Francis Harry Compton Crick Dies at 88

Francis Harry Compton Crick, co-discoverer of the DNA, has died on Wednesday 28 July 2004 at the age of 88 after a long battle with colon cancer.

Francis Harry Compton Crick, co-discoverer of the DNA, has died on Wednesday 28 July 2004 at the age of 88 after a long battle with colon cancer.

The former president of the Salk Institute for Biological studies was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1962, along with his colleagues James D. Watson and Maurice Wilkins, for the discovery of the DNA double helix. This landmark discovery is recognised in the scientific community as one of the most significant advances of the 20th century and has impacted virtually every life science discipline.

Born in Northampton, England, on 8 June 1916, Francis Crick showed particular interest in science from a young age. Crick attended Northampton Grammar School and later the Mill Hill School in North London, where he received a basic education in chemistry, physics and mathematics.

Throughout his life, Francis Crick was a keen explorer of science, as he studied physics at the University College in London and began studying for his Ph.D., which was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II in 1939. During the war he worked as a scientist for the British Admiralty, helping to design magnetic and acoustic mines.

In 1947, Crick left the Admiralty and turned his attention to biological research at the Strangeways Laboratory in Cambridge, with a studentship support from the Medical Research Council, as well as financial support from his family. This was his first step towards becoming heavily involved in biological sciences.

In 1949, Crick joined the Medical Research Council Unit as a laboratory scientist in the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University, during which he worked out the general theory of x-ray diffraction by a helix. However, his friendship with James D. Watson beginning in 1951, who was then a young American on a postdoctoral fellowship in genetics, was a turning point for both of their careers, as the pair shared a common belief that it is DNA rather than proteins that was the crucial factor for the passing on of genetic information from generation to generation. This was the beginning of an intense collaborative work, which in 1953 led to the proposal of the double-helical structure for DNA and the replication scheme.

"I will always remember Francis for his extraordinarily focused intelligence and for the many ways he showed me kindness and developed my self-confidence. For two years I was almost a family member, the much younger brother prone to intellectually stray. Sharing with him our office in the Cavendish Laboratory of Cambridge University was an extraordinary privilege. Until his death, Francis was the person with whom I could most easily talk about ideas. He will be sorely missed." Said James Watson in a Statement.

Apart from the discovery of the DNA structure, Crick has also contributed towards other numerous important scientific developments, including the proposal of a general theory for the structure of small viruses based on a collaborative work with Watson, and a later research with Sydney Brenner, professor of genetic medicine at the University of Cambridge, where Crick developed ideas about protein synthesis ("the adaptor hypothesis") and the genetic code.

By 1966, Crick turned his attention to embryology. Then, in 1976, he joined the Salk Institute for a placement year from the Medical Research Council. The following year, after 30 years and 87 scientific papers, he decided to make a permanent switch to the Salk Institute, where he pursued his interests in understanding the brain and the nature of consciousness.

Richard A. Murphy, the Salk Institute's president and chief executive officer, expressed his sympathy and described Francis Crick as one of the most brilliant and influential scientists of all time. "He will be missed as a gentleman, a role model, and a person who has contributed so much to our understanding of biology and the health of mankind. For those of us privileged to know him at Salk, he will also be remembered as a dear friend." said Richard Murphy.

In addition to the Nobel Prize, Francis Crick's honors included the Lasker Award, the Award of Merit from the Gairdner Foundation, and the Prix Charles Leopold Meyer of the French Academy of Sciences. Furthermore, he was a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society, the French Academy of Sciences and the Irish Academy.

Apart from his release of over 130 published papers throughout his life, Crick also wrote several books including "Molecules and Men" (1966), "Life Itself" (1981), and "The Astonishing Hypothesis, The Scientific Search for the Soul" (1994).