James D. Watson, whose co-discovery of the twisted-ladder structure of DNA in 1953 helped light the long fuse on a revolution in medicine, crimefighting, genealogy and ethics, has died, according to his former research lab. He was 97.

1953年，他与他人共同发现了DNA的双螺旋结构，犹如点燃了一条漫长的导火索，最终引发了一场席卷医学、犯罪侦查、谱系学与伦理学领域的革命。据其曾任职的研究机构宣布，这位科学巨匠已于近日逝世，享年97岁。

The breakthrough — made when the brash, Chicago-born Watson was just 24 — turned him into a hallowed figure in the world of science for decades. But later in life, he faced condemnation and professional censure for offensive remarks.

这项突破性发现诞生时，这位出生于芝加哥、时年24岁、自信果敢的沃森，从此成为科学界数十年来的殿堂级人物。然而，在其晚年，他却因发表不当言论而遭到舆论谴责和学术界的抵制。

Watson shared a 1962 Nobel Prize with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins for discovering that deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is a double helix, consisting of two strands that coil around each other to create what resembles a long, gently twisting ladder.

沃森与弗朗西斯·克里克、莫里斯·威尔金斯共同因发现脱氧核糖核酸（DNA）的双螺旋结构而分享了1962年的诺贝尔奖。该结构由两条相互缠绕的链组成，形似一架漫长而轻柔扭转的梯子。

In 2014, he became the first living prizewinner to auction off their medal, though the purchaser returned the award to him several months later.

2014年，他成为首位拍卖其诺贝尔奖章的仍在世的获奖者，不过数月后，奖章的购买者又将奖章归还给了他。

The breakthrough discovery suggested how hereditary information is stored and how cells duplicate their DNA when they divide. The duplication begins with the two strands of DNA pulling apart like a zipper. Even among non-scientists, the double helix would become an instantly recognized symbol of science, showing up in such places as the work of Salvador Dali and a British postage stamp.

这项突破性发现揭示了遗传信息如何存储，以及细胞在分裂时如何复制其DNA。复制过程始于两条DNA链像拉链一样分开。即使在非科学界人士中，双螺旋结构也迅速成为科学的标志性符号，出现在萨尔瓦多·达利的作品和英国邮票等各处。

The findings, based on data from Wilkins, Rosalind Franklin and other colleagues at King's College London, were a "pivotal moment in the life sciences," said the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Long Island.

根据来自伦敦国王学院的莫里斯·威尔金斯、罗莎琳德·富兰克林及其他同事的数据所得出的这些发现，被长岛的冷泉港实验室称为"生命科学领域的关键时刻"。

Watson spent much of his career at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, becoming its director in 1968 and focusing the facility's research on DNA viruses that cause cancer. Watson, his wife and their two children lived on the laboratory's grounds for decades.

沃森职业生涯的大部分时间在冷泉港实验室度过，于1968年成为其主任，并将该机构的研究重点集中于导致癌症的DNA病毒。沃森与妻子及他们的两个孩子数十年来一直居住在实验室园区内。

"Watson's extraordinary contributions to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory during his long tenure transformed a small, but important laboratory on the North Shore of Long Island into one of the world's leading research institutes," the institution said.

该机构表示："沃森在其长期任职期间对冷泉港实验室做出了非凡贡献，将长岛北岸这个虽小但重要的实验室转变为了世界领先的研究机构之一。"

Watson continued to make scientific discoveries. While at Cambridge in England, he carried out pioneering research on the structure of small viruses, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory said.

冷泉港实验室指出，沃森持续取得科学发现。在英格兰剑桥大学期间，他对小病毒结构进行了开创性研究。

He also helped demonstrate the existence of mRNA in his lab at Harvard University in partnership with researchers at Cambridge, and later discovered important bacterial proteins that control gene expression, the laboratory said. He also wrote influential textbooks and a best-selling memoir, mentored young scientists and guided the early years of the Human Genome Project.

他还与剑桥大学的研究人员合作，在哈佛大学的实验室帮助证明了mRNA的存在，并后来发现了控制基因表达的重要细菌蛋白。他还撰写了具有影响力的教科书和畅销回忆录，指导年轻科学家，并指导了人类基因组计划的早期工作。

Watson gained unwelcome attention in 2007, when London's Sunday Times Magazine quoted him as saying he was "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa" because "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours — where all the testing says not really." He said that while he hopes everyone is equal, "people who have to deal with black employees find this is not true."

沃森在2007年因不当言论而受到广泛关注。当时伦敦的《星期日泰晤士报杂志》引用他的话说，他"对非洲的前景深感悲观"，因为"我们所有的社会政策都基于他们的智力与我们相同这一事实——而所有测试都表明并非如此"。他还说，尽管他希望人人平等，但"必须与黑人雇员打交道的人发现事实并非如此。"

Watson apologized for the remarks after international uproar and was suspended from his job as chancellor of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and retired a week later.

在国际社会一片哗然后，沃森为此言论道歉，随后被暂停了其冷泉港实验室名誉主任的职务，并在一周后退休。

In a television documentary that aired in early 2019, Watson was asked if his views had changed. "No, not at all," he said. In response, the Cold Spring Harbor lab revoked several honorary titles it had given Watson, saying his statements were "reprehensible" and "unsupported by science."

在2019年初播出的一部电视纪录片中，沃森被问及他的观点是否有所改变。他回答："没有，完全没有。"作为回应，冷泉港实验室撤销了曾授予沃森的若干荣誉头衔，称其言论"应受谴责"且"缺乏科学依据"。

Watson's combination of scientific achievement and controversial remarks created a complicated legacy.

沃森将科学成就与争议性言论集于一身，留下了一份复杂的遗产。

He has shown "a regrettable tendency toward inflammatory and offensive remarks, especially late in his career," Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said in 2019. "His outbursts, particularly when they reflected on race, were both profoundly misguided and deeply hurtful. I only wish that Jim's views on society and humanity could have matched his brilliant scientific insights."

美国国立卫生研究院主任弗朗西斯·柯林斯博士在2019年表示："他表现出一种令人遗憾的、倾向于发表煽动性和冒犯性言论的倾向，尤其是在其职业生涯晚期。他的过激言论，尤其是涉及种族问题的言论，既严重错误又极具伤害性。我只希望吉姆对社会和人性的看法能与他卓越的科学洞察力相匹配。"

Watson's DNA discovery helped open the door to more recent developments such as tinkering with the genetic makeup of living things, treating disease by inserting genes into patients, identifying human remains and criminal suspects from DNA samples and tracing family trees. But it has also raised a host of ethical questions, such as whether we should be altering the body's blueprint for cosmetic reasons or in a way that is transmitted to a person's offspring.

沃森的DNA发现为后续诸多进展打开了大门，例如：改造生物体的基因构成、通过向患者插入基因来治疗疾病、从DNA样本中识别人类遗骸和犯罪嫌疑人，以及追溯家谱。但这也引发了一系列伦理问题，例如我们是否应该为了美容目的或以可遗传给后代的方式改变人体的基因蓝图。

"Francis Crick and I made the discovery of the century, that was pretty clear," Watson once said. He later wrote: "There was no way we could have foreseen the explosive impact of the double helix on science and society."

"弗朗西斯·克里克和我做出了本世纪的发现，这一点很清楚，"沃森曾言。他后来写道："我们当时根本无法预见双螺旋结构对科学和社会产生的爆炸性影响。"

声明：本文节译自CBS新闻网，仅供学习参考，不代表本人观点。