JAMES WATSON

The story of the most significant biological breakthrough of the century - the discovery of the structure of DNA.'It is a strange model and embodies several unusual features. However, since DNA is an unusual substance, we are not hesitant in being bold'By elucidating the structure of DNA, the molecule underlying all life, Francis Crick and James Watson revolutionised biochemistry. At the time, Watson was only 24. His uncompromisingly honest account of those heady days lifts the lid on the real world of great scientists, with their very human faults and foibles, their petty rivalries and driving ambition. Above all, he captures the extraordinary excitement of their desperate efforts to beat their rivals at King's College to the solution to one of the great enigmas of the life sciences.

Written by one of the discoverers of the structure of DNA, a second revised edition of a personal account of the race by the author and Francis Crick to make this breakthrough in biochemistry before Linus Pauling. The achievement of the pair is re-examined in the light of scientific discoveries, before and since their work on the double helix.

Grey Light came from between the bedroom curtains, like the light of an old black and white film. In it she could see boys and girls in coats. They were carrying packages, and some had bags over their shoulders. Who are these children? Where are they going? Are they real, or is Elise seeing ghosts from the past? And why did her father bring her to this little French village? What secrets does it hide?

Along with Francis Crick, James Watson was the discoverer of the double helix structure of the DNA molecule, realising both how it was able to reproduce itself and how, through its immense variety, it was able to pass on genetic instructions from one generation to the next. Their discovery paved the way for fifty years of explosive scientific achievement of extraordinary importance, both in strictly scientific terms and in its technological and social significance.From Dolly the sheep to GM foods to designer babies, science-related newspaper headlines have been dominated by the implications of their work. In DNA, now fully updated and revised to include new findings in gene editing, epigenetics and agricultural chemistry, as well as two entirely new chapters on personal genomics and cancer research, Watson tells the story of this pioneering research and its impact on the world in which we live, from its beginnings to the present day. This is the most comprehensive and authoritative exploration of DNAs impact practical, social, and ethical on our society and our world.

En 1953, dos jóvenes y desconocidos científicos provocaron una revolución mundial. Estudiando el ADN por indicaciones de la naturaleza de los genes, James Watson y Francis Crick dedujeron su composicion molecular, dos cadenas entrelazadas en forma de espiral en una helice doble e inmediatamente se dieron cuenta de que su estructura implicaba el modo en como los genes se copiaban y pasaban de una generacion a otra. Su observacion ha tenido consecuencias extraordinarias. El descubrimiento de un codigo genetico compartido por todos los seres vivos y la comprension de que ese codigo se traduce en proteinas. La capacidad de alterar la composicion genetica de un organismo. El reconocimiento de que enfermedades como el cancer empiezan por un error en los genes. Las bases de una industria biotecnologica y los medios para clonar plantas y animales. Un principio en la catalogacion de los genes humanos. Y la tenue luz para un nuevo tipo de medicina que utiliza el ADN terapeuticamente. En medio de este proceso, su investigador Jim Watson ha estado infatigable. Principal arquitecto y visionario de la nueva biologia, ganador del Premio Nobel a los 34 años y autor de un best seller a los 40 (The Double Helix) tuvo la autoridad, el instinto y el coraje de asumir un destacado papel de comenta

Cuando sólo contaba 25 años de edad, James Dewey Watson tuvo la inteligencia, la inspiración y la fortuna de realizar, junto con su amigo Francis Crick, uno de los descubrimientos más decisivos en la historia reciente de la biologia: la estructura en doble helice del acido desoxirribonucleico, o ADN. Eso ocurria en 1953, y lo que siguio fue una emocionante y durisima competicion entre cientificos e investigadores norteamericanos y europeos para continuar desentrañando los secretos de la vida. Por otra parte, Watson empezaba a conquistar la fama, pero aun tenia que conquistar a la chica de sus sueños.Este libro es el relato, rebosante de humor, ironia y nostalgia, de aquellos turbulentos y fascinantes años cincuenta y sesenta, de la incansable actividad de las mejores cabezas cientificas de la epoca, asi como de la intensa y a menudo disparatada vida social de los campus universitarios: las fiestas, los altibajos sentimentales, las novatadas entre colegas... Y entre todos destaca la imagen del legendario George, Geo, Gamow, el gran fisico de origen ruso a quien apasionaban tanto la genetica como los juegos de cartas y el whisky