True to form, James Watson didn't mince words at a recent lecture at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, where he said that the majority of cancer research is "irrelevant" and got into a verbal tussle with fellow Nobelist Roger Tsien.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Watson, in a talk about the role of oxidants in cancer and diabetes, questioned the utility of sequencing cancer genomes.
"You could sequence 150,000 people with cancer and it's not going to cure anyone," he said, according to the paper. "It might give you a few leads, but it's not, to me, the solution. The solution is good chemistry. And that's what's lacking. We have a world of cancer biology trained to think genes. They don't think chemistry at all."
Regarding the broader field of cancer research, he said that "most of the experiments we do are irrelevant ... We're not going to cure cancer by doubling the money. We're going to do it by being more intelligent. The money thing is just a red herring of people not thinking."
At one point during the talk, Tsien, who shared the 2008 Nobel Prize in chemistry, questioned Watson's comments about oxidants and antioxidants. According to U-T San Diego, "Watson cut him off. Tsien pressed on. Watson got agitated and said, 'All you have to do is think clearly and these difficulties vanish.'"
The paper reports that the scientists continued to "spar" until "Salk biologist Ron Evans stepped in, easing the tension with his own take on exercise research."
Also during the talk, Watson discussed his dislike of Bernadine Healy, former director of the National Institutes of Health, and referred to the "historic curse of the Irish," which, according to him, is "ignorance."
Tsien told the paper afterwards that Watson "likes to provoke people" and "enjoys being politically incorrect."
Trashing the dead and making
Trashing the dead and making racist comments is "ruffling feathers?" Nobelists really get a pass!
Obviously, you would know.
Obviously, you would know.
He'll get a special welcome
He'll get a special welcome in Dublin when he visits next month, I'd imagine.
I'm curious as to why my
I'm curious as to why my comment was deleted. Was it because if the inference that Watson's remarks reflect physiologically influenced diminished rationality or because I congratulated the Irish for remaining among the world's most enlightened peoples despite centuries of deliberate Penal Laws intended to suppress them into the ignorance that Watson projects upon them?
James Watson is right, the
James Watson is right, the amount of money spent on genomics and more specifically genomic sequencing is doing absolutely nothing to cure disease. I know genomeweb doesn't like to feel depress about the state of genome reality and the pure hype of scientist. Its tough but the more you face the reality, the better citizen you become. You can sequence all you want, society will keep getting sicker and sicker until prevention is not dealt with. Keep on sequencing... Its only good for forensic and applied work, not for disease. I know it hurts but come on, go back ten years ago in your articles, where is my cure baby...
The negative comments
The negative comments primarily address Watson's boorishness and racist attitudes, not the scientific validity of his arguments. Sadly, the latter are often undercut by the former.