Martin Jones
A.P Biology
Summer assignment
29 August 2014
James D. Watson was born on April 6th 1928, and was educated at three different universities. Watson is responsible for the formation of the “Double-Helix structure for D.N.A” theory along with Francis Crick. Watson also went on to win a nobel prize and worked in cancer research and mapping the human genome. Later in Watsons life he was frowned upon because of his support of Eugenics. Watson’s most famous books include The Double Helix, Molecular Biology of a Cell, and D.N.A The Secret of Life. “D.N.A The Secret Life was conceived over dinner in 1999. Under Discussion was how best to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the discovery the double helix” (Watson, ix) Watson wanted the world to be informed and remember what he discovered; his goal was that a person with no biology background could understand it.
In D.N.A The Secret of Life Watson’s main idea is the “genetic revolution” he chronologically takes the reader from “the beginning of genetics” to where the world is now i.e. trying to cure genetic diseases. First James D. Watson starts off by showing the reader that “the secret of life” is a chemical change in D.N.A he shows the reader molecular processes and how D.N.A is always changing the way scientist perceive things. Watson also introduces how genetics can change big picture things such as business ideas, “The basic proposition was extraordinarily simple: find a way to use Cohen-Boyer technology to produce proteins that are marketable” (Watson 114) and the “human condition” i.e. the future of genetic diseases, race, and gender.
As for myself, I found D.N.A The
