Watson lecture marks centenary of birth of Francis Crick

  • 08 June 2016

The scientist and Caian Francis Crick, born 100 years ago today, will be remembered tomorrow with a lecture given by his research partner Dr James Watson. The pair shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for their groundbreaking discovery of the structure of DNA.

Dr Watson will give a seminar at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, reflecting on the life of his colleague and on their joint research. After the talk, he will be presented by the Master of Caius, Professor Sir Alan Fersht, with one of the iconic photos taken by Caian Antony Barrington Brown of Crick and Watson looking at the structure of DNA (printed from the negatives now bequeathed to Caius).

Afterwards, Dr Watson and his wife will dine on High Table at Caius, and students and Fellows will toast Crick with wine provided by the College.

Many argue Crick and Watson's 1953 paper on the structure of DNA stands to twentieth century biology as Darwin's On the Origin of Species stands to nineteenth century biology. Crick was a graduate student at Caius when the paper was submitted to Nature and he later became an Honorary Fellow of the College.

Professor Fersht said: "It's roughly equivalent to the theory of relativity or discovering the laws of gravity, and it's the keystone of modern biology. Crick and Watson realised they'd done something enormous, but I'm not sure if they realised how important it has been in practical terms."

A memorial to Crick was unveiled in the Great Gate of Gonville & Caius in April 2013, the 60th anniversary of the publication of the DNA paper.

Dr Watson’s seminar, being held at 4pm on 9 June 2016 in the Max Perutz Lecture Theatre, LMB, will include an array of photographs and texts documenting Crick’s life and the pair’s shared work.

A letter sent by Crick in March 1953 reveals: “Jim Watson and I have probably made a most important discovery. We have built a model for the structure of de-oxy-riboe-nucleic-acid [sic] (read it carefully), called D.N.A. for short… Our structure is very beautiful.”

 

For more information, contact Communications Officer Lucy Ward

news@cai.cam.ac.uk

07788567707

 

Photograph: © Gonville & Caius College

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