James Watson, the father of DNA, came to China to promote the Watson Center for Life Sciences.

On the afternoon of March 29, James Watson, the father of DNA and a Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, walked into a conference room on the second floor of the Waldorf Astoria in Beijing.
89-year-old Watson looked in good spirits in a straight grey-bottomed dark white suit.
this is Watson's fourth visit to China, with a new identity, general counsel of Le Tu Science, to promote the establishment of the Watson Life Sciences Center, named after him, in Shenzhen.
was not a raw hand in starting a research institute, having supported the near-collapsed Cold Spring Harbor laboratory as the world's "cradle of molecular biology."
is understood to be involved in the design and talent introduction of the Watson Life Sciences Center.
in an exchange with several Chinese media outlets, the famous American scientist who discovered the double helix structure of DNA with British scientist Francis Crick says his biggest and only scientific interest now is curing cancer.
" to China is the establishment of a new scientific research institutions, focusing on cancer research.
want to be part of this new body so that I can exert my influence.
, " Watson said humorously. "
" he revealed that he had gone as far as China to set up the Watson Life Sciences Center, in part because he felt that "in the United States, cancer is almost a money-making tree that everyone wants to make money from".
"When you're just trying to make money, it's hard to change.
I think American medics are tied up too tightly with money.
but better than just a doctor thinking about how to heal a patient, not just making money.
" Watson said China is on the rise and is a good opportunity to study cancer, making cancer treatment cheaper, with fewer side effects and less pain for patients.
when Watson was young, he witnessed his uncle die of cancer.
weeks ago, the wife of his son's best friend also died of cancer, leaving a young child behind.
" cancer is such a bad thing, and people all over the world are suffering from cancer, no one is immune.
," Watson said.
, Watson argues that GM foods are not harmful to human health.
"I don't think it's rational to oppose GENETIC foods because I haven't seen an example of genetically modified foods causing cancer, " he said.
," Watson said.
on April 6th, Watson's 90th birthday, and on March 29th, Chinese scholars celebrated Watson's birthday ahead of schedule.
right, Watson's wife Elizabeth, coincides with their 49th wedding anniversary when they arrive in Beijing on March 28.
Watson: 15 years old in college, 25 years old found DNA double helix, 34-year-old Nobel Prize-winning 1953, 25-year-old Watson and 37-year-old Crick in the journal Nature published a paper of just over 1,000 words, that a slightly thin page of reporting but unlocked the secret of human genetics - DNA double helix structure, together with relativity, quantum forces, known as the three most important scientific discoveries of the 20th century.
know, until now, people have not been convinced that DNA holds the genetic code.
about the discovery, which won him praise from the scientific community, Watson modestly said, "We're lucky because it's not that hard for us."
joked that he was glad he was not born in this era, otherwise "the DNA structure has been cracked and there is no simple work left for me to do."
was so intelligent that Watson began attending the University of Chicago at the age of 15 and later moved from an obsession with bird watching to an interest in DNA.
15 I went to college, and if I didn't go to college until I was 18, I wouldn't be able to find the structure of my DNA, " he says.
think that if you want to succeed, you need to act quickly.
not walk alone in the street, but as fast as possible so that you have more opportunities.
," Watson exhorts, combining his own experience.
1962, Watson, 34, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, together with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins.
, another British female scientist who provided important X-ray diffraction photographs for the discovery of DNA structures, lost her arm to the Nobel Prize for her death.
Watson took up the scientific credibility of his later years to create the "Asia Investment Bank of the Life Sciences" it is understood that the "Watson Life Sciences Center" research direction is genome-based cancer precision medicine.
Watson served as the first U.S. head of the Human Genome Project.
Talking about why Watson wanted to set up a research institute in China under his own name, Fu Xinyuan, director of the Shenzhen Lotto Institute of Precision Medicine, which organized Watson's trip to China and contributed to the Watson Life Sciences Center, said, "The old gentleman's willingness to go out and impress Watson's heartstrings is the backdrop to China's rise" and the fact that Lotto Investment Group has invested in several medical projects in Silicon Valley in the hope of "moving back" to China.
, a California-based venture capital institution, is chairmaned by Liu Ruyin.
) "He's very old, but he's got a very strong appeal.
hopes to put his last few years of scientific credibility in China and move forward with China's development.
," Fu said.
Fu Xinyuan's vision, the Watson Center for Life Sciences, a 3.0 version of the institute led by Chinese scientists, needs to be aligned with international standards.
he wants to turn the Watson Center for Life Sciences into an "investment bank for the life sciences" and invite scientists from the Asia-Pacific region and the rest of the world to work together.
asked Watson if China was attractive to foreign scholars and what Watson, who had publicly auctioned the Nobel prize, thought of it.
the following is the transcript: News: In your opinion, China's attractiveness to foreign scholars to go to China to do scientific research, for example, in financial?Watson: Yes, of course.
, it will be difficult unless more Westerners start learning to Chinese at the age of five.
especially for native speakers, because English is speaking all over the world.
I think there are so many people in China that foreigners are not needed.
britain, by contrast, the population would not be enough if foreign resources were not constantly gathered.
think what China needs is more space for the most critical scientific research, which is better done independently of universities.
these labs can be linked to or affiliated with a university.
but the first priority of these laboratories is scientific research, not teaching.
For example, there are laboratories within MIT, where funding is separate from the university itself, and it has been devoted to genetic research for more than 100 years, and has only recently begun to try to expand its research.
decades ago, genes were in biology like nuclears in physics.
the nature of the atom is the core of physics, and chromosomes are the core of life, so we were the most central subject at the time.
News: Chinese crazy about the Nobel Prize, what do you personally think of the Nobel Prize as someone who won it at the age of 34? I understand that you auctioned the Nobel Prize in 2014.
:Note: The Russian businessman took $4.757 million and still attributed the medal to Watson.
: The problem with the Nobel Prize right now is that the prizes are far behind current experimental projects.
when the Nobel Prize first appeared, there were a lot fewer research projects, so all good research was recognized.
and now many good research projects are not recognized by the Nobel Prize, I do not know what to do.
awards in Russia will also be awarded to scientists, with millions of dollars more than the Nobel Prize, to important scientific breakthroughs.
want to get one, but I don't think I will.
's probably after I cure cancer.
I'm not interested in winning awards, I care about how to do award-winning research, how to create an environment where the smartest people do the most worthwhile research.
, I think you have to have some agencies that specialize in a few specific issues.
, for example, is the Molecular Biology Laboratory in Cambridge.
the lab alone won 20 Nobel Prizes because they focused on the right area, studying the 3D structure of those biom molecules.
in some ways, this is also a chemical laboratory.
Paul Allen, who founded Microsoft's predecessor with Bill Gates, is setting up his own research facility at Microsoft and the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle.
I'm sure they'll all be very successful.
China needs research institutes created for specific research areas.
china needs to recognize the challenges of the day and build institutions that can meet them.
.