James Watson to sell Nobel prize medal he won for double helix discovery Prof Watson made the discovery in 1953 at Cambridge University with Francis Crick. They were jointly awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize in Medicine with Maurice Wilkins, from King's College London, for identifying the elegant double helix in work that laid the basis for modern molecular biology. His best-selling memoir from 1968, The Double Helix, is credited with changing the public perception of scientists, from staid figures ensconced in laboratories to quick-thinking, ambitious and oftentimes competitive individuals in a race to discover the mysteries of life. Prof Watson said part of the proceeds would go to the institutions where he studied and worked. "I look forward to making further philanthropic gifts to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, the University of Chicago, and Clare College Cambridge, so I can continue to do my part in keeping the academic world an environment where great ideas and decency prevail," he said. The auction also includes many of his papers. Handwritten notes for his acceptance speech are estimated at $300,000 to $400,000. Francis Crick's medal sold at Heritage Auctions for $2.2 million and a handwritten letter to his son about the discovery sold for $5.3m last year. He died in 2004.