![\"Molecular](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SUT-L-WATSON-01.jpg\")
Molecular biologist Ronald Evans directs the Gene Expression Laboratory at Salk Institute in San Diego.<\/p>\n
Having made his life\u2019s work the study of this very structure, Evans said, it was quite arresting to find himself answering questions posed by the progenitors of his field.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing able to break it down to the molecular level and reveal how it worked, that was one reason why they liked to come and see me,\u201d Evans said. \u201cThese icons, they would ask very specific questions to me about what I was doing, how I was doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course, Watson\u2019s legacy is far from a simple story of applying the scientific method to the chain of molecules inside every human cell. He became an extremely controversial figure for his statements about human intelligence, including his speculation that there were differences in intelligence between races that had genetic underpinnings. He stuck with those observations quite recently, including in a documentary, Decoding Watson<\/a>, made by PBS.<\/p>\n Evans said that it was clear that these were opinions not supported by scientific evidence, and he never endorsed them. But it was also difficult to send the man who helped discover the shape of the human genetic code\u00a0packing when he showed up in his office asking relevant questions about his work.<\/p>\n Watson\u2019s passing, he said, does elicit a sad moment of soul-searching on the imperfection of those who ask and answer big questions.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a moment of reflection about the people in science that make things happen, that ask questions that no one else might ask, and to solve problems in ways that others haven\u2019t,\u201d Evans said.<\/p>\n Others in San Diego\u2019s broad and deep biotechnology world also found themselves running into Watson at various points in their careers, though few with the frequency and depth that Evans experienced at Salk.<\/p>\n