James Watson, Nobel Prize-Winning DNA Scientist, Stripped of Honours Over Racist Remarks: Watch Video of His Controversial Comments
The 90-year-old geneticist resigned under fire from his laboratory in 2007 after telling a British newspaper that people of African descent tend to have lower intelligence.
Washington, January 14: Nobel laureate James Watson has been stripped of his honours for expressing "deeply racist" on being interviewed in a documentary. The disgraced scientist had earned fame after he was the co-discoverer of DNA, and is regarded as the "father" of the Human Genome Project. The honours accorded to Watson has been revoked after he reiterated his claim that black people "have lower IQ" as compared to their white counterparts.
The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), the New York facility where Watson worked for nearly four decades and which has a school named after him, said it was acting in response to his remarks made in a television documentary aired this month, Xinhua reported on Sunday. Bill in Lok Sabha for Use of DNA Technology to Crack Tough Criminal Cases Like Rape, Murder.
The 90-year-old geneticist resigned under fire from his laboratory in 2007 after telling a British newspaper that people of African descent tend to have lower intelligence.
Video: Watch the Documentary Below in Which Watson Issued the Contentious Remarks
However, in the new PBS documentary titled "American Masters: Decoding Watson", when asked about his views on race in the decade since his departure from the lab, Watson said he stood by his former remarks, citing the difference in IQ tests results to suggest black inferiority.
While the DNA pioneer also expressed his hope for everyone to be equal, he added: "People who have to deal with black employees found this is not true."
"Watson's statements are reprehensible, unsupported by science and in no way represent the views of CSHL, its trustees, faculty, staff or students. The Laboratory condemns the misuse of science to justify prejudice," the laboratory said in a Friday statement before revoking three titles -- chancellor emeritus, Oliver R. Grace Professor Emeritus and honorary trustee soon afterwards.
(With IANS inputs)
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 14, 2019 04:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).