Life scientists looking for the latest must-have desk accessory have been snapping up the James Watson bobble head doll. To promote Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory's (CSHL) newly printed microarrays, one doll comes free while supplies last with every purchase of five oligo microarrays. Watson is shown smiling, holding a double helix.
The Nobel Laureate, best known for his discovery with Francis Crick of the structure of DNA, is one of only two real scientists immortalized so far as a bobbling head, the other being Albert Einstein. Honorable mentions go to Sigmund Freud and fictional Dr. Bruce Banner as his alter ego, the Incredible Hulk.
"His reaction was pretty cool when he first saw it," said CSHL Genomics Shared Resource Manager Rachel von Roeschlaub. "When he first looked at it, for so long he was in complete silence. I said, 'It's cute, right?' And he said, 'Hmm. It is cute....