James Watson, who co-discovered DNA double helix, dies at 97

Scientist helped break new ground in study of genetics, but later caused outcry with promotion of debunked racist ideas.

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Scientist James Watson, whose research on the structure of DNA helped pave the way for developments in the study of human genetics, has died at the age of 97.

Watson, a brilliant but controversial figure who later prompted outcry with his promotion of debunked racist ideas, shared the 1962 Nobel Prize in medicine with fellow scientists Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins for discovering the double helix structure of deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA.