Wellcome Bid Sees Crick Archive Return Home
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news Wellcome bid sees Crick archive return home Alison Abbott and Rex Dalton archives, they say, could restrict access to Francis Crick, co-discoverer of the double- scholars and are prone to being broken up helical structure of DNA with James Watson, when the collector dies. Watson is currently has sold his scientific archive to Britain’s compiling his own archive at the Cold Spring Wellcome Trust for just under £2 million Harbor Laboratory in New York state, where TRUST WELLCOME (US$2.8 million). he is director. The deal was struck after months of Norman has denied these possibilities, negotiations with at least one other bidder but publicity about his archive has increased serving as a buyer for Jeremy Norman — a the pressure on scientists to donate their private collector based in Novato, California, papers to public institutions. Crick is under- who is accumulating a large archive of the stood to have accepted slightly less from history of molecular biology (see Nature Wellcome than Norman had offered. 411, 732–733; 2001). Norman declined to comment on the The sum paid by the trust, which was negotiations. “The Wellcome library is a very bolstered by money from the UK national appropriate depository for Francis Crick’s lottery fund, is understood to be the largest papers,” he says. ever given for the archives of a living scientist. But Seckel feels that the Wellcome Crick’s collection includes correspondence arrangement has stymied his vision of a uni- with other scientists, including Watson, fied archive. “It would have been better to together with his laboratory notebooks and have all the relevant molecular-biology drafts of articles and books. papers together, rather than segregate Crick’s The archive will be shipped to the trust’s in a library that only collects English scien- library in London from San Diego, where tists’ papers,” he says. “This is not the way Crick, now 85, works part-time at the science operates — it is not nationalistic.” Salk Institute in La Jolla. He is donating a Record deal: Francis Crick’s archive may be more Meanwhile, the prices being sought for photocopy of the archive’s contents to the expensive than that of any other living scientist. historically important scientific documents University of Califonia, San Diego. keep growing. For example, a signed single- Norman’s representative, Al Seckel, a worked, and hoped that Norman’s collection page proof from the 25 April 1953 issue of neuroscientist at the California Institute of could be included in it. Norman already Nature is currently on sale by a rare-book Technology in Pasadena, has helped to owns papers from other eminent UK-based dealer at an asking price of $43,500. The page acquire many other items for the Norman molecular biologists, including Maurice includes the famous Watson and Crick paper, collection. Seckel had been trying to set up Wilkins, Max Perutz and Aaron Klug. as well as others by Wilkins and by Rosalind a centre for the history of molecular biology But many scientists, including Watson, Franklin, whose X-ray crystallography helped at his home institute, where Watson once have criticized privately held archives. Such to elucidate the structure of DNA. I Jodrell Bank survives shake-up of UK astronomy David Adam, London southern Australia, for which funding will astronomers access to the Very Large Faced with tough astronomy funding be phased out altogether by 2007. Telescope in Chile, as well as greater choices after deciding to join the European “With a limited budget there will be involvement in the Atacama Large Southern Observatory (ESO), Britain has inevitable reductions to certain facilities Millimeter Array (ALMA), a network of elected to retain its ageing Jodrell Bank within the existing programme,” says Ian 64 twelve-metre telescopes planned for telescopes and axe its commitment to several Halliday, chief executive of PPARC. construction there. I overseas observatories. The decision secures the immediate At a council meeting on 5 December, the future of the MERLIN array of radio Particle Physics and Astronomy Research telescopes, including the 76-metre Lovell Council (PPARC), which funds most of Telescope at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire, near Britain’s astronomy, agreed reductions of Manchester. The network will now be some £5 million (US$7.2 million) a year refurbished with fibre-optic cable. in its existing ground-based programmes “The upgrade to MERLIN will ensure to pay for its subscription to the Chile-based that our own national facility, centred JODRELL BANK OBSERVATORY JODRELL BANK ESO project. around the Lovell telescope in the The cuts will affect observatories in northwest, will continue to deliver Australia and Hawaii, as well as a cluster world-class science,” says Martin Rees, of optical telescopes at La Palma in the the Astronomer Royal. Canary Isles, where PPARC is pulling It will also help to maintain the the plug on the Jacobus Kapteyn telescope discipline’s profile in Britain — the dish and phasing out support for the Isaac at Jodrell Bank is a national landmark, Newton telescope. and is the astronomy programme’s most Star turn: the main Jodrell Bank telescope But the biggest loser will be the Anglo- powerful symbol. faces an upgrade rather than the axe. Australian observatory at Sidings Spring in Joining the ESO will give British 678 © 2001 Macmillan Magazines Ltd NATURE | VOL 414 | 13 DECEMBER 2001 | www.nature.com.