In recent years, most headlines regarding James D. Watson, the co-discoverer of DNA’s structure, have been related to his controversial remarks about gender, race, and sexuality. Just last week, at the Euroscience Open Forum in Dublin, he said of women in science, “I think having all these women around makes it more fun for the men but they’re probably less effective.”
But last month, he took a break from stirring the cultural pot to file an amicus brief in the ongoing dispute over whether a company can patent a gene.
His brief, filed last month, is technically “in support of neither party,” but he comes down decidedly against Myriad.
Read the full article here: DNA Structure Co-Discoverer James Watson Weighs In on Ongoing Gene Patent Case
Additional Resources:
- Brief for Amicus Curiae James D. Watson: In Support of Neither Party
Read the full text of the brief. - “James Watson, Discoverer of DNA: Patenting Human Genes Is “Lunacy” American Civil Liberties Union
This ACLU blog post pulls out some choice quotes from the brief.
