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Figure 2. Key milestones of Watson’s scientific legacy and its intersection with element science research.
(A) The historic 1953 Nature paper page where Watson and Crick first described the DNA double helix structure - foundational to element science’s exploration of metal-DNA interactions^[1].
(B) A teaching slide from the author’s 2014 graduate course at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, integrating the double helix model with key element science concepts (iron, zinc, magnesium functions); the slide features a photo of the author and James Watson taken during their in-depth conversation at the 2010 CSHA conference, capturing a pivotal moment of scientific exchange that inspired subsequent research directions.
(C) Poster for the author’s 2024 invited lecture “Iron Metabolism, Ferroptosis and Ferrology” at The Francis Crick Institute, focusing on elemental mechanisms underlying metabolism and human disease - an extension of Watson’s foundational research into life’s molecular basis.
(D) The author at the entrance of The Eagle Pub in Cambridge in 2023 on a rainy morning - photographed with an umbrella in hand - a symbolic site where Watson and Crick first shared their double helix discovery in 1953, embodying the devotion of a dream chaser to scientific legacy and capturing the personal connection to Watson’s collaborative spirit^[1].
(E) Front page of conference handbook for the “Watson and Life Sciences” memorial seminar held in Beijing on December 20, 2025.