An anonymous buyer has purchased a rather heartfelt look into the discovery of DNA by snagging a letter Francis Crick wrote to his son from New York auction house Christie's for a cool $6 million.
The letter, dubbed the "Secret of Life," stands in at seven pages long and includes a sketch of DNA that Crick made to his son. It was only expected to fetch around $1-2 million, instead, it set a record.
"We are honored to have been entrusted with the sale of the remarkable 'Secret of Life' letter from Francis Crick to his son, outlining the discovery of the structure of DNA. This important scientific letter was met with broad international interest and resulted in its historic sale, setting a new world auction record for a letter," Francis Wahlgren, Christie's International Head of Books & Manuscripts said.
The letter begins: "My dear Michael, Jim Watson and I have probably made a most important discovery. We have built a model for des-oxy-ribose-nucleic-acid (read carefully) called DNA for short."
Crick then goes on to describe this "beautiful structure" and the implications it has. He asks his son to read carefully, and that he would show him in person once he returned home. The letter ends with a touching "Lots of love, Daddy."
Francis Crick and James Watson made the groundbreaking discovery of DNA and its structure back in 1953. The two scientists, along with Maurice Wilkins, were awarded a Nobel Prize in 1962. Crick's medal, along with his check, diploma, and a lab coat will be auctioned off at the Heritage Auction House in New York, in hopes of raising funds for the Francis Crick Institute in London.
"This marks the 60th anniversary of the historic discovery of the structure of DNA and 50 years have passed since Francis Crick was awarded the Nobel Prize. Our hope is that, by having it available for display, it can be an inspiration to the next generation of scientists," Crick's granddaughter Kindra Crick said.
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