story here: Watson: ‘DNA was my only gold rush’
